When Time Runs Out

Chapter Three {Complete}

Chapter Three

"Nia, this is an extremely unique watch, and many, many people are after this. My dad continued.

"So, you give it to me? What, are you trying to terminate me and make everything right?" I snapped at him. I knew that he mean well, I loved him, but I wish that he'd just get to the point.

"Nia, i'm not trying to kill you. I'm just letting you know all these things that the watch is capable of, so you don't misuse it and hurt yourself."

"You make this watch sound like a weapon."

"It... kind of is, in a way." Well, that actually took me by surprise. Since when would me dad give me a WEAPON? Wait... where am I going if I need a weapon disguised as a clock? What was I going to do there? What would I have to?

"NIA." My dad snapped his fingers in front of my face to snap me out of my mental interrogation.

"What am I going to do? Why would I need a weapon? Are you sending me away? What's happening? What did I do?" The various words poured out of my mouth like a waterfall.

"Nia. You aren't human. Well, not entirely. You outlasted your date, right?"

"Yeah, but what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nia, time can't control you. You control time."

Well, that took a hard turn left.

"Look at your watch, especially the sides, see those dials? The top controls the year, the middle controls the month, and the bottom controls the day. Now, pop open the back." Sure enough, the back of the watch opened, but still had a little latch connecting the two pieces of metal. On the inside, it had a small, old display of the time, date, and year. It was set to today, this very moment. This was a lot to take in at once, so I decided to sit down.

"Now, here's the most critical part. DO NOT let anybody you seem to look like or recognize notice you. That, will unfortunately create a paradox- something that wasn't supposed to happen that ends up happening, and the paradox will keep expanding until it creates a rip in the fabric of time, space, and dimensions- got it?"

Uh, no.

"Yes"

"Good. Now, if you've been listening, try it out! Go to the day great-grandma and great-grandpa had their third date."

NO. Of course, I knew the date by heart. It was the only the most romantic day ever. July 2nd, 1946. But I didn't want to risk the entire present's existence to see that moment! But I couldn't tell my dad that I was a coward.

"Sure!" I opened the back, twisted the top, middle, and bottom dial until the date read, 1946, 2nd, July.

"Now what do I do?!" This was starting to seriously freak me out. How would I get there? Would it hurt?

"Shhh. Nia, calm down. Just close the back. Spend a couple minutes there, then leave. Okay? I love you. I know you can do this. Oh! I almost forgot. Set the date to where you left from, and it'll return you right to the moment you left. Rosalina!" He called for my mom, and she rushed inside the room in an instant. "You'll do amazing. Oh, by the way..." she shut the back of the locket, being the trickster she was.

"See you later, alligator!" were the last words that I could make out before I slowly dissolved out of the moment like sugar going through a sifter...

+++

After what felt like a millisecond, I popped into a scene. I scanned the scene. I was in a wide alleyway, filled with little raindrops and happy-looking early teenagers. Nobody had dates on their wrist. Nobody seemed haunted. Nobody looked pained. Nobody looked scared. Everybody seemed jolly. The girls were wearing their hair short and curly at the ends, with flowy shirts and super-long skater skirts, all the same color. But you can't forget the fabric headband, also the same color as the outfit. The boys were wearing dress shirts, black pants, and their hair very well done with super-hold gel. Wow. No guy had sagging pants. Most of them were even wearing BELTS. No way. It was probably a dressy day of some sort- maybe an end-of-year-party. That's when I saw them, beautiful young girl, probably 18. She was wearing the same thing as all the other girls, but she made everything seem different, more mature. She had blonde curls, and she was really rocking her lavender satin shirt, skirt, and headband. On her feet she wore little ballet flats, with just enough mascara to compliment her green eyes beautifully. Contrary to her peers, who wore heels and enough makeup to scare a clown. The boy she was facing was way taller than her- almost 5 inches. He looked about her age, and he had charming brown eyes and brown hair very well styled, but not as pulled back as the rest of the boys.

I paused in the middle of everybody, watching this scene unfold. The boy slid off his dress jacket, and wrapped it around the girl's shoulders. The rain started to intensify, and I looked up. When I looked down, I smiled. They were just taking to each other, but I’ve never seen anything like it. It was just... well... the perfect moment. Too bad there weren’t any guys like this back home...

I was hit with a pang of something- it was like despair and realization, all mashed up into one. I didn't want to go home. I looked to my side, and there was a 'diner'. I walked up into the window, and looked at my reflection. I bore a very similar resemblance to the girl on the street, which was my great-grandmother. I had a mission to fulfill, so I walked away from the diner and sat on a bench to sit and watch. I couldn't stay, so I might as well try to enjoy my time here anyway. The teenagers started to clear the alleyway, but many looked intent on staying and partying in the rain. The boy (my great-grandpa) pulled something out of his pocket. It looked like a black velvet box- a proposal box? He opened the box, and she laughed. He pulled out a ring-looking object. It was a giant lifesaver! He slid it onto her wedding band finger, and it hung off her finger. It was huge, so she took a small bite of it. They both laughed, and i could see her mouth forming the words, "...I hate you..." which caused them to laugh even harder.

I watched them for fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes motionless. I decided that I should get up and walk around a bit, so I put up my hood and wrestled my crazy black hair back. After sprinting around my great-grandparents, I ran into a boy, a lot younger looking then the rest of the crowd, about my age. I mumbled, barely audible

"Sorry..."

"It's okay..." he mumbled back. He was also trying to cover his face. I scanned him for a moment, and he looked strangely modern...

<<< Author's Note;

Phew! Including this entire note, this story has 1,299 words! Yowza! Hope you enjoyed it anyways! I wanted to give a special thanks to my bestie Kristen, who helped my with this story when I was having some pretty bad writer's block! Without her, I couldn't have been able to type this much! So go check her out guys! @queensofcamelot5711 ! I exceeded my date too, so expect Chapter 4 up by Sunday instead!

love and vintage headbands,

emily >>>