Tick Tock

By candlelight, I watched from high up on the wall as Esmeralda removed the emerald-studded combs from her hair, shook the shimmering, long, dark glossy mane free like a wild mare. She dropped the combs on the dressing table carelessly as if cheaply made, perhaps bought from the market that lined the main road once a week.

She glanced at me, her green eyes reading my face as she had learned in her childhood, then consulted the huge hourglass which took up most of her desk, holding more than an hour and so much more. The sands flowed freely but, unlike me, made no sound because the glass was quite thick. I imagined the soft hissing sound they might make and envied how they sparkled intermittently with magic, being only commonplace myself.

Unfastening the green silk over-gown with racing fingers, she murmured too softly for me to hear. However, I could guess from other nights that she was listing gratitudes from her evening because a grateful heart attracts blessings.

She smiled briefly at her reflection then used the mirror to guide her hands, unfastening the emerald ear-drops which she placed in their green velvet pouch. I knew from the increase of moisture in her eyes that thoughts of the gift giver occupied her mind.

Tick tock. As I watched her remove bangles and bracelets from her slim arms to heap on the dresser, I remembered him too and how their passionate embraces ended half an hour before midnight. Always best to be on the safe side.

I suspected that Esmeralda missed him. Why else had she not brought anyone here for almost a month now? Though I could not vary my tick or my tock, I tried every evening while she perfumed herself before going out the door to imbue my continual announcements with a message that time was very much of the essence.

Her gaze always focused on me then, so I hoped she understood.

I would not want this elegant room over which I presided to be invaded by someone else, maybe less graceful than her, perhaps prone to an ugly laugh or obsessed with imaginary lacks of perfection in the mirror.

As she unbuttoned the tiny pearl buttons decorating the front of her paler green inner garment, I imagined a new lover performing the tedious task, devoted gaze admiring her face, how she would smile at him, maybe raising her chin to reveal her tender neck.

Esmeralda seated herself and glanced up at me again before bending to remove her stylish shoes which she tucked under the dressing table to avoid tripping on them later.

Standing again, she pulled up the back of her embroidered slip and reached under the fabric with both hands to unfasten the tight bodice beneath. She tugged the sheath of fabric downwards and discarded it on top of the combs.

A yawn caught her then, first evidence of the tide of weariness. She gave in and afterwards stretched her arms out which brought her shoulder blades closer.

After kissing the emerald ring that she never removed, Esmeralda looked up at me and smiled then nodded as if she was confirming that we were confidants sharing a secret. True enough, but she did not know I had more inside me than the ability to keep track of time.

Tick tock. Wearing only her slip, she walked barefoot to the massive bed, peeled back the covers and sat down then brought her legs up.

Would she turn away this time? She did tend to like sleeping on her right side which luckily gave me a clear view from my excellent vantage point.

I watched with satisfaction as she settled under the coverlets with her face resting on the jade green satin pillows. Perfectly visible to me. Some nights, only her mane of dark hair would be showing.

Accustomed to how the nights unfolded, I ignored the sands flowing through the narrow neck of the hourglass. I preferred to simply wait and watch. I would know when the sands ran out, after all.

Tick tock. As I ticked to within five minutes of midnight, I saw her lips open slightly then the restless movement of her eyelids as she escaped into sleep.

Good. I was glad for her and that I need not witness any distress.

Almost imperceptible except that I knew what to look for, pale shadows made pouches under her eyes before the faintest wrinkles became visible at the corner of her mouth. More surfaced on her forehead and around her eyes as the dark glossy mane of hair became streaked with gray and eventually became completely white.

With the changes completed, her mouth opened in a soft snore which reminded me of the baby she had once been. A lullaby spell kept her quiet whenever her mother brought a lover here for passionate embraces and to absorb enough energy to stay alive and keep the magic of the hourglass from fading.

Tick tock. I never tired of her solitary slumber. My role, without doubt, so essential, bridging those hours while her mind dreamed and her heart rested, like a guardian ensuring that we both arrived safely through the gates of dawn.

Generally, she slept deeply, surrounded by flickering candlelight. However, during the five-day aura of a full moon, her restlessness disturbed the coverlets. This ensured she awakened with weariness but sometimes from inspiring dreams that encouraged her efforts to find the next lover or keep her current one more satisfied.

As watchful as I was, I never once observed the huge, magical hourglass upend itself exactly when the sun rose above the horizon. If any natural light entered this room, I might have had more chance to be looking at exactly the right moment. My curiosity about that had mostly faded.

Every morning, she made a brew after grinding dark, lustrous beans and then fetching boiling water with which to brew them. She savoured this hot beverage, as though it held a sort of magic that lifted her mood and improved her ability to think clearly.

After the last sip and usually a contented little sigh, still wearing only her slip, without letting anything else distract her, she padded over on bare feet to lift me down from the wall and wind the mechanism on my back just enough without overdoing the motion.

I cherished this part of her routine more than I could possibly say and, indeed, could never tell her so.