This is the first part of a small experiment composed of two pieces. The other piece however will be posted when the time is right. So, here goes nothing…
A slight squeaking sound broke the silence in the empty room. He stopped in the center of the room and faced the only wall that had an ornament hanging on it. It was a vast room empty of any items, except for a clock hanging on one of its walls. The clock had a circular black frame surrounding a yellow background on which funny looking black numbers stood, in what looked like assumed dancing positions. A child's clock.
The clock read 8 am. Sunlight had just broken into the empty room through a small window on the wall opposing the clock He sat in patience watching the clock. He had just started watching time.
The next morning he woke up as early as he had woken up the previous day, washed up had his breakfast and made his way to the room where the clock hung. He entered, faced the clock, and started observing seconds push one another out of the day. Young at heart and age the child was angelic; an exceptionally good looking kid. He pushed his curly red hair out of his face uncovering wide innocent blue eyes that seemed to glow like sapphires. He sat with a blank stare on his freckly face, a stare that hid an aging mind, a mind that was far older than his heart. Sitting motionlessly in a wheelchair he watched the clock tick away, Every tick banging inside his head like a bomb explosion. He observed the last shattered pieces of glass on the clock, where a covering used to be. It took place a couple of nights before he started his daily routine; the clock plummeted to the floor shattering its glass covering, among other things…
It became a habit of his to spend his days in this room watching the arms do one lap after the other, and listening to the constant tick-tocking to which he became very familiar. He was never a talker, but ever since he became a time-watcher, he stopped saying anything at all. He would occasionally catch himself whispering "come on" to the clock, never really knowing why he says that, or what exactly he is requesting of the clock. Maybe he was wishing for the arms of the clock to stop, and turn in the opposite direction to a time where life hadn't yet taught him lessons he wasn't ready nor prepared for. He may have also been wishing for those tick-tocks to accelerate and bring about answers to the infinite unanswered questions his cranium holds within, to bring about a cure that might reverse the aging inflicted on his once young mind. He needed one thing he can comprehend, something he can understand...
With a worrisome eye, his mother watched him sit in the same place every day for what seemed to be an eternity, never knowing what to do. She recalls trying to hide the clock away from him, but she also recalls the consequences. She remembers standing behind the room door, hearing him sobbing heavily in the same place looking at a circular spot on the wall where the clock used to be. His mourning never stopped constantly tearing at her until she gave in and hung the clock back up, bringing back what seemed to be her child's happy self. Only interrupted by food and sleep, the child remained the same without a revelation in sight…
One morning however, the child woke up to a slight beeping sound. He opened his eyes trying to trace the source of the sound, till he saw a colorful digital watch on the desk next to his bed. He got up in a hurry, grabbed the watch and examined it. It was a blue watch themed after his favorite cartoon. He cried his mother's name out loud till she walked in the room, and gave her a big hug. The mother smiled, for she had a plan to save her son and it seemed to be working. He put the watch on; it read 7:25 am. Not much more than a half hour later, he was in the room in front of the clock synchronizing his watch to the hanging clock. Disappointed and hopeless his mother stood outside the room, watching him with tears in her eyes…
As the days passed, he seemed to get weaker and fainter. He was tearing at the seams that connected him to reality. He ate less talked less and thought more, exhaustion was playing dirty tricks on him and he was obviously losing the waiting game he initiated. One morning however, his digital watch kept beeping to no avail, for the child overslept for the first time in so long. He woke up mid-day the next day totally unaware of what happened to him and looked at his watch; it read 12:15 pm. He hurried to his clock to double check, and it read the same. Convinced that time changed only when he wasn't looking, he started spending less and less time in the room and even gave up his watch. He spent more time being a kid once again, away from the clock…
Long later as he was passing next to a now deserted room, he stopped. He decided in all curiousness to step in and see where time is now. "What time is it now?" he joked to himself. He opened the door, wheeled himself in and stopped in the center of the room, like he used to. He looked at his clock and smiled. The arms of the clock had stopped. Time didn't go back, nor did it fast forward, it simply stopped…
The clock read 10:10. Observing the arms of the clock closely his smile became wider. "It almost looks like a…" he chuckled out loud and hurried out of this room to his room. Having grabbed a black marker from a drawer in his desk, he made his way back to the clock. He stood before it for the last time. He uncapped the marker and tried to reach the watch, but it was too high. He sat there for a few minutes, thinking of what to do next. With all his might he used his arms to support him to his feet, stumbling and tripping in the process. Falling to his knees one time after the other, he almost gave up but the urge of reaching that clock kept him going. He was now crying and clawing at the wall, trying to get in a standing position.
Before he knew it, he was leaning on the wall, standing. Tears of agony become those of joy. Using the chair as support, he stood in front of the clock. Using the marker, he drew two adjacent dots above the arms of the clock.
"I guess time does stop just to smile at you" he said happily.
Leaning on the wall, he limped on his good leg out of the room where time smiles.
The Song: Here Comes the Sun – The Beatles
A slight squeaking sound broke the silence in the empty room. He stopped in the center of the room and faced the only wall that had an ornament hanging on it. It was a vast room empty of any items, except for a clock hanging on one of its walls. The clock had a circular black frame surrounding a yellow background on which funny looking black numbers stood, in what looked like assumed dancing positions. A child's clock.
The clock read 8 am. Sunlight had just broken into the empty room through a small window on the wall opposing the clock He sat in patience watching the clock. He had just started watching time.
The next morning he woke up as early as he had woken up the previous day, washed up had his breakfast and made his way to the room where the clock hung. He entered, faced the clock, and started observing seconds push one another out of the day. Young at heart and age the child was angelic; an exceptionally good looking kid. He pushed his curly red hair out of his face uncovering wide innocent blue eyes that seemed to glow like sapphires. He sat with a blank stare on his freckly face, a stare that hid an aging mind, a mind that was far older than his heart. Sitting motionlessly in a wheelchair he watched the clock tick away, Every tick banging inside his head like a bomb explosion. He observed the last shattered pieces of glass on the clock, where a covering used to be. It took place a couple of nights before he started his daily routine; the clock plummeted to the floor shattering its glass covering, among other things…
It became a habit of his to spend his days in this room watching the arms do one lap after the other, and listening to the constant tick-tocking to which he became very familiar. He was never a talker, but ever since he became a time-watcher, he stopped saying anything at all. He would occasionally catch himself whispering "come on" to the clock, never really knowing why he says that, or what exactly he is requesting of the clock. Maybe he was wishing for the arms of the clock to stop, and turn in the opposite direction to a time where life hadn't yet taught him lessons he wasn't ready nor prepared for. He may have also been wishing for those tick-tocks to accelerate and bring about answers to the infinite unanswered questions his cranium holds within, to bring about a cure that might reverse the aging inflicted on his once young mind. He needed one thing he can comprehend, something he can understand...
With a worrisome eye, his mother watched him sit in the same place every day for what seemed to be an eternity, never knowing what to do. She recalls trying to hide the clock away from him, but she also recalls the consequences. She remembers standing behind the room door, hearing him sobbing heavily in the same place looking at a circular spot on the wall where the clock used to be. His mourning never stopped constantly tearing at her until she gave in and hung the clock back up, bringing back what seemed to be her child's happy self. Only interrupted by food and sleep, the child remained the same without a revelation in sight…
One morning however, the child woke up to a slight beeping sound. He opened his eyes trying to trace the source of the sound, till he saw a colorful digital watch on the desk next to his bed. He got up in a hurry, grabbed the watch and examined it. It was a blue watch themed after his favorite cartoon. He cried his mother's name out loud till she walked in the room, and gave her a big hug. The mother smiled, for she had a plan to save her son and it seemed to be working. He put the watch on; it read 7:25 am. Not much more than a half hour later, he was in the room in front of the clock synchronizing his watch to the hanging clock. Disappointed and hopeless his mother stood outside the room, watching him with tears in her eyes…
As the days passed, he seemed to get weaker and fainter. He was tearing at the seams that connected him to reality. He ate less talked less and thought more, exhaustion was playing dirty tricks on him and he was obviously losing the waiting game he initiated. One morning however, his digital watch kept beeping to no avail, for the child overslept for the first time in so long. He woke up mid-day the next day totally unaware of what happened to him and looked at his watch; it read 12:15 pm. He hurried to his clock to double check, and it read the same. Convinced that time changed only when he wasn't looking, he started spending less and less time in the room and even gave up his watch. He spent more time being a kid once again, away from the clock…
Long later as he was passing next to a now deserted room, he stopped. He decided in all curiousness to step in and see where time is now. "What time is it now?" he joked to himself. He opened the door, wheeled himself in and stopped in the center of the room, like he used to. He looked at his clock and smiled. The arms of the clock had stopped. Time didn't go back, nor did it fast forward, it simply stopped…
The clock read 10:10. Observing the arms of the clock closely his smile became wider. "It almost looks like a…" he chuckled out loud and hurried out of this room to his room. Having grabbed a black marker from a drawer in his desk, he made his way back to the clock. He stood before it for the last time. He uncapped the marker and tried to reach the watch, but it was too high. He sat there for a few minutes, thinking of what to do next. With all his might he used his arms to support him to his feet, stumbling and tripping in the process. Falling to his knees one time after the other, he almost gave up but the urge of reaching that clock kept him going. He was now crying and clawing at the wall, trying to get in a standing position.
Before he knew it, he was leaning on the wall, standing. Tears of agony become those of joy. Using the chair as support, he stood in front of the clock. Using the marker, he drew two adjacent dots above the arms of the clock.
"I guess time does stop just to smile at you" he said happily.
Leaning on the wall, he limped on his good leg out of the room where time smiles.
The Song: Here Comes the Sun – The Beatles
a very well written piece good choice of words i might as well say its that kind of pieces that just leave u with a smile....what happened is that i finished reading it with a smile from ear to ear and then i felt like eh da i need to read it again so i read it twice again after that:)
ReplyDeletewhat i really like is the last two paragraphs...this is where i was really inspired....its how he realized that time only changes when he stopped looking...and when he stopped looking it was only when time stopped to give him a smile and replace tears of agony into those of happiness....i love this part and it gave me this optimistic view of things.
as i told u thats my favourite piece so far cant wait to read the other part very anxious to knw what wd it be:).....wessam sherif "when time smiles; ten past ten" is leaving me in my happy place:):) you also know that here comes the sun is my beatles favourite(i also re read the post before i wrote this comment with here comes the sun playing on the background so it left me seriously...in my happy place. Aya