The Time Warehouse Door

This flow traces Momo's decisive use of the hour-lily to shut the cold store and stop the Gray Men from replenishing their cigars.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Hidden Entrance

A Hidden Entrance Beneath the Housing Development Momo follows the last Gray Man through a fenced construction site and down a pipe into underground passages. In the pit she recognizes Salvatore, frozen in a pose that seems to direct her toward the pipe. The route takes her below the identical housing blocks that embody the city's time-saving ideal. The thieves' hidden store lies beneath the world they have helped reshape.

The Open Cold Store

The Open Cold Store Stolen Flowers Preserved Momo finds the surviving Gray Men gathered near a massive steel door, beyond which cold air preserves countless hour-lilies. The agents debate their dwindling numbers and the danger that the flowers may thaw. The stolen time is tangible at last: each flower represents an hour removed from a human heart. Momo can see what the bank has hidden, but the door and the agents block the way to releasing it.

A Message to Shut It

A Message to Shut It Cassiopeia's Instruction Cassiopeia tells Momo to shut the cold-store door and use the hour-lily. Momo doubts her strength, but the Tortoise insists that the flower will let her move it. Cassiopeia's certainty gives Momo a practical course of action when direct confrontation would be hopeless. Momo has to trust what her companion knows and act while the agents remain distracted.

The Door Closes

The Door Closes A Small Act Changes the Fight Momo crawls past the Gray Men's legs, holds the hour-lily between her teeth, and touches it to the open door as she pushes. The door swings shut and clangs through the underground chamber. The action cuts the agents off from their store of fresh cigars. Momo's size and patience let her alter the course of the battle without being noticed until it is too late.

The Flowers Released

The Flowers Released The Stolen Hours Return Momo opens the store after the Gray Men disappear. The thawing hour-lilies rise from their shelves and swirl around her, carrying stolen time back toward the hearts of their owners. Her one flower loses its final petal as the others are freed. The return of the blossoms ends the theft and permits time, and the world, to resume.

near the end of Momo's chase

moments after Momo reaches the underground chamber

during the Gray Men's meeting at the store

during Momo's crawl beneath the conference table

immediately after the last Gray Man vanishes