I was in tears through the second half of "Still Life (A Sexagesimal Fairy Tale)" by Ian Tregillis, available to read online at Apex magazine. This fantasy story takes place in a town that exists outside of time.
It had slipped into the chasm between tick and tock, to land in its own instantaneous eternity. And so its residents occupied their endless moment with pageants and festivals and reveled in century-long masques, filled forever with decadent delights. They picnicked in the botanical gardens, made love in scented boudoirs, danced through their eternal twilight. And they disregarded the fog that shrouded their city with soft grey light.
And Time didn't care. Time left the city alone, except for one woman, the woman Time loves. But because Time cared for her, adored her, she was the only person in the town to age. She was also unique in that she was a clockmaker, although her timepieces were not always conventional. She is the only...