About Time

I was talking with a very good friend at that time.  I was alone in my room, and she was on the other end of the line. It was past midnight and yet we weren't sleepy. We never were when we were talking with each other. She was the best company.

It was then that I realized that the clock was still. It wasn't ticking. "My clock has stopped," I said to her with the hint of a laugh. "It never was running," she said, "Did you forget..."

I was perplexed. This clock had been running quite fine from the day she had gifted it to me. Yes, it was gifted to me by her, just like every other time piece I have.  She is very particular about time and time pieces. And the ones that she chose were quite well built.

It was as if she was connected to them. As if the sharp tickings were her heartbeat. I remember once when I had lost a watch, and she drove me mad asking me where I had dropped it. It seemed as if she couldn't breathe. And now she tells me that the clock that had been hanging on my wall had never been running!

"Did you forget it stopped running the moment I died?" she whispered.