By: Youheng Zhong

His gaze caught the glint of an old watch. He slowed down, reaching to pick it up and inspect it. The watch was old and worn; its fragile hands were frozen at 3:07. It looked like it had once been encrusted with stones of great value: sapphire, ruby, and emerald, but they were gone now, lost over time. But the most peculiar thing about the time piece was the center gear: it was specially made in the shape of an eye.

“You can have it for free,” said the seller looking over. “That there ’s in the junk pile. Broken watch can’t do nothin’.”

Nodding his thanks, he pocketed the watch and left, anticipation bubbling inside of him.

The crescent moon rose, lighting the ground with an eerie light as the dark night set in. He stepped outside with the watch in his hand, enjoying the light breeze. During the day, he had set new stones into the watch’s face, and they now glittered in the dim night. Carefully, he removed the top of the watch cover. With the slightest touch of his hand, the eye-shaped gear began to glow and whirl, and the hands of the watch spun backward.

His surroundings blurred, and he was flung through a vortex of swirling colors and watches of all sizes, all spinning: some slower, some faster. And then, a blinding flash. He slowly opened his eyes. Market stalls lined every square inch of the main road, and the scent of freshly baked bread was in the air. The streets were full of people, whinnying horses and creaky carts, all trying to make their way through. Above the hubbub of the crowd, merchants shouted, vying to sell their wares to passerbys. His heart raced with excitement; the watch had worked! But, as he reached to reset the time a chill ran down his spine. The watch’s prongs that held the three stones that he had meticulously set into the ancient piece were gone again. The watch was once again useless. Desperate, he twisted and turned the gear, but his attempts were futile. The watch had granted him one miraculous journey and now it was nothing more than a rusty relic.