The Wishing Game

In another excerpt from Jack’s first book, The House on Clock Island, Astrid and her brother, Max, travel to the house on Clock Island. Max is apprehensive, but Astrid is determined to meet the Mastermind and rings the front doorbell. A mechanical voice greets them and asks them a riddle: “What can’t be touched, tasted, or held but can be broken?” (69) After a moment, Astrid figures out that the answer is “a promise,” and the voice welcomes them to the Clock.

Hugo stands, watching the boats and ferries come and go, as Jack organizes everything for his contest in the house. As a known relative of Jack’s, Hugo receives many phone calls, texts, and requests for interviews about the new book, which he declines.

He contemplates their relationship, specifically how he, at age 21, came to work for Jack as his illustrator after winning Jack’s art competition. At the time, he flew to Clock Island and acted in a way he now considers brash and idiotic but back then considered the hallmark of being a “serious artist.” Hugo requested clear directions on how to make Jack’s book covers, but Jack instead gave him free reign and told him to have fun.