Jupiter Moon held her daughter, Violet Moon’s hand, strolling in the dandelion fields. The air quality was terrible for the first time; the smog and horrid pollution caused her to cough. The maple tree, gargantuan in size that lit up the whole city, was no longer shining, and the breakdown was pouring in quick droves. The Edison lights that adorned the branches had burned out and shined no longer. The golden rivers slowly became muddy, brown, and oozed with filth and trash.   

                Sweat was dripping down Jupiter’s brown skin, with cool jewel undertones. She was afraid for their lives. The pollution kept getting worse, and time was slowly freezing. What was the cause of this ruinous affair? Jupiter kept walking with Violet as she pondered the answer.   

Above the clock city was Wilbur Morris observing the lives of these curious people.   

Jupiter looked up to see a pale, giant figure peering at the city. Afraid of her and Violet’s lives, she tried to rush across the road to the apartment complex where they resided. The colorful lollipop that Violet was slowly licking fell to the ground into the mud. Violet cried in despair, “My lolly is all sullied now!”   

Paying no heed to her daughter’s cries, Jupiter rushed her inside their quaint apartment and locked the door.   

Attack of the Giant!  

Peering carefully out of her blinds, Jupiter was exasperated at the giant’s appearance! This giant must have been the reason for all the bad events happening in the city. Clad in an intelligent pinned striped suit with gold cufflinks, the giant man looks confused as he takes in the scenery.   

Yesterday, poor old Ms. Talvin became frozen while eating her spaghetti! The fork is still suspended, with noodles and sauce hanging down. Her twelve cats were frozen, with one cat in the air doing a backflip! All fearing the worst, Jupiter’s neighbors became frozen in time one by one. The world of the clock people was beginning to be dismal, a notion that was odd for the Chime City residents. These happy-go-lucky citizens loved living in their secluded world of time. The joys of helping the clock tick and tock brought purpose to many of these citizens.   

Moreover, a person can only imagine how many other clocks have hidden worlds in them!   

Violet started to stir from the hot pink velvet couch where her mother had left her. “Mommy, what is going on? Why did I have to lose my delectable lollipop?”   

“Quiet, my dear; you may give away our location to the giant,” Jupiter declared with a hushed tone.  

Mayor Flumberghast and his Golden Microphone  

Suddenly, the city became still and quiet. Mayor Flumberghast was announcing with his cherished gold megaphone! Jupiter could not make out the words because they sounded warped, and “blah, blah blah” was all she could hear. Everywhere that the mayor went, he had that gold megaphone in hand. An excellent loud announcement was his favorite thing and his blue suits.   

Did his short and robust stature cause him to need to be heard? Often, he would get lost in the crowd with his 4’9 height. Further, his blue suits and blue top hat helped add to his short stature. Yet, people were not too happy with his rule because he was a cantankerous fellow.   

How Mayor Flumberghast became the mayor of Chime City was a mystery to her as he had an evil way about him.   

Downtown Chime City  

Jupiter decided to leave Violet with her neighbor, January Henderson, for a few hours. Further investigation of what was happening needed to be discovered, for time was of the essence. Thus, almost the whole city was frozen, except for a handful of lucky citizens. How Violet and she have not become frozen yet, was a mystery. While she still had time on her side, she needed to talk to the giant.  

With all the strength and bravery Jupiter could muster, she set out to find the giant. He had disappeared from above the city, but Jupiter saw him shrink and fall into the golden river. She just needed to pinpoint what part of the river he fell into and find answers. Thankfully, she lived close to downtown, and this would be her first stop.  

Determination fueled her every move as she looked in all the shop windows and the outside sales stand. Jupiter was walking amongst the stands when she noticed a bright gold color out of the corner of her eye.   

Mayor Flumberghast’s golden megaphone hung on a nail in the 31st Street alleyway. Jupiter crossed the street and saw that this was the building the jailhouse was; she opened the back door and walked inside.  

The Dungy Jailhouse   

Jupiter descended the steps from the back door and followed the muffled noise coming from the cells. There were cobwebs and dust everywhere, and a musty odor filled the air. The jailhouse rarely got used, and it needed updates.   

“He has fainted, mayor!” a guard said.   

“Get a bucket of water and pour it on him; that should wake him up yet!” Mayor Flumberghast declared.  

Jupiter peered in to find the mayor holding on to the bars of a cell. He looked at a strange man sprawled out on the cell floor, looking pale and his eyes were closed.   

The guard poured the bucket of water onto the man, which stirred him. Jupiter walked in to look closer, hiding in a dark corner. She could make out the man’s features and saw it was the giant! Except now he was the size of the Chime City residents!   

Jupiter moved slightly and accidentally knocked over a box and got the guards’ attention.  

“Grab that woman!” Mayor Flumberghast yelled aggressively.   

Jupiter could not run away as the guards were behind and in front of her. She was thrown into the cell across from the man.   

This is the end of part 2 of The Clock People of Chime City. I will not post anymore on this story because I will be turning this into a novel for preteens. Though, I will be posting more stories for my Sunday’s Shorts. I hope this story, even if it is geared towards adolescents, does brings some reprieve from your sadness!  

Please subscribe to follow more posts in the future! Thank you for reading. I love to write and my mind is constantly coming up with new stuff! Contact me if you have suggestions for my posts or need a virtual shoulder to cry on or a person to listen. Thanks.