seeing red

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+title = "Seeing Red"
+
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+
+It was a warm summer evening.
+I was heading back home from a long walk around the neighbourhood.
+
+As I was passing by the old playground down the street, I noticed a peculiar guy in a hoodie, sitting on the bench.
+
+He was a calico, with a really ragtag sense of fashion.
+He was wearing raspberry-coloured glasses, and had two neon-blue stripes under his left eye.
+His hoodie was rainbow-coloured, with the rainbow mashed up into pieces and rearranged across the fabric.
+
+He seemed to recognise me instantly, and waved at me.
+
+--- Oii, Vector? --- he said, in a high-pitched voice.\
+--- Yeah.
+I don't think we've met before...?\
+--- The name's Red. --- he said, standing up from the bench.\
+--- Red, huh... I think I vaguely remember something.\
+--- I've been part-timin' at your father's workshop.\
+--- Ohh, right! I remember Dad mentioning you --- I smiled. ---
+Nice to meet you.\
+--- You too. --- he smiled back.
+
+--- So, what brings you here? --- I said.\
+--- Ah, you see, your father had me come to you.
+Doin' a little a technical checkup, haha.\
+--- Hmmm.
+
+--- You see, yesterday we were repairing a real vintage beauty, and this fell out of the engine...
+
+He reached his paw into the pocket of his hoodie, and pulled out a small cast brass gearwheel, with rubies embedded inside the root circle.
+
+--- A... gearwheel?
+Seems pretty normal.\
+--- Yeah. But has a strange look to it, doesn't it?
+It's nothin' like the other gears from the machine.\
+--- Have you tried putting it back in?\
+--- I tell you, it doesn't fit anywhere!
+It's got strange-looking teeth.
+
+I took a closer look at the gearwheel's shape.
+
+--- Huh.\
+--- Yeah, right?
+
+--- Either way, your old man wants you to have it! --- said Red, throwing the gear in my direction. ---
+He said somethin' about mementos, remembering him, yadda yadda.\
+--- Yeah, tell him I said thanks. --- I said, catching the gear in mid-air.
+
+--- Anyways, see you around! --- he said, waving.
+--- I gotta go, it's getting late.
+Last train's soon.
+
+I waved him goodbye, and went back home.
+
+---
+
+So.\
+Brass gear.\
+With rubies embedded inside.
+
+It looked more like a souvenir than anything useful, but it was also really well-made.
+Nothing like a toy.
+Upon closer inspection, I noticed some signs of wear.
+Almost as if it was a real gear, doing real gear work in a machine.
+
+Question is, why did it have rubies in it?
+Wouldn't that be like... really expensive, and also really useless?
+
+That, I knew Trickle would know, but I needed to head back home for the night.
+
+---
+
+The next day after work, I went to visit Trickle in their {-cave-} house.
+
+--- Yo, Tricks!
+I brought you something cool. --- I said, entering their room, holding the gear between my fingers, making a peace gesture.\
+--- A gearwheel...?\
+--- Yeah, but look closely.\
+--- Why does it have rubies embedded inside?\
+--- Hell if I know.
+Dad relayed it to me through his part-timer.
+Told me to treat it as a mementos, or something.\
+--- Hold on.
+
+Trickle had a closer look at the gear.
+They seemed to remember something.
+
+--- Hmm, I vaguely remember seeing a cuckoo clock back at the Weather Station.{% Trickle works from home. %}\
+--- What does that have to do with anything?\
+--- It was a really nice looking clock!
+But, even after I inserted a fresh pair of batteries into it, it didn't budge.\
+--- A broken clock, you say.\
+--- One day, I asked the manager if I could have a look at it, to see if I could fix it, but there was a missing part...
+A gearwheel, if I recall.
+No wonder it didn't work.\
+--- And what makes you think this gear might fit?\
+--- You see, I _tried_ ordering a replacement for it, but couldn't find any compatible-looking designs.
+The gears in that clock were totally weird, I tell you.\
+--- Alright, my point still stands.\
+--- I dunno, it's _the gut feeling_, Vector.
+Tells me I might be onto something.\
+--- You have an incredible trust in your gut, given how much cup ramen you consume daily --- I said, and saw Trickle make an angry face.
+--- So, wanna visit the Station?\
+--- You bet---and waste hours getting there!\
+--- Come on, you haven't been there in months.
+Everyone would be happy to see you.\
+--- You sure you don't want to bring the clock to me?\
+--- No.\
+--- Ugh, sure.
+But you're treating me to a real ramen in exchange!\
+--- If that's the price I gotta pay for finding out what this weird gear is...
+
+---
+
+The next day, I got up, did my morning routine, and was ready to set off.
+
+--- Amber, hurry up! I'm leaving.\
+--- Oh come on, at least let me finish combing my hair!\
+--- Can't you do it any faster? Trickle's waiting.\
+--- Ooh, Tricksy's coming?\
+--- Yeah. And stop calling them that.
+
+Amber rushed out onto the porch, and put her shoes on.
+We set off to pick up the lop.
+
+Two houses later, I _knock knock_ on the door.
+
+--- Coming!
+
+Trickle opened the front door, all geared up to go.
+
+--- Look who's _going_ to _work_ today! --- Amber said smugly.\
+--- Shut up, you know I don't like leaving my lab!
+I'm only coming because Vector promised to treat me to a bowl of ramen later.\
+--- I see, I see. Bribed you have been, Vector!\
+--- As if.
+It's payment for today's work. --- I said.\
+--- Work, hmmm? You guys are _totally_ up to no good! --- said Amber.\
+--- We'll see about that.
+
+We boarded the train, and watched the views of the city unfold.
+Bridges on rivers, roads under skyscrapers, all set atop a beautiful sunrise.
+
+`Next station: Institute of Meteorology`
+
+We got off the train, and split off towards our respective departments.
+
+Trickle and I, towards the Observation Tower.
+We boarded the elevator to the top, and soon found ourselves atop the highest building in the complex.
+Watching the sprawling view of the city, through the tower's wide windows.
+
+Trickle took me to the manager's room to inspect the broken cuckoo clock.
+
+--- Hey Boss, can I take this to the lab for a second?
+I've got a little idea on how to fix it. --- Trickle told the manager. The manager let out a deep sigh.\
+--- Think I've heard that before, but sure... Just don't forget to give it back once you're done.
+
+That went easier than I expected.
+We went to the lab, and Trickle put the clock on a free workbench.
+
+They unscrewed the back cover.
+Inside were a bunch of gears scattered around in an unorderly fashion.
+
+--- The results of my last attempt... --- said Trickle.\
+--- Doesn't look very good. --- I responded.\
+--- Good thing I took a bunch of photos before taking it apart. Can I have the gear?
+
+I passed them the mysterious gearwheel, and they tried to fit it with the other gears.
+It looked promising.
+
+--- Let me look for the pictures. --- they took out their phone and searched for "cuckoo clock" in the photo gallery.
+
+Trickle is a real nerd.
+They spend lots of time tagging their photos.
+Most of the effort goes to waste, but I'll admit it's invaluable in situations like this one.
+
+--- Found it!
+
+They started assembling the mechanism back together, until they got to the missing part.
+
+--- So, moment of truth...
+
+The gear fit into the mechanism perfectly.
+
+At this moment, I had a strange feeling something was about to go wrong.
+I mean, this couldn't be it, right?
+The weird-looking gear with rubies embedded inside, it couldn't possibly fit in _that_ spot?
+
+But even the sheen of the brass looked right.
+It looked like it belonged.
+
+As Trickle finished up the reassembly, they put a pair of AA batteries into the slot on the back.
+
+Moment of truth.\
+We set the hour, and flipped the switch.
+
+It worked.
+
+The hands started moving.\
+The clock was working.
+
+--- Alright, but that's only part of the job.
+We still gotta see if the cuckoo goes _goo-ko!_ --- Trickle said, mimicking a cuckoo's voice almost perfectly.
+
+We waited a couple minutes for the minute hand to reach 12 o'clock.
+But, to my surprise, there was no cuckoo at all!
+
+Instead, a melody started playing.
+
+`<audio src="/static/sound/waltz_for_blue.flac" controls></audio>`{=html}
+
+--- There's no cuckoo? --- I asked.\
+--- Ha ha ha, got you! You didn't pay close enough attention to notice, but there was a music box inside all along.
+No cuckoo.\
+--- ...Okay, cool.
+We gotta give it back to the manager.
+
+We exited out the lab door, into the manager's office.
+
+--- Hey Boss, look what I've got! --- said Trickle.\
+--- Oh, so you did manage to fix it?
+Good, good.\
+--- Huuuh, not even a word of praise?\
+--- Well, it's not an item I particularly cared about.
+I'm not even sure what it was doing here, to be honest.\
+--- What do you mean? --- I asked.\
+--- Must've belonged to the one before me.
+It's been here as long as I remember.\
+--- Huh. --- I said, making a confused face.\
+--- Well either way, it's fixed, so that's nice.
+Will help me keep track of time, in addition to being a nice decoration. --- the manager said.
+--- Did you hear the cuckoo's song?\
+--- Yeah, and it's not a cuckoo at all!
+It has a music box inside. --- I said.\
+--- Oh, huh.
+Wonder what tunes it'll play, then.
+
+--- So... that's that!
+Thank you for lending us the clock. --- said Trickle. --- Gotta get back to work now.
+
+And we left the room.
+But as we were walking down the corridor, I realised something.
+
+--- Hey Trickle, you recall that moment we were exiting the lab?\
+--- Yeah?\
+--- I don't know what it was but... something seemed off about that.\
+--- Did it?
+
+I recalled the exact sequence of events as we exited the lab.
+We opened the door, and ended up _directly_ at the boss's office.
+
+I felt a chill coming down my spine.
+
+--- Trickle.\
+--- What is it?\
+--- We exited the lab.\
+--- Uh-huh.\
+--- And ended up straight in the manager's office.\
+--- ...Oh.
+
+--- Wait, are you sure you're right about that?
+Did we really not take a walk down the corridor? --- said Trickle.\
+--- I don't... think so?
+Or maybe I'm imagining things?
+
+--- I'm not sure at this point --- I said. --- Let's get back to work.\
+--- Remember about your promise!
+Ramen, brother!