The watch that stopped the world
The rain rings against the library windows as Lena waits for her mother. In the lost and found section she sees something strange: a silver pocket watch. The lid shows an engraved fox and a small star. The watch ticks, but the hands go backwards, like a film reversed. Lena leans lower and feels the slight warmth of the metal.
- Can it be looked at? - She asks in a whisper, as if she is afraid of waking something up. The librarian nods and pushes back the glass of the display case, but warns: be careful. Lena sits down at the table and places the watch on her hand. A note hangs on the chain: "Don't measure, create time". On the side are three buttons: red, blue and green. Lena touches the green one and waits, but nothing happens. Then the bookmarks in the books tremble as if they have fragile wings.
Lena closes her eyes and imagines the school playground as the sea. The waves are lines on the tarmac and the goals become lanterns. The thought is simple but heavy, like a pebble in her pocket. The hand of the second hand jumps as if it has just caught an imaginary wave. - What can you do? - she whispers, though no one but her can hear. The blue button slowly begins to glow, like the eye of a small fish. The air thickens; the rustling of pages sounds like the noise before a storm. A quiet tick-tock can be heard, which corresponds to her breathing.
A "Closed" sign already hangs on the door, though the windows are bright. The footsteps in the corridor fall silent and the dust hovers in a streak of light. The watch warms her hand, as if it remembers a pocket from many years ago. The blue button pulses and some whisper really calls out to her. - 'If you know what you want,' comes a voice, perhaps from the lid. Lena gathers the image in her mind, takes a breath and presses....
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