The Story Of The Pocket Watch

The bell above the door jingled as Marcy walked into the quaint antique store. She had been drawn to this place ever since she first stumbled upon it on a rainy afternoon. Finally having time, she walked the shop. The books she saw were old and dusty and the shelfs smelled of rain as if water had been inside the shop. It smelled of dirt and felt like a cozy memory from the past. The old shelves were lined with trinkets and treasures from glasses to mirrors from a bygone era, and the smell of musty books filled the air. She stared at a chandelier dangling from the ceiling before starting to look around picking up object after object till she froze as if something was calling her. However, she ignored the feeling and continued to browse through the shelves, until suddenly her eyes suddenly fell upon an old pocket watch. It was unlike any she had ever seen before, it was a physical being of a hypocrite. Although shiny you could tell it was old, although the chain was clean you could tell it was used. She picked it up and felt the soft cold metal on her fingers as she slowly pressed a button with grooves opening what should revealed a clock. To her surprise she was greeted with the words fast, slow and stop engraved with a little arrow. At the bottom was a blank white section where the arrow was currently lingering. She flipped it over expecting words but there was none. Suddenly the intricate designs on the silver case seemed to swirl and move, pulling her in with its hypnotic charm. She knew she had to have it even though she had no such purpose for a watch without a clock. She started walking to the register when she froze feeling chills on her back, she heard a small voice whisper, "Be careful, Marcy. This watch is not like any other." Startled, Marcy looked around but saw no one. She only saw a glimpse of a man exiting the shop. She set the watch down ready to follow the man when the bell dinged and a woman entered. Not wanting the woman to buy the watch she shrugged off the strange feeling and the man making her way to the counter to pay for her new treasure. The old shopkeeper, Mr. Jenkins, greeted her with a warm smile. "Ah, I see you have found the time traveler's watch," he said, his eyes twinkling. Marcy's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean, time traveler's watch? It does not have a big hand or little hand or even numbers so however can it be a watch?" she asked, her curiosity piqued. Mr. Jenkins chuckled. "This watch has the power to rewind, pause, or fast forward time. But be careful, Marcy, for every time you use it, there will be consequences. And not all watches have hands some use the sun" Marcy's mind swirled thinking he must be a delusional old man but why would he tell such absurd stories. She thought for a second and remembered she had always dreamed of being able to control time, to go back and fix her mistakes, to pause and savor the good moments, and to fast forward through the bad. If this watch could really go through time she wanted it. So unable to resist the temptation she bought the watch quickly leaving. As she walked out of the store, she couldn't wait to test out its powers. She rewound time to the day her mom got in an accident, she saved her but when she went back to the present her best friend was paralyzed. She of course went back in time to fix that accident but when she returned to the present she found out that her dad had now passed away. She kept retreating to the past fixing mistakes till she started to see the pattern. She fast forwarded to when she bought the watch and waited outside the shop seeing the man leave. Rushing over she quickly asked "How do I fix the problems I have created?" The man stopped and gave a small smile "Time travel is a dangerous thing to mess with the flap of a butterflies wings can make a storm appear on the other side of the world. We can observe the past but never change it for it will affect the future." The man started to walk away making her glance at the pocket watch. When she turned to ask a question, he was gone however she knew what she had to do. She proceeded to go back in time and alter all the things she did. She unsaved her mother which stopped the future events alter back to the way they were. Finally, she traveled back in time to before she entered the store and went through the whole experience again, this time paying more attention to the whispers and warnings from Mr. Jenkins. She paused time and explored the store, marveling at the intricate details of the items on display. She realized that every time she altered the course of time, her present and future would be altered as well. She quickly went into the store and bought the pocket watch before her past self could. She then proceeded to go to her apartment and hide the pocket watch feeling that if she destroyed it, there would only more problems caused. For years the pocket watch sat under the floor boards gathering dust and growing old till one day her friend came over and found it. "What's this?" she asked brushing off the dirt and dust. Marcy gave a small smile and started to explain. At the end of the story her friend paused to call her crazy and delusional but something inside her stirred as if memories from a past life. She stayed silent and put the pocket watch back wishing her friend goodbye knowing deep down that what once was thought to be impossible was now possible. However as an old saying goes all magic comes with a price.