Secret of the mistress of ancient clocks.
Roland’s father was the well-known inventor of the clocks. He had a little shop, where he invented, sold and repaired clocks. Roland liked to look, how his father worked since he was a child. When he grown up, he began to help the parent in his business. All walls in their house were upholstered by different clocks. When the long finger once an hour gets to the number 12, the house was announced by chimes on all voices. It was a really wonderful sound show.
One year ago Roland’s father has died, having left in the inheritance a shop, clocks and the whole mountain of the outstanding debts. Roland has no mother; she has died when he was a baby. Roland could not sell shop because it was a business of a life of his father, and now it was his business. But one suddenness has rescued a situation - Roland has met the girl from rich family of the usurer, they have fell in love with each other and wanted to get married.
\* 
*/For this reason Roland spent this hot august day not in a shop or in the house of his future wife, but in a jolty cart which carried him to fair in capital. In city inventors of clocks from all country gathered, exchanged experience and inventions. Roland wanted to give his bride a really royal gift.
Roland rode through a forest and thinking about where to stop this night. In several miles ahead there should be a village named Eery. Started to get dark, the man was afraid, that he would not have time to get to a village before the sunset and he would have to spend the night in a forest. Suddenly he saw a grey silhouette between the trees. In a minute Roland found himself on the big glade on which there was a big grey villa. Peaked spires of roof were higher than the trees. Balconies of the top floors were decorated by gargoyles.
"That this villa does here? I never heard about something like this situated here." - thought Roland. But he had no choice because the sun touched the tree collars, and the man step up to a high wooden gate. He even didn’t touch the handle of a gate as it was opened. On a threshold there was a beautiful young woman.
- Hi, the traveler.
- Hello, lady. You are a mistress of this villa?
- Yes. I am always glad to visitors, come in. You are tired with a road and have got hungry. Servants will take care of your horses.
Roland entered the villa, and bowed to the lady.
- Thanks for not throwing on road missed traveler. But what so lovely young lady does in this solitude?
While Roland spoke, woman carried out him to a big room and settled him for a table. Servants put huge dishes on a table with is appetizing smelling meal.
- I own this villa and I live here like my ancestors did. My name is Aurora. Feel yourself like at home.
Roland told his name and stated to eat because he was very hungry after the day in a cart. When Roland had gorged on, the mistress carried out him into a room with a fireplace, pointed on a deep armchair, and sat opposite. Room was dark and big. Walls were decorated with candlesticks, portraits and torches. One subject has attracted his attention: above a fireplace there were the clocks of a magnificent work. They looked very old. Also they stood.
- Lady Aurora, you store a magnificent thing in your villa. – Roland pointed on the clocks. - I am a quite good watchmaker. Do you want me to repair these clocks in reply to your kindness? Or maybe you will sell them to me?
For a second a horror had flickered in mistress’s eyes. Though it is possible that Roland only thought he saw that. Aurora had started talking with a silky voice.
- No, there is no necessity in it. These clocks stood for hundred years and I d not want anything to change. We shall go to a bedroom better.
Roland had looked at the woman with surprise, understanding what did she means, then smiled and left an armchair, throwing the last sight at the clocks.
Lady’s skin was soft and velvety, hair - silky. Roland did not feel remorse. Finally she fell asleep, and Roland had quickly dressed his trousers and has gone down in a fire room. The dial of the clocks mysteriously shone with light of the full moon. Roland moved an armchair, cautiously removed hours from a wall and opened a glass door. He was surprised with their unusual structure, but soon he found out a malfunction. The bell ringed; Roland hanged up hours on a wall and returned in a mistress’s bedroom.
- I have woken up from dream an ancient thing - thought Roland with a pleasure. While he walked upstairs, loud chimes was still heard. Suddenly man thought, that something imperceptibly varies in the house. On a threshold of a mistress’s bedroom he stiffened. The young lady, that only recently dividing bed with him, has disappeared. Instead of her the wrinkled old woman laid on lily whites, and with each clock’s ring she became older. When the clocks have ringed for the last, twelfth, time, there were only ashes on the bed.
- I have woken up from dream an ancient thing - whispered Roland with the horror. The man took his clothing and took off from a room. In a fire room Roland has darted a glance at ancient hours. Their second finger just finished the first revolution for last hundred years.
Epilogue.
Roland has bought a magnificent gift for his bride at the fair. A month later they have got married. But Roland never told about happened to the wife though remembered it very well. Only in some years later he returned on that place. There were no any villa in the forest and inhabitants of neighboring villages never heard neither about the villa, nor about the mistress of ancient hours.
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09.02.2005 в 06:36-
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09.02.2005 в 18:57-
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10.02.2005 в 19:29Всё равно здорово!
Вот прочитал, и понял, как по тебе соскучился! Непривычно: ты в Америке, но мы общаемся!))))
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10.02.2005 в 19:38-
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10.02.2005 в 20:33Интернет - классная вещь! Приезжай скорей!
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11.02.2005 в 02:35-
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11.02.2005 в 05:24Я народ попинаю насчёт приветственной вечеринки для тебя! А с тебя - сувениры и рассказы про то, как тебе там было "в ихней зажратой Америке"!))
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11.02.2005 в 06:23-
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11.02.2005 в 08:41-
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11.02.2005 в 09:17-
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11.02.2005 в 09:19Здорово!!!!! Чё хочешь кушать на вечеринке?
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11.02.2005 в 09:45-
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11.02.2005 в 20:15-
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12.02.2005 в 10:35-
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13.02.2005 в 21:08Сочувствую. А я сам ничё не жру...
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13.02.2005 в 22:51-
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14.02.2005 в 12:44Да так, аппетита нету...
Кста, с Валентиновым днём тебя, сестричка!!!
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14.02.2005 в 19:02-
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15.02.2005 в 06:14Тебя, наверно, валентинками завалили!
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15.02.2005 в 19:03-
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15.02.2005 в 19:07Няяя.... Сладостиии.... Не трави душу! Я сёдня у зубного был. Мне их низзя =((
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15.02.2005 в 19:19-
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16.02.2005 в 19:34