The make-your-own-clock workshop was run out of a local sculptor’s garage, where a variety of useful materials were freely available. That day, each participant had a different idea in mind: one man enchanted his minute hand to stretch out moments of heightened emotion--the better to breathe into, he said. An elderly couple discarded units entirely, conjuring a kjzeki seed that followed a perpetual cycle of wake-bloom-wither-sleep-wake, in tune with ancient rhythms of growth and decay. A pilot’s clock face counted down to the precise instant eleven generations from now when one of her descendants would meet their true beloved. The twins folded slivers of infinity between the numbers, cackling at their mischief.

The sculptor meandered among them, offering guidance and the occasional power tool. He’d made a new clock that morning, one that sang the tides of a distant moon-sea where he dreamed of retiring in a few decades. He could have made a clock to narrow those years, but he loved his work. No time was better spent than helping others revel in theirs.

Thanks to Cohen Shirley and the Motueka Arts Council for the real-life inspiration for this tiny tale!

In other fun news: I have a short story, “Mother Tongue,” in the latest issue of MIT Technology Review (DREAM PUB); I did some delightful interviews with NPR affiliate KVNF and New Zealand’s RNZ; and #1 NYT bestselling author Elizabeth George called House of Liars “Absolutely terrific in every way one wants a book to be terrific,” which knocked my socks right off. I’ve also got a few in-person events coming up in Nelson/Tasman (New Zealand) and Ridgway/Telluride (United States); check my website for details. Hope to see some of you there!