**
Uncle Harry Finkle
Take desperate measures when needed.
-Harry Finkle
A short, stocky middle-aged man with a stubbly beard stormed through the shop door, letting it slam behind him. He grasped his hat with both hands, squeezing it so hard his knuckles turned white, then yanked it off his head and started to yell.
“Finkle! Finkle! Where are you, Finkle?” The man’s beady eyes scanned the general store.
Mr. Harry Finkle had recently turned 82 years old. Harry shaved his winter-white whiskers every morning before eating breakfast but never seemed to have enough time to visit the local barber. As a result, his shaggy white mop of hair never got trimmed.
Harry lived in Finkleton his entire life. He’d inherited the general store from his father, who in turn had inherited it from his father. The general store was in the Finkle family since Harry’s great-great-grandfather Howard had built it, many years before.
Howard Finkle once owned most of the land in Finkleton. He wanted to live in a small community but refused to leave his beautiful land. He therefore decided to sell off sections of his property to other farmers. That was how Finkleton was born.
Harry strolled casually from behind a store display and lifted one of his fuzzy eyebrows inquisitively.
“What can I do for you on this lovely day, Mr. Cornerly?” he asked with a warm smile.
Mr. Cornerly raised his voice again. “My crops are on the brink of ruin!” Mr. Cornerly hung his head and sniffed, then wiped his nose with a crumpled handkerchief that he’d removed from the pocket of his trousers. “What I need is advice. I don’t know what to do anymore.”
“I’m sure everything will be just fine, Andrew. You know our weather here in Finkleton. Our crops are the most fruitful and delicious in all of England.” Harry smiled and patted Mr. Cornerly on the shoulder.
Mr. Cornerly finished wiping his nose and shoved the handkerchief back into the pocket of his trousers, then began to fumble with the hat he still held in one hand. He did not say a word and continued to look at the floor.
Harry kept smiling. “I am positive all will be well in a day or so. You worry too much, my friend. Your crops have never failed before, and I don’t expect they will fail now.”
Harry’s voice was encouraging enough to persuade Mr. Cornerly to look up. “I certainly hope you are right, Finkle. I hope you are right.” Mr. Cornerly placed his hat back on top of his head, then turned and stomped out of the store, once again allowing the door to slam behind him.
With no customers in the shop, Harry hung a small, tattered sign in the window that read “Back in 10 minutes.”
Harry walked behind the store counter, where he faced a door. He opened it to reveal a large storage room with three additional doors. Harry went to the third door on the left and fumbled to unlock it with an old skeleton key.
When its latch clicked open, Harry slowly pushed the creaking door forward until he had just enough space to walk through. He stepped into a room that needed cleaning very badly. Cobwebs stretched across the ceiling, and a thick layer of dust coated the floor and the room’s contents. Dust particles floated in the air, dancing in rays of sunshine that streamed through a grimy, high-arched window.
The room was filled with scores of old, dusty hourglasses, all the same size. They sat in rows on long wooden shelves, with five shelves stacked atop each other on every wall. Each hourglass had its own yellowed label on the front, and a string and small protractor attached. The hourglasses were tilted at different angles; not one was entirely upright.
All the strings connected to the hourglasses met at a clock dial in the center of the room where they were woven together. They went through the top of the dial and disappeared through the ceiling.
Harry examined a worn-out string and chuckled. Oh Andrew, you were so right, he thought. The string was intricately intertwined and attached to a small mechanical hourglass labeled “AC-Corn.”
“Don’t you worry,” Harry said to the hourglass. “I will fix you right up, and all will be right as rain. You will see, my friend. You will see.” Harry smiled as he hummed a soft tune.
He unrolled and measured some string from a ball that had been lying on a dusty old desk. Next to the string sat a pair of shears, a protractor and a well-used leather journal.
Harry’s fragile old hands worked carefully, beginning the task of replacing the brittle piece of string with a new one. The first step was to tie one end of the new string to the side of the hourglass. This had to be done before he could remove the worn-out strand.
“Oh, my dear friends,” Harry said to all the hourglasses. “Soon my family will come to take care of you and things like this won’t happen. My brain is getting tired and I regrettably forget many important tasks.” Harry frowned, concentrating on the string.
“They haven’t been here to visit in ages. We must get everything in tip-top shape for them. We shall begin first thing in the morning.” Harry smiled, then resumed humming as he worked.
Suddenly Harry’s hands began to tremble. Startled, he gently set the other end of the string down in front of the hourglass and took a slow, deep breath. He grabbed his chest and spoke out loud in a raspy voice.
“No. Not now. There is still too much to do. I need more time,” Harry begged. “I need more time.”
Harry slowly turned to his left. Carefully holding his pained body upright, he grabbed a wooden chair for support before proceeding. Harry took small steps, shuffling toward an hourglass perched on a small shelf away from all the others. The writing on its label read “WF.”
Harry cautiously unhooked the string from the hourglass, but the abrupt pain in his chest persisted and started to burn. He staggered back, accidentally pulling the string and snapping it in two as he fell to the floor.
He glanced up at the hourglass. It had been accidentally flipped upside down and was tilted on its quarter. The broken string dangled along the side of the hourglass frame.
“I am sorry,” Harry whispered.
Far away in the town of Bath, storm clouds began to move through the sky at a rapid pace, hiding the sun from view.
Rain pelted the earth, falling as exceptionally large drops. Water appeared almost instantly, filling roadways and flowing through town like an angry stream. Thunder roared through the sky, and fierce lightning cracked like a whip against the whistling winds.
Just on the outside of town was a two-story cottage on top of a hill. Lightning struck the cottage relentlessly until it became engulfed in a blazing fire.
The instant the fire appeared, the rain slowed, and then stopped. The clouds drifted apart and dissipated. Sunshine once again filled the sky.
Without the rain to hold them back, the flames feasted upon the house. It promptly burned to the ground.