The Gears of Yesterday

The parcel came in a tin box wrapped in paper with oil stains. The parcel smelled like tobacco and machine oil. It did not look very valuable. The outside of the box was made of brass. It was scratched and worn out. When Zak opened the box, he found a watch. The watch was not working. The hands of the watch were stuck at 4:14. There was a note inside the box that said, "Do not wind the watch much." If you turn it back, look at your own wrist first.

Zak sat at his desk. Looked at the watch. He had a lot of work to do and not much time to do it. He had a deadline to meet. He was getting a little worried. He picked up the watch. Turned the crown. It stopped turning after a while. The second hand did not move. Zak. Turned the crown back. The room was very quiet. Then there was a loud click. The minute hand moved back. The sunlight in the room started to move. The shadows on the wall jumped back. The noise from the street outside got louder and then quieter. Zak was surprised. He dropped the watch.

Zak looked at his computer. Saw that the time had changed. It was 4:13 again. He. Watched the time change again. He picked up the watch. Turned the crown back again. The time changed again. Zak was amazed. He could use the watch to go in time. He used the watch to fix his mistakes. When he made a mistake, he would turn the watch back. Try again. He used the watch to win a game. He used the watch to avoid accidents.

Then Zak started to feel tired. He felt like he was getting older. He looked at his hands. Saw that they were getting old. He realized that the watch was taking time from his life. Every time he used the watch, he was losing a bit of his life. Zak was scared. He did not want to lose his life. He tried to stop using the watch. It was hard. He wanted to be perfect. He wanted to make no mistakes.

Zak tried to go back to his normal life. It was hard. He was used to being perfect. He was used to using the watch to fix his mistakes. Without the watch, he felt like he was making mistakes all the time. He was nervous and anxious. He did not know what to do. He wanted to use the watch. He knew it was bad for him.

One day, Zak was playing a game. He was about to lose. He wanted to use the watch to win. Then he stopped. He thought about what he was doing. He thought about how the watch was affecting his life. He realized that he did not need the watch. He could make mistakes. It was okay to make mistakes. Zak closed the game. Walked away. He felt relieved. He felt happy.

Zak opened the window. Let the fresh air in. He listened to the noises outside. He felt alive. He felt like he was a part of the world. He did not need the watch to be perfect. He could just be himself. Zak. Felt happy. He knew that he had made the decision. He was done with the watch. He was done with trying to be perfect. He was just going to live his life.

The air outside was cool and fresh. Zak felt good. He walked over to the kitchen. Poured himself a glass of water. He spilled some water on the floor. He did not worry. He just let it be. He did not need to fix everything. He could just let things happen. Zak felt free. He felt like he could just live his life without worrying about making mistakes. He was happy.

He knew that tomorrow he would have to wake up and face the pile of work on his desk without any magic solutions. There would be work to fix by hand, emails to write carefully, and everyday mistakes that he would just have to deal with. His head still hurt a little from the stress. A reminder of the trouble he had gotten himself into. His mind felt better than it had since the package came. He walked back to the desk, took the tin box with the brass watch, and put it on the shelf of his closet, hidden behind old winter clothes, where he could not get to it easily.

He turned off the lamp on his desk. Let the room get dark. He got into bed, pulled the blanket up to his neck, and listened to the tick of the clock on the wall. It just kept going one tick after another without stopping or going backward. It just marked time. For the first time in a long time, Zak closed his eyes and went to sleep, happy to let tomorrow come when it was supposed to.