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Clock

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Javi Gómez
Javi Gómez

The narrator becomes stuck in a strange time loop, with their bedroom clock moving backwards and days passing in reverse. As time grows more distorted, with forests growing and dying outside their window, they become increasingly frightened. After crying out for help, they manage to escape by switching the clock's batteries and jumping through the door at the moment the timelines sync up. They return home safely but confused, with only a few days seeming to have passed for their family. Later, when explaining their absence from an exam to their teacher, the teacher doesn't believe their story of time travel and suspects it was really due to a music festival.

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Clockwise time The clock’s hand advanced placidly in its own smooth and sticky way, click one second, click two seconds, click I’ll guess that will be the third second, and so on and on and on… It could seem that the time today was too lazy to advance in its normal path. It could seem that the seconds hand is having an epic battle every time it tries to beat another second. It is maddening. It is Sunday afternoon and my only occupation today is see time pass away, this is one of that kind of afternoons in which you are too lazy even to play videogames, even to take a nap. Sunday’s afternoons are so exasperating. Better look to the clock and pray for it go faster. Tick, tack, tick, tack . Another hour have past. Tick tack, tick. I am expecting the predictable tack. Nevertheless it seems my expectations will remain unfulfilled. It cannot be true! This damn hand is not moving. Does this tedious Sunday managed to stop the entire existence? ‘Nah, it must be that the batteries died’, I told myself. As my amusement have been abruptly stopped but such an insignificance as a dead batteries, I stopped my contemplation of time, existence and everything to rummage into the drawer next to my desktop, trying not to abandon the comfort of my bed. I stretch as much as I could without breaking and finally got the batteries. I picked up the clock from my nightstand, an old-like analog clock, at first sight It looks like it is made of wood, however I know well that it is made of cheap plastic, but I never failed before. I quickly changed the batteries and waited with the clock laying in my hands waiting for it recover its smooth path. Tick Tack, Tick tack. Tack Tick, Tack Tick. Wait a moment… Tack Tick? That is not good. To my surprise I was staring incredulously to the hands moving counterclockwise. ‘It must be definitely broken’. I said to myself. ‘It was a nice clock but quite cheap, it is broken’ With nothing else to do I layed down in the bed looking at the ceiling and without even noticing it I fell asleep. When the sunlight came through the window’s glass to hit my eyes mercilessly, I woke up suddenly. It was too sunny to be a late afternoon, the sun was starting to go down when I fell asleep. This made no sense. No way I could have asleep nearly whole day. My family would have woken me up by dinner time! I picked up my phone and my eyes quickly looked for the date. I was shocked when I saw that in fact, It said it was nearly midday of the same day. I checked the time without allowing my eyes to blink a single time. It was about time that the minutes indicator changed, for a while it showed 11:04 am about a minute later it marked 11:03. ‘I am pretty sure that it should have appeared a five in there’ I laughed nervously. Clearly something was messing with the electronics, maybe it was his sister having revenge for him falling asleep when it was his turn to set up the table. Yes, It must be that. I was eager to go out my bedroom and make everyone explain that silly joke. However when my hand touched the handle and tried to open the door as usual it did not move a millimeter. No matter how hard I tried. ‘Oh now you lock me. So funny li’l sis. When I go out we will see who laughs at whom’ I shouted while I reached out the phone to call my parents and end up with this silly joke. No signal.
I tried again, vainly. I checked up the date on my phone. Oh great Septembrel, the 13th of 1993. The fucking day of release of In Utero. At this point I was starting to lose my mind days and nights died in my window, forest grew and died in the landscape, my clock was turning backwards in an insanely rate. I admit I freaked out a little bit. Well, maybe quite a lot I remember me yelling to the clocks how stupid and wrong they were. Ages later I was in the floor crying and begging them to take me back home. The whining ended when a shadow came through the window, I did not know what it was, but it must be massive. Huge footsteps shaked the room, and a reptile like, wide opened eye take a look inside my bedroom. I almost shited myself. I quickly got my hand in the clock and did what only my guts thought it would make sense, I removed the batteries and switched the order, when I turned around the clock I saw the hads turn quickly clockwise, and the eye had disappeared from the window. I took the clock in which I thought my last desperate chance to be back to my time. The date in which I started to travel backwards on time was near, It approached so quickly. In my head a plan was setting up, clearly it was my entire bedroom which was travelling in time,not the rest of the world, so if I came towards the door and came through when both temporal realities approached I could escape through the door.Yeah, it now seems ridiculous but,what else could I have done? A stupid plan is better than any plan. The time approached, it was moving so quickly. It was close, very close, the hands were moving like crazy. I gulped, or at least I tried to, with my mouth as dry at it was I could have only swallow some dust. It was about time. It came closer and… I hit the door as hard as I could, the handle turned, the door opened and I fell on the floor. I looked at my phone’s clock. It appears I missed the date for a couple of days, but time seemed steady. I breathed relieved. It was over. I looked at the door, opened, and with a mixed feeling of fear and curiosity I took a look inside. It was normal. No huge eyes, no mad clocks… In fact no clocks at all. There were any sign of my clock. But at least I was home. My family missed my a couple of days but it turned up all right. They never take much care about me anyhow. So a couple of days were nothing to worry about. -‘And that is why I could not attend to your exam, teacher. I would have loved to fail that physics exam, but I was worried about important things like trying to keep me alive.’ -‘Definitely , that is the most incredibly and stupid story a student have made up for missing an exam. You will be able to retake the exam next monday. With two conditions: No more time travelling and a paper about the physics behind your story. ‘ -’But, I did not made it up, it was for real!’ I said trying to appear pissed up. -Yep, I think it does not have anything to do with that music festival it took place the days before the exam and whose wristband are you wearing. See you on monday. I sighed while the teacher turned away and slowly went out of sight. At least It was better than telling him that a three-days-from the past me was hidden in his bedroom. At least they could both work out that paper.

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  • 1. Clockwise time The clock’s hand advanced placidly in its own smooth and sticky way, click one second, click two seconds, click I’ll guess that will be the third second, and so on and on and on… It could seem that the time today was too lazy to advance in its normal path. It could seem that the seconds hand is having an epic battle every time it tries to beat another second. It is maddening. It is Sunday afternoon and my only occupation today is see time pass away, this is one of that kind of afternoons in which you are too lazy even to play videogames, even to take a nap. Sunday’s afternoons are so exasperating. Better look to the clock and pray for it go faster. Tick, tack, tick, tack . Another hour have past. Tick tack, tick. I am expecting the predictable tack. Nevertheless it seems my expectations will remain unfulfilled. It cannot be true! This damn hand is not moving. Does this tedious Sunday managed to stop the entire existence? ‘Nah, it must be that the batteries died’, I told myself. As my amusement have been abruptly stopped but such an insignificance as a dead batteries, I stopped my contemplation of time, existence and everything to rummage into the drawer next to my desktop, trying not to abandon the comfort of my bed. I stretch as much as I could without breaking and finally got the batteries. I picked up the clock from my nightstand, an old-like analog clock, at first sight It looks like it is made of wood, however I know well that it is made of cheap plastic, but I never failed before. I quickly changed the batteries and waited with the clock laying in my hands waiting for it recover its smooth path. Tick Tack, Tick tack. Tack Tick, Tack Tick. Wait a moment… Tack Tick? That is not good. To my surprise I was staring incredulously to the hands moving counterclockwise. ‘It must be definitely broken’. I said to myself. ‘It was a nice clock but quite cheap, it is broken’ With nothing else to do I layed down in the bed looking at the ceiling and without even noticing it I fell asleep. When the sunlight came through the window’s glass to hit my eyes mercilessly, I woke up suddenly. It was too sunny to be a late afternoon, the sun was starting to go down when I fell asleep. This made no sense. No way I could have asleep nearly whole day. My family would have woken me up by dinner time! I picked up my phone and my eyes quickly looked for the date. I was shocked when I saw that in fact, It said it was nearly midday of the same day. I checked the time without allowing my eyes to blink a single time. It was about time that the minutes indicator changed, for a while it showed 11:04 am about a minute later it marked 11:03. ‘I am pretty sure that it should have appeared a five in there’ I laughed nervously. Clearly something was messing with the electronics, maybe it was his sister having revenge for him falling asleep when it was his turn to set up the table. Yes, It must be that. I was eager to go out my bedroom and make everyone explain that silly joke. However when my hand touched the handle and tried to open the door as usual it did not move a millimeter. No matter how hard I tried. ‘Oh now you lock me. So funny li’l sis. When I go out we will see who laughs at whom’ I shouted while I reached out the phone to call my parents and end up with this silly joke. No signal.
  • 2. I tried again, vainly. I checked up the date on my phone. Oh great Septembrel, the 13th of 1993. The fucking day of release of In Utero. At this point I was starting to lose my mind days and nights died in my window, forest grew and died in the landscape, my clock was turning backwards in an insanely rate. I admit I freaked out a little bit. Well, maybe quite a lot I remember me yelling to the clocks how stupid and wrong they were. Ages later I was in the floor crying and begging them to take me back home. The whining ended when a shadow came through the window, I did not know what it was, but it must be massive. Huge footsteps shaked the room, and a reptile like, wide opened eye take a look inside my bedroom. I almost shited myself. I quickly got my hand in the clock and did what only my guts thought it would make sense, I removed the batteries and switched the order, when I turned around the clock I saw the hads turn quickly clockwise, and the eye had disappeared from the window. I took the clock in which I thought my last desperate chance to be back to my time. The date in which I started to travel backwards on time was near, It approached so quickly. In my head a plan was setting up, clearly it was my entire bedroom which was travelling in time,not the rest of the world, so if I came towards the door and came through when both temporal realities approached I could escape through the door.Yeah, it now seems ridiculous but,what else could I have done? A stupid plan is better than any plan. The time approached, it was moving so quickly. It was close, very close, the hands were moving like crazy. I gulped, or at least I tried to, with my mouth as dry at it was I could have only swallow some dust. It was about time. It came closer and… I hit the door as hard as I could, the handle turned, the door opened and I fell on the floor. I looked at my phone’s clock. It appears I missed the date for a couple of days, but time seemed steady. I breathed relieved. It was over. I looked at the door, opened, and with a mixed feeling of fear and curiosity I took a look inside. It was normal. No huge eyes, no mad clocks… In fact no clocks at all. There were any sign of my clock. But at least I was home. My family missed my a couple of days but it turned up all right. They never take much care about me anyhow. So a couple of days were nothing to worry about. -‘And that is why I could not attend to your exam, teacher. I would have loved to fail that physics exam, but I was worried about important things like trying to keep me alive.’ -‘Definitely , that is the most incredibly and stupid story a student have made up for missing an exam. You will be able to retake the exam next monday. With two conditions: No more time travelling and a paper about the physics behind your story. ‘ -’But, I did not made it up, it was for real!’ I said trying to appear pissed up. -Yep, I think it does not have anything to do with that music festival it took place the days before the exam and whose wristband are you wearing. See you on monday. I sighed while the teacher turned away and slowly went out of sight. At least It was better than telling him that a three-days-from the past me was hidden in his bedroom. At least they could both work out that paper.