I think of this chapter as the moment when the quiet between them begins to fill with more than just curiosity. There’s laughter, sure—but also the first hints of something unsteady beneath it. The dent in the workbench becomes a kind of proof: not everything resets, not even the smallest things.
Lira tests him here. Tests the clocks, too. The way she says, “Old as the hills,” and the way he can’t help but smile, even as he frowns. These are the small cracks that become something larger—moments that don’t fade, no matter how many times the key turns.
Chapter 4: Held in the Hinge is live. Enjoy.
—Eric