Episode 2 – The Missing Memory

Serial Title: The Clockmaker’s Secret

Bayu woke up earlier than usual.

Not because he wanted to.

But because something felt… off.

The morning air was the same—cool, quiet, filled with distant roosters and rustling leaves. Sunlight slipped through the window just like it always did.

Everything looked normal.

Too normal.

Bayu sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. For a moment, he stayed still, listening.

No ticking.

And somehow, that made it worse.

---

He turned toward the window.

Something about it felt… wrong.

He couldn’t explain why.

Only that it did.

---

In the kitchen, his mother was already preparing breakfast.

“You’re up early,” she said with a gentle smile.

Bayu nodded and sat down.

For a few seconds, he just watched her.

There it was again.

That feeling.

Something wasn’t right.

“Mom… do you remember the big tree outside?” he asked.

She paused.

“What tree?”

Bayu blinked. “The one near the yard. It’s always been there.”

She frowned slightly, then shook her head.

“We’ve never had a big tree there, Bayu.”

His stomach dropped.

“That’s not true,” he said quickly. “It’s been there since I was little.”

His mother chuckled softly. “You must’ve dreamed it.”

Bayu didn’t smile.

---

Later that morning, he found Ika near the narrow path by the rice fields.

She waved as soon as she saw him.

“Hey. You look like you didn’t sleep.”

“Yeah… something like that.”

He studied her face carefully.

Everything looked normal.

“Hey, Ika,” he said, trying to sound casual. “Do you remember last week?”

She tilted her head. “What about it?”

“The vase,” Bayu said. “At your house. I broke it.”

Ika blinked.

Then she laughed.

“You? Break something?”

Bayu’s chest tightened. “Ika, I’m serious.”

“So am I,” she said, still smiling. “You’re always careful. My mom even says you’re the only one she trusts around fragile things.”

That was wrong.

Completely wrong.

Bayu took a small step back.

“No… that’s not what happened.”

Ika’s smile faded slightly. “Are you okay?”

He didn’t answer.

---

The voice returned that afternoon.

Soft.

Patient.

“You can fix it.”

Bayu froze.

“You saw it,” the voice continued. “You know it works.”

He clenched his fists.

“No… something’s wrong.”

A pause.

Then—

“Exactly.”

The word lingered.

“So fix it.”

“I can’t,” Bayu whispered.

Silence.

Then, closer this time—

“Of course you can.”

---

By the time the sun began to set, Bayu was already standing in front of the clock shop.

The door was slightly open.

He didn’t remember leaving it that way.

He pushed it gently.

The ticking returned.

Not louder.

But heavier.

Like it was pressing against him.

Pak Surya stood behind the counter, exactly where he had been before.

“You came back,” the old man said.

Bayu stepped inside. “Something changed.”

Pak Surya nodded. “Of course it did.”

“You didn’t tell me,” Bayu said, his voice tight. “Things are different. People remember things wrong.”

The old man’s expression didn’t shift.

“Memory is a delicate thing,” he said. “So is time.”

Bayu swallowed. “Can I use it again?”

Silence stretched between them.

Then—

“You already decided before you walked in,” Pak Surya replied.

Bayu didn’t argue.

---

The clock felt heavier this time.

Or maybe his hands were.

He didn’t hesitate.

He turned the key.

---

The world slipped.

Again.

---

This time, Bayu didn’t wander.

Didn’t look around.

Didn’t think.

He went straight to Ika’s house.

The vase was there.

Unbroken.

Exactly where it should be.

“Hey!” Ika called from inside. “You’re early.”

“Yeah… just visiting.”

Bayu stepped closer to the table.

The vase stood still.

Perfect.

Too perfect.

He reached out—

Then stopped.

Something about it felt wrong.

Like it didn’t belong.

Like it had never been broken.

Like it had never mattered.

Bayu slowly pulled his hand back.

“I don’t need to fix this,” he muttered.

---

Everything snapped.

---

The shop.

The ticking.

Pak Surya.

---

“Done already?” the old man asked.

Bayu nodded slowly. “I didn’t change anything.”

Pak Surya smiled faintly.

“We’ll see.”

---

That evening, Bayu found Ika again.

Relief hit him immediately.

“Hey,” he said. “You remember me, right?”

Ika frowned. “Of course I do.”

Bayu let out a breath.

“Good.”

A pause.

Then—

“You remember the vase?”

Ika’s expression shifted.

“What vase?”

Bayu’s heart skipped.

“At your house. The one on the table.”

She shook her head slowly.

“We don’t have a vase.”

Silence.

“No… that’s not possible,” Bayu whispered.

Ika crossed her arms. “Bayu, what’s going on with you?”

He stared at her.

Really stared.

Her face.

Her voice.

Her presence.

Familiar.

But not the same.

---

That night, Bayu stood in front of the mirror in his room.

He looked at himself for a long time.

Trying to see it.

Trying to find it.

Whatever had changed.

He couldn’t.

But he felt it.

Something missing.

Not outside.

Inside.

---

The room felt heavier.

Darker.

And for a brief moment—

he heard it.

A ticking sound.

Not from the shop.

Not from outside.

But from somewhere much closer.

Inside him.

---

Far away, inside the quiet clock shop, one of the clocks ticked slightly out of rhythm.

Pak Surya adjusted it carefully.

“Not yet,” he murmured.

Then, almost to himself—

“Soon.”

---

To Be Continued to Episode 3 – The Unfamiliar Self

*

Serial: The Clockmaker’s Secret

Episode 1 – The Curious Visitor
Episode 2 – The Missing Memory
Episode 3 – The Unfamiliar Self
Episode 4 – The Unraveling Village
Episode 5 – The Price of Time
Episode 6 – The Choice That Remains (THE END)

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