Once upon a time there was a girl named Tonya. She was nine years old, and at first glance, Tonya was no different from other girls. But only at first glance.
First of all, while all her peers played with dolls, at least with soft toys, Tonya was not interested in all this at all. She loved... mechanical toys, and showed great interest in them. As a matter of fact, Tonya could not imagine her life without them.
Tony always had a lot of such toys at home. And no wonder, because Tony's grandfather was the main watchmaker of the city, and he never spared time to make another toy for his favorite granddaughter.
Tonya reciprocated, and grew up to be a true grandfather's granddaughter. When she was very small and cried because of something, only a mechanical merry-go-round - the first gift of her beloved grandfather - could calm her down. Then she had many more such toys, but the merry-go-round was the most favorite of them all. Also, Tonya was sure that her grandfather was not only a clockmaker, but also a real wizard.
Her second difference was much sadder: Tonya was always sick. She didn't get worse, but she was rarely relieved. Tonya had been sickly for as long as she could remember, and for a while she thought she'd been that way since birth. But no - her mother and grandparents said that wasn't true.
- You were just a normal, fun-loving kid," Mom said with a smile.
- When did you start getting sick? - Tonya asked.
Mom grimaced.
- You were three years old. Right after your birthday you started coughing, and at first I didn't notice it. I thought it was just a cold. All kids get colds. Besides, you were born in winter. But you didn't get better, so I took you to the doctors. But they all said the same thing:
- The girl has a common cold, you just have to wait it out.
- Children with the flu and pneumonia don't behave the same way.
I had the flu myself, and I knew they were right: people with the flu don't walk, and certainly don't run, and most of the day they lie down, at most, sit. Plus, almost everyone has a high fever. You were behaving as usual, but your cough wasn't going away.
Tonya herself knew the continuation of the story. She grew up, but her condition remained the same. And neither her family nor the doctors could tell her what the cause was. And no one could even imagine what would help Tonya get better.
***
One day, coming to school, Tonya saw an ad.
DRAWING COMPETITION
THE PRIZE IS A TRIP TO THE MUSEUM OF MECHANICAL TOYS.
Tonya has always loved to draw, and since the contest had just started, she decided to participate.
Tonya did not have to think long about what to draw: she drew a wind-up toy - a town with a chiming clock that set the whole town in motion.
Two months later, the results came in. Tonya won first place, and on the weekend she had to go to the museum. Strangely enough, she was not sick that day.
The toys in the museum were beautiful, but most of them were better than the ones Tonya had: frogs, dogs, birds, monkeys, some other animals... The only one of this variety that interested Tonya in any way was a train, although she had almost the same one at home. And suddenly...
What Tonya saw almost made her fall over. Because in the hall stood... her town! The very one she had sent to the exhibition!
Staring at the toy, Tonya didn't notice that the museum curator - an elderly blonde woman in a dark dress, looking like a fox - approached her.
- Do you like the town, Tonya? - The caretaker asked me sweetly, "I can give it to you as a gift.
- How do you know my name is Tonya? - she asked incredulously.
- I know a lot of things," the caretaker chuckled, looking at Tonya strangely, "And I also know that you haven't been able to get well for years. And I could help you with that.
- How? - was all Tonya could say.
The caretaker smiled even wider.
- If you get this township, when you wind up those chimes, they'll add healthy hours, months, ... and maybe even years to your life.
- Why add to it? - Tonya was wary.
- Because they'll take them from... someone else. Any other person, you don't even know them... So, do you agree?
- N-no... I don't agree! - Tonya screamed in terror and ran away. When she got to a safe distance, she shouted to the caretaker:
- I don't need your town! My grandfather can do better than this!
- What do you mean, you don't need it? - A familiar voice sounded, and Tonya opened her eyes.
It turned out that since she was ill, she couldn't go on the excursion, and they gave her a town from her drawing. But strangely enough, Tonya hasn't been sick since then. And not in her dreams, but in real life.
The end