By: Liam Hogan.

There’s a hole, in my clockwork heart.

Fill it with enough gold, and I will love you. That’s what I was built for. But the more I love, the quicker the gold is used up. The next coins vanish even faster.

Until the tragic day you run out, my love. Though it always pains me to do so, I will fill my aching void with your warm blood, your quivering flesh, your beating heart.

They don’t last very long either.

Then I’ll sit, patiently waiting for my next customer. And I tell them:

There’s a hole, in my clockwork heart…

© 2026. Liam Hogan

Liam Hogan is an award-winning short story writer, who dabbles in drabbles. Sci-Fi collection: A Short History of the Future (Northodox Press). Details: happyendingnotguaranteed.blogspot.co.uk.

Posted May 27, 2026.