The Secret of the Bell Tower

Many long years had passed since someone last visited the Bell Tower.

A man stood at its base with a paper clip in hand and a keen look in his eye - for it was he who planned to enter.

The Bell Tower was a 26 storey brutalist architectural marvel with nothing inside except wide stone steps that spiralled evenly to its peak.

The Bell Tower was secured with a black iron double doorway, the locks of which were seldom used, if at all in this century.

And the Bell Tower harboured up above an item of great cultural, monetary and academic significance. Too great in fact for some to let alone for long, once the word was out.

It was discovered that a device forgotten to time was abandoned atop an old Bell Tower. The discovery was theorised a year prior by prominent campanologist, “X”, and it was he who stood before the black iron double doorway.

He fiddled with the paper clip to form a miniature Shepard’s crook - a technique he learned recently while visiting a webpage that described step-by-step on how to break into old bell towers. X found this very useful and convenient.

He was not one to normally break and enter, or commit any other misdemeanour, but he was desperate to lay eyes on what could be hidden above.

It was only a theory after all - if what he sought would even be found aloft in the bell chamber was anyone’s guess. Few knew of what lay in wait at all.

Before he left his apartment that morning he considered his attire and chose a long trench coat to seem less suspicious - and approaching the black iron double doorway at midday meant less foot traffic…

…or so he thought.

A sportswear-clad passerby walking her small curly-haired poodle down the street cast a curious glance at his back.

Catching her vibrant green headband through the corner of his eye, X swiftly spun to face her with his back to the doorway and his hands behind him.

He gave a wry smile before finding something interesting on his shoe.

The woman smiled back dubiously then plucked the poodle from the ground and picked up her feet before rounding the corner in haste.

X continued his pursuit of the lock by placing the moulded paper clip through the keyhole and wiggling until something made sense. He tried the handle and gasped!!

It was already open.

In truth, no one ever locked the black iron double doorway of the Bell Tower because no one ever wanted to enter - until now.

X couldn’t believe his luck, his chest ballooned with excitement as he clutched at the handle and yanked it open.

“Wait!”, commanded a voice nearby, “You can’t enter there, Sir. Step away or I may be forced to detain you. Step away!”

It was an Officer of the law in a navy blue uniform and black coloured cap embroidered with an emblem of police. He usually patrolled the street alone and his day had been dull but he was always vigilant.

“I say! Step away from the black iron double doorway!”, the Officer repeated.

X released his hand with reluctance and spun to face the Officer with a smile.

“Come now, Officer, I meant no harm and I won’t be long. Please let me enter?”, pleaded X.

“Can’t happen… wait, now why are you looking to enter anyway?”

The Officer was by the book but in the moment curiosity got the better of him - no one ever cared about the Bell Tower.

Meanwhile, the sportswear-clad woman and her poodle hadn’t gone anywhere. They were both peering over from around the corner having noticed the Officer approach the man.

The Officer observed as the man’s eyes lit with glee for the Officer was about to find out exactly why one would enter the Bell Tower.

“Ever heard of a tocsin bell?”, said X.

“Toxin?”, replied the Officer, eyebrow raised.

“Yes! But t o c s i n. Tocsin.”, his smile broadened.

“Never heard of such…”

Too eager to wait, X burst like a water balloon and began spouting as much as he knew as quickly as possible. His words were almost indiscernible.

“They’re exceedingly rare, well some are.. the thing is that ‘tocsin’ is not in fact a type of bell but a type of sound a bell makes. These bells are stationed at places of community significance, like ah a town hall or aaah a church. Then then then the bell ringers would toll the bell to signify an event of importance, like a outbreak of war or a merging of families and so on. They can be heard for MILES and they are greatly impor…”

X stopped as the Officer held up his hand.

“I see, and you’ve found one of these toxic bells then?”

“Yes,” replied X straightening his jacket and raising his chin, “I believe so anyway.”

“Up there?”, pointed the Officer.

X nodded.

“And.. if it’s up there.. would you… ring it?”

X was set aback by his question, but honest to the end he replied, “Oh aah, yes. Yes I would.”

“Ok.”, the Officer adjusted his cap and tapped his chin with his thumb, “Lead the way, good Sir. I gotta see this.”

“Oh! Yes Officer!!”, X replied, his excitement renewed.

They both shuffled through the black iron double doorway in search of the truth, together.

And close behind the sportswear-clad woman and her poodle followed the two of them in.

She was keen to know herself, having heard all that was said, if indeed the man had discovered the resting place of a hidden tocsin bell…

And so it was that they three knew The Secret of the Bell Tower.