Missing mornings [Gus x Nagami]

It was a slow day at 'Mementos.' I was lounging back in my chair, a cloth was draped over my face as I dozed off a little bit. There wasn't a lot of people in Junction who needed my services to be frank. Clocks, especially antique clocks were a bit of a niche. Usually, people from places that still used the technology didn't have enough money to really have anything, and anybody who was anybody usually came from somewhere that was too high tech to bother with clockwork anymore. However, there were loyal customers that frequented back to repair their trusty timepieces and that satisfaction was enough to keep me going.

Suddenly I was disturbed by the announcement of a customer. I removed the drape over my eyes and stood up. "Welcome to Mementos, what can I help you with today?" I say, as my head moved from looking forward to tracing upwards until I found the man's face. He seemed to know who I was since he referred to me as clocksmith but I don't remember seeing him before. I don't get many referrals but it would please me to know that word of my work could've spread. He was wearing strange garments, nothing like what people around here usually were seen sporting. Maybe it was a cultural thing? Either way business was always welcome and I looked expectantly at him for his request.

"Yeah..." I say slowly in response to his last question. Why was he talking in riddles? Previous experience shows that I'm not very good at them. Either way for one reason or another he didn't seem to want to divulge the exact reason for his visit.

"Do you have a repair? Like a clock? Watch? Other mechanical apparatus?" I ask, listing off the possibilities. All I know is that this was a strange customer, but you had to be accustomed to strange things to set up shop in Junction. I once had to fulfill a request from someone without the ability to speak, I think I had to go back and forth with him for half an hour just to figure out what the problem was. However, this was the first time that someone approached me in this manner and it was slightly off putting. But what I've come to learn is that the ones who seem the most strange have the most interesting items that need my expertise.

I take the alarm clock from the man and set it down in front of me. For all the beating around the bush, it seemed like a simple enough job. "Sure thing I can do that for you," I say as I grab my goggles from the side of my work table and put it on. I immediately begin to take apart the old alarm clock, being careful not to handle anything too rough. After some initial work, I put down my screwdriver and tweezers. Grabbing one of the books from under the desk I begin to rifle through it, trying to find the model and schematics of the clock. "Do you know what's wrong with it? Are the hands not moving? Maybe the alarm isn't sounding at the set time?" I asked, still flipping through the pages. At this point as long as I found the model number I could almost recall the layout of the internals from memory. Out of all the items that come into the shop, old alarm clocks are the most common as they were widely used and were not a luxury item.

The issue seemed simple enough. Sounded like a regular jam... However, the customer was anything but. Why did he keep speaking in riddles and in that strange tone? I for one wasn't a fan, but I didn't want to be disrespectful. Maybe that's just the way his people talked? Either way, a customer was a customer. I stop on a page, the illustration looked like the piece in front of me. Double checking the schematics with what I saw I confirmed my hypothesis. Grabbing a small flashlight I put on my goggles and began inspecting the inner workings.

"Jesus man, these parts look old as hell. No wonder it stopped working, you should probably do some maintenance or bring it to a professional once in a while." I explain, getting to work removing the parts of the alarm clock. I glanced at him while I did my repairs,"So where you from mister?"

"Oh you want to stay? Usually, people just drop their items off here and browse the rest of the Mega Mall." I say, still concentrated on the alarm clock. What was he talking about? He came from a dream but the dream is over. Is that another riddle? There's no way it could mean anything else... right? Either way, there was no point thinking about it right now. As I finished disassembling the clock I began sifting through the gears and cogs, seeing which ones could be maintained and which ones could be replaced. For someone who lived in the Top Ward he seemed to have a strange attachment for this clock. I would've expected an antique watch or pendant but it was nice seeing that even wealthier people still had an appreciation for the small things.

Well since all I could get out of him were allusions I might as well play along. "So what kind of dream was it? Was it a good dream?" I ask, sorting through the pieces.

"Yep, it seems that due to general disrepair the clock has stopped working. I'm gonna have to take the whole thing apart, replace a few pieces, give the rest of them a good bit of maintenance and your clock should be good as new." I say, a bit pleased that someone was interested in my work. Taking note which gears were in need of replacement I refer back to the schematic, "An A-10, C-5, and B-4..." I mumble as I go around the shop collecting the parts I needed.

After coming back to the counter with a handful of pieces I get to work on the old ones. At this point, I had conceded to the wordplay that the strange customer was speaking in. "Well then Mister, which do you think is worse, having only bad dreams or not being able to dream at all?" He would probably just think it's my bid at clever wordplay but there was some genuine meaning behind the question.

"Well, you don't really let it happen, it just does. There is a loneliness to it, like some sort of void whenever you close your eyes..." I say, trailing off as I continued to work. With the parts that could be salvaged I took out a liquid solution, it was a light acid that would clean away all the brine and crust on the surface. Dabbing a little on a piece of cloth I began to carefully rub down each piece. As they were polished one by one and placed on the counter they appeared almost brand new. I also wiped down the clock's frame while I was at it, giving it a nice sheen as if it was its first day out of the factory.

"Either way, no matter if you dream or not what I feel is most important is the present. Being able to observe and understand each waking moment is a blessing in itself" I tell him, laying out all the new and refurbished pieces in front of me. It was always a sight to behold, every component laid out in front of you before reassembly.