The Pocket Watch by Michael Fish

“Now we come to Paul Nicholas. In his will, your grandfather, Anthony Nicholas, left you the contents of this box.” The older lawyer pushed a small wooden box across the desk. The 21-year-old looked at the box blankly before getting up and storming off. His mother telling the lawyer that they’d take it with them, that he was just upset right now, echoed behind him as he walked out of the room, holding back tears as memories of him and his grandfather fishing together filled his mind.

Suddenly Paul awoke, covered in sweat, lying on his bed. The room of his dorm, shrouded in darkness, was so different from his vivid dream. Quietly getting up to avoid waking his roommate, Paul pulled a box, the same one from the dream, from under the bed. Going into the bathroom, he closed the door and set the box on the counter top. After staring at it for a few moments, he finally opened the wooden box and looked inside. In the box lay a beautifully engraved golden pocket watch and a letter. Taking the watch out, he looked at it for a few moments before putting it down and opening the letter.

My dear grandson Paul, if you’re reading this letter, it means I've passed away. I wish we had more time to spend together. Unfortunately, we do not. As my last gift to you, I'm leaving you with my most precious and most dangerous gift. That watch in the box was given to me in my youth, and I relished it then. However, I eventually grew to realize that I was better off without it, and locked it away. Still, I now leave it to you in hopes that maybe you will be wiser in its use. If you ever feel like you need more time, simply click the button on the side while it is open. Finally, I will leave you a small bit of advice. Remember that life is for living, not for dwelling on one point. I love you, Paul. From, your grandfather.

Paul put down the letter, a little bit confused. He picked up the pocket watch, and tentatively opened it. He was greeted by the ticking of the watch, which appeared to still be in perfect time.  Finding the button on the side, Paul placed his finger over it. He kept it there for a few moments before finally closing the watch and going back to bed.

The next few days Paul kept the pocket watch close. He still wasn’t sure what his grandfather had been talking about and was still hesitant about testing the button. But he liked keeping it close since it reminded him of his grandfather. Then, one day while between his classes, Paul was running a bit late to meet his girlfriend for lunch.

Man, class ran longer than I thought. Still, I should make it with enough time, Paul thought. As he sped up his walking to make up for lost time, he accidentally crashed into another student who wasn’t paying attention where he was walking as he talked on a cell phone. Paul crashed to the ground, and the notebook he was holding spilled the papers in it all over the ground.

“Great, just great.” muttered Paul as he started to gather up the papers, as the oblivious walker continued on blabbing on his cell phone. Gathering up his papers, he glanced at his watch. This distraction had cost him precious time.

           

“Jeanette is going to be pissed. I wish I had gotten out of class sooner, would have had more time,” he commented. This sparked a memory of the note his grandfather had left him. Fishing around in his pocket, he grabbed the pocket watch. Opening it up, and figuring he had nothing left to lose, he clicked the button on the side.

Suddenly, he looked up, and found the droning voice of his history teacher greeting him. Glancing around, he found himself in his previous class. Glancing down at the pocket watch, it was an hour back from when it was before. Paul finally understood what was going on now. Somehow the watch had sent him back in time an hour.

           

Paul waited through class again, and like last time, hurried out of class to go meet his girlfriend. This time, however, when walking through the crowd, he avoided the oblivious cell phone walker. Thanks to this foresight, he managed to make it to the commons only a few moments late.

“Sorry I'm late Jeanette. Class let out late,” he commented as he sat down.

A small girl with short black hair and a pair of glasses, Jeanette looked up from the book she was reading.

“Oh, hey. You’re only a few minutes late. We still got a half an hour ‘til I got to go to class,” she said. Paul sat down and pulled out some food from his bag. The two talked as they ate, about class, about stuff going on with their roommates. Eventually, he noticed Jeanette looking at him funny.

“Uhh, what?” he asked.

“It’s nothing; it’s just you seem a little bit, I dunno, distracted, but in a good way,” she replied. Paul reached into his pocket and touched the watch. He debated telling her about it, but figured she would just think he was crazy.

“I just have a feeling that good things are in my future.” She shrugged and they continued eating lunch.

           

The next few days went well for Paul, as the power of watch allowed him to make sure everything went smoothly. He cruised through his classes and work, leading others to wonder how he did it. Finally, it was an hour before his midterm math class, and he was with Jeanette in the library.

“I can’t believe you’re not worried. You have a test in an hour, and you haven’t studied at all,” Jeanette remarked.

           

“It’s okay; I’ve got this,” Paul replied with a yawn.

“You’re sure? You look a bit sick.”

           

“I’ll be fine. I gotta go.” Paul got up and left with a wave. He ambled into class and sat down. Soon the tests were distributed. Paul checked the first few questions, memorized them, and then, reaching into his hoodie’s pocket, clicked the button, rewinding time.

           

“I can’t believe you're not worried. You have a test in an hour, and you haven’t studied at all.” Jeanette remarked.

“I’m just going to check a few things before I go,” Paul responded.

           

“You don’t look so good.”

           

“I’ll be fine,” he responded as he opened his book.

           

Paul continued working on the test and rewinding time to check the book for the answers. Still, he felt it was getting so hard; everything was getting a bit fuzzy. He wished he could just have the time to take a nap. Maybe after these last few questions.

           

“I can’t believe you’re not worried. You have a test in an hour, and you haven’t studied at all,” Jeanette recited yet again.

           

“I’ll be fine; I got, I got...” Paul trailed off as everything started to go black.

“Paul, you don’t look so good.” Paul heard these last words as he went unconscious.

           

Paul woke up sitting in an old chair. He was in a lived in sitting room with brown walls, a fireplace and a mantle with numerous fishing trophies on them. The place looked so familiar, but it took him a second to realize where he was. He was in his grandfather’s old house.

           

“You don’t look so good, son.” He turned to find his grandfather, an old man dressed in a dress shirt and slacks as he always did back when Paul used to visit, his eyes, similar in color to Paul's, staring at him.

           

“This is impossible. You, you die,.” Paul said, a bit in shock.

           

“Yes, I did. Regardless, I am here. How you got here is another question, however,” his grandfather replied, walking and sitting over in another comfortable reclining chair.

           

“Well, am I, you know…” Paul asked, suddenly terrified he had died.

           

“Not yet,” his grandfather replied with a grin “Now, tell me what happened.”

           

“Well, I was using the watch you gave me.” He stopped when his grandfather made a “hmm” sound at that.

           

“I see what the problem is. I’m guessing you’ve been using the watch at every opportunity?” he asked, his eyes staring so hard that Paul felt his gaze piercing him.

           

“Umm, well, yah,” Paul replied.

           

“That explains a little, anyway. The watch has an amazing power, but you have to think. How many hours did you just live through? Every single time you rewind, the watch transports you, with all the memories and experiences of that hour into the past. Use it too much, and suddenly you’ll find yourself tired, thirsty and hungry, even when others around you think it’s only been an hour,” his grandfather explained.

“I think I get it,” Paul replied.

           

“It’s why I stopped using it. The temptation to make sure every little thing goes right really keeps you from moving forward with your life as you obsess over the details. Plus, as you yourself now know, it can be dangerous.”

“Perhaps you’re right.” The two stayed silent for a few moments before his grandfather laughed.

           

“Enough with the doom and gloom. Tell me, how are things going with you?”

           

“Well, I met this girl,” Paul responded.

           

Paul woke up after a day in the hospital. He had been severely dehydrated, according to the doctors. They kept him there a couple more days while he regained his strength. Finally, they decided to let him go. He was met at the door by Jeanette, who was driving him home.

“I'm so glad you’re okay. You terrified me, collapsing like that in the library,” she told him.

           

“Yah, I’m glad I made it through that, too. Sorry about that, though,” he responded. He stuck his hand into his pocket and felt the smooth touch of metal. Pulling it out, he found the pocket watch in his hand.

           

“What’s that?” Jeanette asked as she glanced quickly over at the watch.

           

“Oh, it’s just something I got from my grandpa. I thought it was the greatest thing ever for awhile, but now I realize I don’t really need it,” he replied, sticking the watch back into his pocket, looking out the front window as the car sped down the road.