Jake grabbed the phone and dialled the number on the paper. After a few tones, he heard a voice on the other
side. Jake said "Is the man who owns the clock shop on Raven Street?".
There was a pause before the voice replied "Yes, I'm the man, I'm Samuel. How may I help you?".
"Hi Samuel, it's me, Jake. Oh, have I ever told you my name before? Anyway, I'm the guy who bought that clock
that makes people older. We both waited to change back overnight, and while my friend ended up younger again,
I'm still stuck at 60 years old. I would of come to you, but you live on the other side of town and we have no
way of getting over there. The buses aren't running, we have no car, and we can't afford a taxi".
Another long pause made him think the man had hung up, but then he heard "Are you sure you can't reach me? I
guess I could come to you, but I don't know if I'd be able to bring all my findings with me".
Jake thought about it. "No, there's no way of reaching you at your house. It's lucky I even found your phone
number on the paper you gave me. Let me give you my address".
Jake recited his address to the man, before he said he'd arrive as soon as possible. Jake hung up the phone,
and it wasn't long before there was a knock on the door. Matt got up and opened it, and Jake heard a familiar
voice. Jake pulled himself out of his seat and briskly walked to the door to see Graham. The man waved at him
before saying "Hey, I'm looking for the man who came to my house yesterday? I didn't catch his name, but he
said he was looking after the boy here, but I guess a bunch of you are helping... Wait, is it you? Oh my God,
you look terrible! Did you always have so much grey hair? I thought you were the same age as me".
Jake didn't know how to handle this onslaught of questions. Graham had entered the house already. He could
always show him the clock, but would he even believe him. He had nothing else he could say. "Well, this is
going to be hard to explain, but I've gotten older since we last met".
"Older? Well you definitely look it, but I don't know what you mean".
"Well, a couple of days ago I bought a special clock from that clock shop nearby. I thought it was an alarm
clock, but I was very wrong. The clock turned out to have the power to age a person, and both of us" pointing
to Matt and himself "have been caught up in it. When I met you yesterday, I told you that I was Jake's great
uncle, but I lied. I'm really Jake". It felt so good to actually tell the man.
Graham gave him a long look before saying "Look, that's a cute story and all, but it's ridiculous. As if a
clock could turn a boy into an old man. Tell me the truth or I'm calling the cops for breaking and entering".
Jake was scared now, his new friend didn't believe him. To be honest, he wouldn't believe him either in the
same predicament. "But I'm telling the truth! I've aged 50 years in a day and I'm scared" He raised his voice,
tears appearing in his eyes. "I can prove it, but that would mean making you older and I don't think you'd
want to do that. In fact Matt, go get the clock, but don't turn it on".
Matt ran towards the staircase and came back a moment later with the clock. "This what he's talking about.
It's unbelievable but it's true. You turn it on and everyone in the room gets older. You don't even realise
until you leave the room or turn the clock off. It's some freaky stuff".
"You should listen to that young man if you know what's good". Everyone turned to see Samuel was standing at
the open door, holding a bunch of boxes. He kicked the door closed behind him and led everyone into the living
room. "So, I've done my research and I can't find anything that can take your prematurely earned years and
make you young again. Nothing that doesn't involve transferring the age to another person anyway. I have
plenty of ways of doing that. I would just have to have a willing volunteer".
"I'll do it!" Matt called out. "I was going to make myself older with the clock again anyway. Being 25 is
cool, but I've always liked the thought of being an older man. Not as old as 70 of course, that was terrible.
But being middle aged is one of those weird fantasies I've always had". Graham scoffed behind him. It all
sounded so stupid to him. Why would anyone want to be older, let along his age? Even little kids eventually
learn that being an adult is terrible.
Samuel said "Well it would of been preferable if someone younger than 25 were to be the participant, but it'll
have to do". He pulled out a heavy crystal statue from one of his boxes and placed it on the table. "This is
the Idol of Traejufern. According to my research, two people of different ages holding the hands of the idol
will experience a transfer of age between them. The one holding the left will youthen while the one holding
the right will mature. There isn't a way to determine the amount of age that will transfer until the users are
no longer holding the idol, but it isn't a one use object like others I've come across. You both can
experiment with trial and error until you're both happy with the ages you are".
Jake wrapped his hand around the left arm of the statue, while Matt wrapped his hand around the right arm.
Graham and Samuel watched in the background, both wanting to stay for differing reasons. The crystal lit up
with a bright light, which started to engulf the two men. The transference had begun.