The power of time

Penelope had it all: a good family, a cute house, and a satisfying job. But she also had a secret she had never shared with anyone: she was able to bend time and space. She had always seen people around her struggling daily to reach the end of their days and do everything they wanted at work, school, and in their private lives. Time seemed too little for family and friends. People ran continuously, restless, to meet their ends, enjoy their lives, and spend time with people they liked, but not her. She had time. She had love. She had everything.

It started when she was little, too little to remember precisely when it first happened, and that's why she thought for a long time that she was not the only one. Homework at school was easy, and she always had time to watch her favorite cartoons. She had seen her parents for years struggling to leave the house every morning when she was a child, but she was never late for school or any other activities. Life was not easy, but it was not difficult either. Things happened as they were supposed, and only later in the third year of school, when her teacher explained how to read the hours, did she fully realize the weight of her unique gift. 

"I wish it were earlier, and I did not have to go to bed," she said one night, looking at the clock in the kitchen. It was nine, and then, suddenly, the hands of the old clock ran backward.

"Time for dinner!" heard Penelope.

"Again?" said the girl.

They had dinner again, and the little one understood what had happened. She just had to think about it and wish it. From that point onward, Penelope used her gift every single day. Why shouldn't she? Why should her life be as difficult as those who surrounded her? As an adult, she never had issues finishing assignments, being on time, or doing whatever she had to do. And she was happy until things changed. Unexpectedly.

When Penelope met Martin, she was twenty-nine years old and never used her gift with him. For the first time, she feared being late, not having enough time, or cutting short a night with him, but she decided to give herself to him as a normal person, as someone who could not turn back the hands of time. She thought about making the night longer the first time they were together, but a doubt appeared: what if she changed it all? What if he forgot her? What if she changed how she had fallen in love with him, and he had fallen for her? For months, they were together, happily lost in each other. Clocks did not matter. Time was not an issue. She did not bend it; it flowed naturally, happily, calmly... and then, one day, things something changed again. 

"I am pregnant." She said.

Martin was happy. Penelope was nervous. He dreamed for the next months about what the little girl they expected would bring to their lives. She feared how she would manage everything. Despite how busy she was with work and school, she had enjoyed her life as a loving girlfriend, but a baby would change her life, and she decided to go back to old habits. Here and there, she would wish for ten more minutes, for someone to wait, for something to happen later... and Lucia, Penelope and Martin's Queen, was born on a day dedicated to Kings. 

Penelope loved to watch her baby girl as she slept. The new mother discovered herself asking hours extra from the clock, additional time to see her little queen, unaware of what that did to Martin, who arrived home more and more exhausted. Mother and daughter strolled around town under the sun while Martin worked more and more hours... and when one day, Martin broke into crying, worn and tired, she thought she could help him.

"I have a secret," she said. "And I can help."

Penelope told him everything: how she moved the clock the first time, overslept but was always on time for school, and how she never missed anything, even if everyone around her had a difficult time doing what they planned to do.

"Maybe that's why I struggle," said Martin. "You are making our days longer, but we don't enjoy them."

"That's ridiculous," she said. "I'd never do that; I never shared this with anyone; it was my secret..."

Penelope held Martin's hand and wished for time to go back. She had never done it before. Not with him, not to him.

"I am tired," said Martin. "It was a long day."

Days and weeks passed, and Penelope, feeling guilty about Martin's words, focused on making everyone else's life easier. She used her gift more and more, but not for her: she cared for Lucia, cooked, worked, cleaned, and studied. She was a professional, mother, friend, and lover. She met everyone, helped everyone, and wished for extra time and extra life every minute she was awake. But when she slept, the nightmares visited her. The days became longer and more difficult for her, and the nights were shorter and darker until the first day when she couldn't sleep at all. Everything changed. The next day, she could not give Martin an extra hour to play with Lucia. Two days later, she did not cook dinner on time. A week later, she forgot about a meeting at daycare and failed an assignment at work. A month after that, Penelope's heart gave up, and while trying to keep up, strolling with Lucia in a park near their home, everything went dark.

She woke up in a bright white room, surrounded by machines beeping.

"I was so worried about you," she heard. It was Martin's voice, who was holding her hand.

"You fainted. The doctors are checking on you. You'll be fine..."

Penelope wished the time to go back, but the clock did not move. She closed her eyes and dreamed about the sun, the grass, her daughter's smile...," but nothing changed.

I need you to take it easy, to stop," said Martin.

"But I don't know how!" Penelope said, holding his hand and crying softly. I need to do more, I should do more... but I feel weak."

"But you are the strongest person I know; you are a superwoman," exclaimed Martin, caressing her face and drying her tears.

Penelope looked at him, sad and exhausted, resigned to the life that waited for her, and said, "I am no superwoman; I am super tired."