Pic by : Deviantart

It took all of his will to remain silent and still on top of the building. His every cell in his body screaming in protest for him to just take a step forward and fall into nothingness. The wind blowing in a direction that threatened to push him over, still, he stood there ; feet planted firmly on the ground, a blank expression spread over his face, but his eyes could not lie, the sorrow was immense yet nobody seemed to notice.

'Master, we are ready for you,' a small man that wore fabric as fine as his master's spoke with respect to the man who saved his life a few years ago. After a single nod from his master, he turned silently on his heels and returned to his chores. Alexander sighed and retreated to his bedroom. He was slightly shivering from the cold air in the winter season, yet he loved the light brush of wind on his face that would always remind him of her.

Today would be an important event for Alexander. A recognition from the world ; not that he wanted it. His 'manager' insisted. He brushed his thinning white hair and fixed his tie when he remembered what his 'manager' said, 'Image is of the utmost importance'. His hand wrapped around the door knob, hesitating for a second to take in a deep breath before facing the world. He turned the door knob, and with a click, revealing another realm of the world.

The world outside his bedroom was of the modern age. A huge contrast compared to his 1980's furnishing, a Classic French bed, and window panes made of wood; probably from the last chunks of wood that exists in the world. Man had long since broken the code of Science and Technology. Hovercrafts were used as transport, journeys were measured in seconds, lifts and elevators seemed ancient compared to the means of teleportation available today. But none of all these could compare to Alexander's greatest discovery ; Time.

He holds the key to control time.

When movies spoke of time machines, nobody believed it, neither did Alexander. It was the death his wife that drove him to unravel the magic of time. He finally did it, but no matter what he does, time could not bring back his wife. He would turn back time, back to 30 years ago, but his wife would not be there. He smiled sadly, as if God was playing a joke on him, he could turn back time, to undo his mistakes in life, but he could not bring back the dead. He would never feel her soft lips against his ever again.

The crowd applauded upon his arrival and cameras as small a nickel were flashed at him to capture his grand arrival. He did not like to make an entrance, nor did he want to come to the ceremony at all. He was afraid of the consequences that everybody would face, now that everybody could control time. Everybody would be perfect, every mistake could be undone, nothing would be out of place again. It's just not how nature's supposed to be.

He glanced around to see everybody with a thin strand of silver and a black pendant round their necks. That is the key to control time. It is pretty simple Chemistry, really. Well, at least that's what Alexander said. Just a few chemicals, and the amount of reactants used to determine the length of time to turn back. He was surprised that he was the one who made the discovery, this nobody who lived in a small shack by the streets. He was reluctant to share his secret but was soon discovered by his 'manager' that pushed him to do it.

As he made his way through the crowd to the stage, he felt uneasy, beads of sweat trickling down the small of his back and his palms were damp from moisture. A little girl whose ice-cream had fallen onto the ground, just had to press the little black pendant round her neck and the ice-cream would be back on her cone perfectly. What is this madness? Nobody would learn from their mistakes because there would be none. What is the point in controlling time if all of these would happen?

Besides, what are the consequences of controlling time? He was not sure himself. Surely, he was beginning to lean towards the possibility of speeding up the ageing process but would the people listen to him even if he told them that? Greed played in everybody's eyes, time was finally in their hands. Even the phrase 'time is gold' means nothing now. Will he stand by and watch humanity rot into nothingness because of his wrongdoing?

No.

He stopped dead in his tracks and his manager bumped into him. 'What in the world are you doin.. Alex...?' Her words trailed off when she saw the look in his eyes.

'I will not let this happen.'

He pressed his pendant the size of a baseball and nobody but his manager seemed to realize what he was doing. But she was too late, justice will take its cause. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then he had the familiar tug in the gut and everything around him was disappearing, including himself. He was caught between a realm where nobody should exist, where balance took its course, and for a brief moment, he felt her lips brushed against his and a tear trickled down his face.

Everything was in place when he opened his eyes, his familiar lampstand, the dank smell that comes off his bed that would never go away. It was that night again. His first discovery of the black object. Rain was pouring heavily outside and he was smiling like a madman. He had not introduce the secret to the world yet, there was still a chance for this world. He looked down at his hands, and saw wrinkles at the back of his hand. He quickly grabbed a mirror and looked into it. He could not recognise the man staring back at him. He was at least a 100 years old and when he ran his fingers through his head, thin strands of white hair fell off, leaving him bald. He sighed deeply, and made his way to his bed.

He closed his eyes, smiled, and waited for death to find him ; where he could finally see her again.