Time of Death

It was early December, time for Christie to do her yearly Christmas shopping. She hated everything about the holiday, despised it with a passion. She always wondered why people loved Christmas so much, never bothering to ask them. Christie was on the hunt to find her father the perfect gift, which was a daunting, almost impossible task. She never knew what to get her father for Christmas and every time she asked him, he would not respond with a viable answer. Christie’s father was a man of few words, making it hard to find a gift for him each year. She started searching for the perfect gift, with nothing in mind except a gift with an old, rustic feeling to it. Christie knew her father lived in the past, collecting antiques from wars, or whatever he could get his hands on. It was a hobby of his that was never really mentioned, but Christie picked up on it.

Christie was determined to find a present, no matter how long it took to find. She would search far and wide to find the perfect gift. She started at the mall, walking around the crowded stores, people watching as she went. She did not expect much from the mall and left empty-handed, deciding that she would never return to that sea of people. She knew of the local antique shops and decided it was time to try her luck there. Old tables, wooden chairs, feminine figurines, odd signs, and a girl looking for the perfect gift for her father. She had no luck after three antique stores and got in her car to drive home. As she was sitting in the holiday traffic, a big pawn shop sign caught her eye on the side of the road and she pulled into the parking lot. She had never been in a pawn shop before because they always felt like a scam to her, but she decided to check this one out.

As Christie opened the creaky door, a bell rang, alerting the person behind the counter she was there. The person behind the counter gave her a half-hearted wave, without looking up from their magazine. Christie felt out of place but started her search, not knowing what to expect. She passed by cases of shiny necklaces, then another case of knives, and headed for the back of the store. She walked around aimlessly, looking but not touching, afraid to put anything out of place. As Christie was walking, she suddenly stopped, looking at a circular item that caught her attention. She moved towards the box that read, Broken Trinkets - Half Price, and observed the circular item that caught her eye.

The item she saw was a pocket watch, that had the old, rustic feeling she was searching for. She picked it up, dusted it off, observed the varnished gold in her hand, felt the cold metal on her skin. She flipped it over and saw the face of the clock, stuck on 12:07. She gave the pocket watch a couple taps with her finger and it started ticking at a slow but steady pace. She knew this was the perfect gift for her father and she would not tell the cashier, that it started working, for fear of paying full price. She brought the watch to the front, paid for it in cash, got in her car, and headed home happily. When Christie got home, she took the watch out of the bag and observed it more carefully. She had not noticed the markings etched on the back of the pocket watch that read, Tempus Mortis. She did not know what the words meant but vowed to look them up later.

Time was ticking on and she observed the watch even more. She pulled on the crown, stopping the time from ticking, so she could put in the accurate time. She did not know what time it was, so she went into the kitchen to check her microwave. As she walked into the kitchen, a bird frozen mid flight outside her window caught her eye. She thought it was a peculiar sight and walked to the window to see what was going on. She looked at the bird and could not figure out how it was suspended mid-flight, wings frozen, it was truly amazing. She looked at the clock on her microwave and began to turn the crown on the pocket watch to match the time. As she did so slowly, the bird outside her window caught her eye. Christie saw that as she turned the crown on the pocket watch, the bird moved along with it. She went forwards and backwards and the bird went up and down, flapping its wings slowly. When she stopped turning the crown, the bird stopped moving. She tried it a few more times, then clicked the crown into place to set the time and the bird flew off, back to normal.

Christie had a thought that she could control time with this small pocket watch and decided to test her theory out. She stepped outside and saw people out walking their dogs, people in their cars coming home from work, and birds in flight. She took the watch and pulled the crown. Time stood still, everyone and everything freezing in place. Christie was the only thing moving and she looked around in awe. She wondered what caused the watch to do this and kept experimenting. She went forward in time to see what the weather would be like tomorrow. She went back in time, to yesterday, to watch her neighbor hit their trash can with their car. It made her laugh with joy, as she got to witness the exact same thing as the day before. Christie experimented for days, playing with the watch, stopping time.

Weeks went by and Christmas had finally arrived. There was a perfectly wrapped gift outside Christie’s fathers house. Her father picked up the present, brought it inside, and looked at the tag that read, To: Dad, From: Your Daughter. Her father smiled and opened the present, finding a note and a pocket watch. He turned the pocket watch over in his hand, looking at how precious it was. With the watch still in hand, Christie’s father started to read the note:

Dear Dad,

I hope this Christmas gift found you well. You know I always have trouble finding the perfect gift for you, but I hope this will do. When I first came across this gift, I knew it would be perfect for you. I searched high and low to find this gift for you and I hope you enjoy it. When I brought this gift home, I was going to wrap it right away, but wanted to check it out first. I had fun with it at first, living in the moment, turning the hands on the watch, but then things got dark. I started obsessing over the watch, not going to work, not able to think of anything else except for the watch. It was a necessity that I couldn’t live without, I almost forgot I had gotten it as a gift for you.

As the weeks went on, I saw things I did not want to see. I experienced things I could not change. I cried for a long time, wanting things to end, not knowing what to do. I tried to destroy the watch, but I couldn’t. Instead, I destroyed the only thing that I could. I hope you can handle this watch better than I was able to. Merry Christmas Dad.

Love,

Christie

As Christie’s father put the note down, the telephone in his house rang. He picked up the phone, figuring it was Christie calling to wish him a Merry Christmas, but got a surprise instead. As he listened to the voice on the other line, he dropped the pocket watch to the ground. The metal clanged against the ground, glass still intact, finally coming to a rest. As Christie’s father was clinging to the phone, the voice on the other line said, “Your daughter Christie committed suicide. I am so sorry for your loss.” As Christie’s father was on the line, he was weeping, a single tear dropping onto the pocket watch where the time read 12:07.