Nina finds a strange silver clock in the park and meets Frederick the raccoon. When time freezes, something else starts moving in the bushes.
Nina loved the park best when the grass smelled fresh and the sun made the path shine. She was on the blue swing, pumping her legs higher and higher, when something glittered under the old oak tree.
She hopped off the swing and walked closer. Nestled in the roots was a little silver clock on a chain. It was no ordinary clock. Instead of hands, tiny stars spun round and round on the face.
Nina reached out and touched it.
A voice squeaked from behind the tree. “Careful! That’s a clock of stopping moments!”
Nina spun around. A raccoon peeked out, wearing a bright blue bow on his tail.
Nina blinked. “You can talk?”
“I can,” said the raccoon, stepping into the light. “I’m Frederick. And if you turn the clock the right way, time can stop.”
Nina held the clock very still. “Stop time?”
Frederick nodded and tapped the silver rim with one tiny paw. The stars on the clock flashed once.
At once, everything froze.
The leaves hung motionless in the air. A butterfly stopped with its wings half-open. Even the little fountain nearby went silent, as if the whole park had taken a breath and forgotten to let it out.
Nina stared. Her heart thumped fast. “It worked.”
Frederick’s ears twitched. “Yes. But only if it behaves.”
Before Nina could ask what he meant, a rustle came from the bushes.
Not a breeze.
Not a leaf.
Something was pushing through the thicket, slow and careful, leaving a line of tiny paw prints in the grass.
Nina tightened her fingers around the clock and looked at Frederick. The bushes rustled again, a little closer this time.