The Clocktower That Waited for a Name

A clocktower stood in a quiet town, its face blank. No numbers, no hands. People mocked it, calling it useless. One day, a child carved a single number — “1” — into its base. The next morning, the tower grew a clock hand pointing exactly at that number. Others carved “2,” “3,” and so on. With every number added, the clock awakened. When at last twelve numbers completed the circle, the tower chimed for the first time in centuries. People realized they had not given the tower a name — the tower had taught them to define things not by what they are, but by what they can become.