A Night to Remember

I IMMEDIATELY GO around him to see if it’s true. And sure enough, after a hard push and pull on the oak doors, they had been sealed tight. I huffed in disappointment.

“What are we going to do now?” I ask, crossing my arms.

“I…don’t know.”

I supposed that he didn’t come to the city often, and probably had no idea they would lock a place like this up for the night.

The dejected look on his bruised face twisted my heart a little bit. It was like looking at a mournful kitten left outside. It was quickly hidden, however, because Ralphim pulled his mask back over his eyes.

“Don’t worry, Ralphim! I’ll get us inside.”

I dash around the side of the tower. I’ve never been inside myself, but surely there isn’t just one entrance to the tower. It wasn’t too big of a building, it just stood quite tall. There could be a side door for maintenance, or a window.

I observed the walls closely, trailing my hands along the cold stone. I didn’t find another oak door, but I did find a window low enough for someone like Ralphim (or me with a little help) to climb through.

“Look!” I called over to him, who was still standing by the doors. He appeared around the corner with his sword hand, and saw me pointing excitedly at the window.

He reached high on his toes to get to the latch, but it was just out of reach of his fingers. He tried a few times with grunts but to no avail.

“Wait a second.” He commands me. Ralphim hands me his wooden sword before hoisting himself up on the decorative ledge that surrounded the rim of the tower, just underneath the window. He balanced a little precariously on it, but I trusted he knew what he was doing.

At least this way, Ralphim was able to reach the window with ease.

He tried to push on it, but it only rattled against his palm, indicating it is also locked shut.

“It’s locked too.” Ralphim tells me from above.

I really want to get inside!

I glanced around me. Lucky for us, it was close to the forestry area, and there were several boulders scattered about the grass.

I picked one up, feeling the weight of it in my arms.

“Use this to break it!” I request, lifting it above my head.

Ralphim looked hesitant.

“What if someone hears us?” He asked me. That didn’t concern me, because I could already hear drums and instruments coming from the town square.

“Everyone is at the festival, and it’s loud there. And no one comes to the clocktower at night.” I reason with him.

Ralphim pauses for a moment, thinking behind his mask. Thankfully, he subtly nods in agreement.

I lightly tossed the rock to him, and I was scared he would fall over, but he caught it in his hands.

He then raised the stone to smash it against the handle, hoping to break it and the lock. He pounds on it a few times before giving up.

“It’s too strong,” he tells me. I frown. It seemed every attempt just led to no results at all.

“Let me try,” I instructed him. “Help me up.”

“Are you sure?” He asks. I nod, more certain than I’ve been all night.

Ralphim lets out a small sigh, hopping down from the ledge.

“You can climb on my hands, and I’ll lift you up. Be careful.” He warns me.

“Okay!”

I drop the wooden sword, and Ralphim crouches with his palms outstretched. I step on them as he lifts me into the air. I grab hold of the ledge as he did, and pull myself up to sit on it in front of the window.

I couldn’t see much of the inside, but I did see the hatch he was trying to break before. It didn’t look too difficult; it was clearly old and rusted. I was sure just a few hits would make it loosen at the very least. I took the rock from Ralphim.

“Just be careful-“ he says again, but I raise it high above my head and bring it down on the hatch as hard as I can.

Clank! Clank!

Every sound of the rock hitting the hatch made him flinch, as the sound was significantly louder and more abrasive than Ralphim’s attempts.

“A-Are you sure that’s-”

Clank!

I watch as the hatch dissipates into pieces, falling to the ground.

“There!” I say, a little out of breath from my repetitive attacks. I give the window a push, and it creaks open obediently.

“Go on inside, I can get myself up.” Ralphim instructs me.

I climb inside through the window, allowing myself to dangle precariously for a moment before letting go of the ledge on the inside. Unfortunately, I had misjudged the height and landed right on my behind.

“Ouch…!” I mumbled, but I hurried to get on my feet when I heard Ralphim struggling to climb up as well. It was freezing cold and dusty, which was the first thing I noticed because I could see my breath.

The space was narrow, as the only way to go was up. There was hardly any furniture; only the structural components that kept the tower up, with the window being our only source of light. If there was anything else in the clocktower, I couldn’t see it because of how dark and shadowy the corners were.

Soon after me, Ralphim appears in the window and lands as well, much more gracefully than I did.

His mask was still over his eyes, but from the way he scanned the area with a slow turn of his head, he was just as amazed and curious by the space as I was.

“Let’s go.” Ralphim said, immediately starting towards the stairs. “The fireworks are going to start soon.”

I silently followed him, making sure to stay close as I didn't want to trip over myself. I had to take big steps to get up the winding stone staircase, and tried hard not to look over the railing.

Occasionally, the windows higher up on the tower would illuminate the stairs as we passed. The light gave Ralphim’s hair a cool lunar sheen, and it made him seem less like a boy and more like what I imagine a noble to look like.

I wanted to ask him more questions about himself, but I assumed he would just deflect it or say nothing at all. I was lucky enough for him to invite me along with his plans, so I wasn’t going to push it.

Right when I thought my legs would give out from the stairs, we reached the room where the clock face was on the building.

The translucent glass that made it up let in the most light in that we’ve seen so far. The open area was empty as expected, but there were wooden poles and beams above us that kept the parts of the clocktower working correctly.

“Can we take a break?” I begged Ralphim.

His fox mask turns to me, then at the last bit of the stairwell to the roof.

“Alright,” he replies simply. I collapse into my knees, resisting the urge to lie in the dirty planks below us.

I’ve run around enough tonight to last me a lifetime! I think to myself, feeling the weight of exhaustion on my limbs now that I’ve stopped moving.

Ralphim had wandered over to the clock face, looking out from behind the glass and between the ticking clock arms. Pulling myself to my feet again, I walked over to him to see what he was staring at. I squeezed next to him so we could both look out the same area of the clock face.

The palace was in that direction, atop the hill that overlooked the city. It was lit up like a distant candelabra and cast a warm glow against the cool night sky. There were still moving lights heading towards it as guests were arriving even at this hour.

“Is your family at the palace?” I asked Ralphim. I couldn’t tell what expression he made from behind his mask.

“Yeah.” He responded plainly. I smile to myself.

“So is mine.” I told him. Ralphim turns his attention to me.

“Really?”

“Mhm! My sister is there. She’s a dancer.”

“A dancer?” Ralphim repeats.

“She dances for the nobles, and they give her money.” I explained.

“There aren’t any dancers at the palace.”

“Well, my sister is a dancer,” I tell him with furrowed brows. “But not tonight.”

“What do you mean?”

“Tonight, she’s a princess!”

I throw my hands up and stretch my arms wide to convey the excitement of it to him.

But instead of sharing in my joy, Ralphim turns away from me.

“Okay…”

I knew Ralphim didn’t understand what I was saying, but that was alright with me.

Seralind, my older sister, is in a beautiful dress and laughing with people who have more money than we can dream of, twirling on reflective granite floors without a care, and eating food from all over the world. The one who had died so painfully and fearfully finally had her dream come true.

Even though she is far away from me right now, I couldn’t be happier.

Boom!

I hear the sound first before I see flashes of orange and pink, just out of sight from the clock face.

“It’s starting!” Ralphim cries before racing up the small stairwell to the ledge we saw from the square.

“W-Wait!” I say, trying to keep up with him.

Ralphim had to open a trapdoor that led to the small area within the spire at the very top, right above the clock face.

Boom! Boom!

Shots of a sparkling array of colors illuminate the night sky from the city opposite the palace. Ralphim is already at the stone railing, holding his mask over his forehead and staring with such intense wonder, I didn’t think a boy as quiet as him could be capable of. The bruise on his cheek paled in the colored lights that reflected off of his skin.

My jaw was slack as I watched the open canvas above us being painted with vibrant colors and thunderous sounds. The way the glitter rained down into nothing, to be shortly replaced by another shot of magic into the sky.

I didn’t want to drop my eyes from the fireworks, but the view was almost equally stunning.

Ralphim was right; we could see almost the entire city from this high in the clock tower. The buildings were illuminated like the palace, warm and inviting. The lanterns people had made at the craft stalls were floating above the spires, small glowing orange dots lifting high into the air, like a river of fireflies.

We stand in silence. Ralphim was leaning over the railing, completely still, and I stood close beside him. I imagined that somehow Seralind could see the fireworks too, and wondered if she was thinking about me as well.