Grenouille #16 - The Clock (from Way Back)

Time, to Grenouille, is like a paper balloon. He can inflate it until a moment seems to last an hour, or he can collapse it so days go by in a flash, as time goes by when we sleep. Perhaps it's his hibernation instinct that allows this, but with sophistication and eduction Grenouille has learned to do this magic on demand, not just once a year like his wild cousins.

And so...

 

And so he can get inside time, and live in it's pocket. He can rearrange it so that Christmas can always be tomorrow, and he can sit among the colored lights and think of presents to open, and eggnog (imagine him drinking eggnog with his drinkin' buddy). This means that Grenouille is never without hope or courage or the calm certainty that tomorrow will bring a picnic on the lawn with champaign and caviar, because he can be whenever, and he has a rich life of memories for his imagination to craft into whatever he needs right now.

And now? Now can be prolonged if it's fine and sunny, or shrunk to smaller than a raisin if the weather is bad.