The alarm on the wall read 24:01:12 even though the numbers should have rolled over long ago. Time had a way of grieving in this part of the city—pausing at strange hours, staining ordinary days with small ghosts. Mara had learned to read the glitches like weather: when the numbers hung, rain followed; when they flickered, people left without finishing sentences.
: Deep crimson ( #8B0000 ), frosted lavender ( #E6E6FA ), and charcoal grey.