The Time-Swallower
Once upon a time, in a small fishing village was a peculiar yet brilliant watchmaker named Thaddeus. He lived alone but had a reputation for fixing anything from pocket watches to large maritime clocks. He was also known for his strange obsession: attempting to create a time machine. His obsession was perceived as mere folly by the villagers, although some were mesmerized by his ambitious tales of temporal adventures. The visitor to his shop would be enticed by stories about the glorious past, or the unknown future.
One rainy day, an old woman named Mrs. Warble walked into Thaddeus' store. She was bent over, frail, with gray hair tied tight in a bun and a skin that told tales of a thousand harsh suns. She was carrying something carefully wrapped in an old, worn piece of brown cloth. Unwrapping it slowly, she revealed an antique, ornate pocket watch. It was beautiful but looked ravaged by time.
The watch had belonged to her late husband, a gallant sailor who sailed to parts unknown and returned with many strange artifacts. She explained that the watch stopped ticking the night her husband died. Although it was old and rusty, for her, the watch represented undying love and that him still being with her. Thaddeus, moved by Mrs. Warble’s story, promised her that he would breathe life back into that tiny relic.
Thaddeus worked on the watch for days, forgoing food and sleep, painstakingly fixing every gear, every spring with precision, and soon, the watch was ticking again. But something was strange. The watch seemed to run faster than usual, swallowing seconds like they did not matter. It was a mystery he couldn't resist.
Not wanting to return a flawed watch, Thaddeus decided to keep it overnight, monitoring the erratic behavior, hoping to make some sense of it. As the midnight oil burned, the eccentric watchmaker witnessed something incredible. The watch didn't just count time faster; it sucked away the time around it. He couldn't believe his eyes as he saw his half-full glass of water age, evaporate, and run dry. The fresh cut flowers became withered and worn. He was afraid, yet astounded. Was this the time machine he dreamed of?
He pondered, and it hit him – Mrs. Warble’s sailor husband didn’t find the watch; He created it. Giving it to a man obsessed with time travel, his wife unknowingly passed on his legacy. Thaddeus allowed his excitement to take over his fear and decided he wanted to try this temporal voyage. He cranked up the watch – and as the night faded, so did Thaddeus.
Next morning, a restless Mrs. Warble came looking for Thaddeus, only to find the shop empty, kept in an uncanny silence. She immediately sensed something amiss but found nothing but the ticking watch on the table. Reading the note Thaddeus left, she understood the power of the watch and what must-have happened to the man. Mrs. Warble was left with the paradoxical fear of time itself and the longing for her husband, now knowing he may be lost in time.
Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years, yet there was no sign of Thaddeus. Mrs. Warble safeguarded the watch, never allowing it to swallow time anymore, living her remaining years with the memory of two great men fascinated by the compelling dance of time.
Legend has it that Thaddeus is still out there, riding the endless waves of time, lost yet content. And the villagers often whisper amongst themselves, narrating the tale of the Time-Swallower watching the night sky, hoping to spot a little temporal glitch, a sign of their lost watchmaker.