SHORT STORY ANTHOLOGIES | TEMPO

The old man came once and took away all my suffering, I am grateful to him. It was two weeks ago that I invoked the seconds and they ignored me, they passed in such a way that they only attended to the details. Then I went for the minutes and they did the same. They took what their subjects, the seconds, had collected and created a new event that fed the passing of the days.

I was desolate and quite disoriented, I arrived at the edge of time, where the lines diverged into a colossal and monstrous clock. It was a sidereal space proliferated with constellations, with women on the sides accommodating the stars. They looked sensual and half-naked, gazing out into the void, aware of everything that was happening around them.

In the epicenter of all that spectacular panorama, there was a path of corpuscles that fed a golden sphere. Within it the grit moved back and forth, as if in serene vortices of thousands of fluctuating lives. A beautiful angel, with bright, outstretched wings, descended to me; curious about the thoughts that overwhelmed me.

"What are you here for?" he asked me, wanting to inquire about my disturbances, keeping secrets about what destiny was preparing for me.

"I want to go back to that instant, where I was happy with her," I told him without fear, for I was completely determined.

"You were already taken away from pain once, to live it again, would be to relive the suffering and this time there will be no qualms," she told me sternly, calling my destiny into question.

"It will only be for a moment, if the old man does not return to me, then I will look for a way to relieve myself on my own," I replied, and at my answer, the angel agreed inexpressively.

He raised one of his hands and pulled out a sword, it gave off fire that scorched my whole body. The flames were painless, almost imperceptible to my sensations, and when they finally stopped, I was in front of a beach with her beside me.

Mary was sitting on the sand, looking down at me and smiling. I held back the urge to hug her, it was a very stormy moment, but I managed to remain calm and sat down next to her.

"This is our favorite place in the world," she told me, as she rested her head on my shoulder.

"That's right," I replied, "Hopefully you'll never forget it."

"You know you can't manipulate time like this, right? You have to let things take their course. I'm dead, you can't get me back. You must let the dagger of pain descend completely."

I went limp at his cold words and the pain began to ascend again. At that moment I felt that things would end and I embraced her, not caring about the consequences. Suddenly a golden mist grabbed me, pulled me beyond the sand and that was when I was completely blinded.

When I regained consciousness, I was at the feet of the angel, and as I looked at his stern face he confessed to me very harsh words.

"Death is absolute oblivion, but time is only memories, memories that will only revive in your mind, but not in this space."