I was cycling around the town when I noticed Mr. Harper's Clockwork Shop from across the street. I had known him ever since I moved into Sherbetlane Town when I was five. His shop was filled with antique, shiny, brass or copper forged pocket watches, grandfather clocks, cuckoo bird house clocks and more. I cycled across the road when the traffic was held by a red light to greet my old friend.
"Oh, lovely little Lily!" he exclaimed. Then he continued, "My, how you have grown up! How old are you now? Not so little anymore, I bet," he teased.
"I am only 17, Mr. Harper," I chuckled at his remark. We chatted for a little while and Mr. Harper's son, ten-year-old and freckled Jonathan, brought us cakes and tea. Soon, I had decided to leave when Mr. Harper suddenly presented me with a beautiful silver-cased pocket watch. I tried to kindly refuse his gift but he was quite a stubborn but kindhearted old man. I didn't want to bicker with him and so I reluctantly accepted the antique gift.
"That watch might just bring you luck," Mr. Harper greeted me goodbye with those words as I patted on Jonathan's shoulder while exiting the store. Luck? From a pocket watch? Surely he was only joking. I cycled back home after securing the pocket watch in my pants.
As I cycled passing the lake along Keyline Street, I saw some children playing on the children's park by the lake. They were running around and chasing each other when suddenly a little girl tripped on her feet and fell into the lake!
"Oh, my gosh!" I immediately screeched my bicycle to a stop, left it by the road and ran towards the girl. Her friends were crying for help while the girl frantically flailed her arms in effort to stay afloat, gasping for air. Not a second to waste, I dived into the lake and swam towards the girl. She had drifted near the centre of the lake and I could see her flailing arms were starting to slow down.
"No!"I thought to myself. I swam faster and finally reached the girl. I held her limp body close to my chest and tried to keep her head above water as I swam to the edge of the lake. I lay her on the ground and immediately pressed on her chest multiple times to force out the water that had entered her lungs. After a few minutes, the girl coughed up all the lake water and gasped for air. I sighed with relief. I asked for her name and she answered Lucy.
I brought Lucy to the hospital and contacted her parents. Anxiously, I tapped my foot on the floor in the waiting room while the doctor ran tests and checkups on Lucy. Out of the blue, I saw her parents rushing to the hospital. I guessed they were her parents because they wore this worried look. They asked around for a girl named Lily and I raised my right hand. Immediately, the lady engulfed me in a hug and gushed me with thank you's and kisses.
"Honey, don't suffocate the girl," the man, I assumed to be her husband, chuckled at his wife frantic state. We all sat down and the couple explained that they were named Philip and Mary. Soon, the doctor arrived and announced that Lucy was stable and fine but needed some rest and we all could visit her in her room. When Mary saw Lucy, she immediately hugged and kissed the little girl and Philip with relieved and thanked me for my help.
I was about to excuse myself and cycle back home but Mary and Philip wanted to return my deed with something nice. I tried to refuse but they were adamant. Again, like with Mr. Harper, I could never win if I tried to argue with them on how I didn't need a reward because I just did the right thing, so I humbly accepted their offer. I thought they would give me a little gift of some sort but instead they wrote me a cheque! A bank cheque of $1000 was in my hand before I realised it and my mouth was agape with shock. This time I tried really hard to refuse the money but none of them were taking the money back.
And so I cycled home with the cheque in my hand. Still shocked, I looked at the cheque again and again to make sure it was real when I arrived home. I thought to myself, "Maybe it is my lucky day," when I suddenly remembered Mr. Harper's pocket watch! I fished it out from my pocket and opened it to see if it still worked. The watch ticked at a constant rhythm. I remembered what Mr. Harper said as I left the store,
"That watch might just bring you luck." Huh. Weird.
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