Fragments of Time
Once upon a time, in a small, bustling town called Atria, lived an extraordinary watchmaker named Martin. Born into a family of watchmakers, Martin was known for his intricate chronometers that were not just tellers of time but beautiful works of art.
Martin was different from other watchmakers; he had a mystical ability to manipulate time. This secret ability was a family legacy passed down generations, a tightly kept secret. With a twist of his special contraption, dubbed as 'The Time Turner', he could experience different timelines.
As the story begins, Martin was 70 years old. On a gloomy afternoon while he was working on his watch, he felt a curious pull towards The Time Turner. For all these years, he had always used it sparingly, aware of its potentially disastrous effects if misused.
A sudden shiver ran down his spine as he touched the frosty apparatus. With a deep breath, Martin decided to relive the day he had met his late wife, Eliza. As he slowly twisted the contraption, the room around him began to dissolve, replaced by a vibrant carnival of his past.
In the year 1970, he was a young man of 20 eagerly exploring the carnival that Atria was famed for. It was here that he saw Eliza for the first time, her emerald-green eyes captivating his heart instantly. Their love story burgeoned amidst the Ferris wheels, cotton candy, and laughter, culminating in a beautiful proposal under the grand fireworks.
Nevertheless, diving into his past was pleasurable but also painful, reminding him of the life they shared, cut short by Eliza's unexpected demise. Stuck in the puzzle of time, nostalgia, and grief, Martin made the drastic decision to bring Eliza back.
The Time Turner had another secret feature. It could not only let one visit different timelines but also alter events in the past. But such an act had its repercussions; the Universe always maintains its equilibrium. A change induced in one timeline could potentially disrupt another.
Ignoring his rational mind, Martin decided to prevent Eliza’s untimely death. He revisited the day of the accident and averted Eliza from the fatal pathway, only to realise that things had gone awry when he returned to the future.
While he found Eliza alive in the new timeline, their beloved hometown, Atria, was barely recognisable. The prosperous town was now a picture of chaos, negligence, and an economic downturn - a consequence of him saving Eliza. What hit Martin harder was the sight of Eliza withering away in melancholy, yearning for their lost, loving town of Atria.
The misery that filled Eliza's eyes was too much for Martin to bear. He realised the selfish mistake he had made, leading to further grief and the town's destruction. Understanding the equilibrium he had disrupted, Martin took a painful decision. He stepped onto the path of atoning his mistake by returning Eliza to her untimely fate.
With a heavy heart and teary eyes, he set out to fix the timeline once again. As he twisted The Time Turner, the room's edges blurred, the noise faded away, and he found himself in the past again. This time, he allowed fate to take its course.
After altering the timeline, Martin returned to his real time. Atria was back to its norm; the hustling market, the happy faces everyone enjoyed. But, there was no Eliza. Filled with emptiness yet contentment, Martin realised that the time they had spent, though short, was full of love, joy and warmth that not everyone gets in a lifetime.
From then on, Martin used The Time Turner solely for what it was made for - to revisit past memories, cherishing moments of joy, and dealing with sorrow. He understood that time, though a puppeteer, is not his to puppet.