The Watch.

Alana was sitting on the bleak seats of the London Underground, with three other grim-looking people in the same compartment. It was 08 17 and Alana had to reach her office at 08 45 to be exact, and she was already yearning to take the train back home. Today the ride to her office was awfully still, though she was not a very loud person, she still liked the chitter-chatter and veiled bickering of random people while travelling to work in the mornings. Observing the tranquil environment around her, she glanced at her plain black strap watch and noticed that it was 08 30 now, and the train was about to stop at the next station in five minutes, from where she had to walk to her workplace.

She assembled all her belongings which she had spread on seat next to her, and attempted to stand up when her heel slipped and watch hit the pole. She was flustered, and her face turned an unnerving shade of red. Alana collected herself, reminding that there were only three other people on the train and that it was just a random slip. She noticed her watch was nowhere near to be made use of, and sighed remembering that her mother had gifted it to her saying, “This will keep the time in your reality firm,” and slightly chuckled at her mother’s words, then got up on her feet.

She looked around the compartment and quietly observed the three grim-looking people, one woman and two men wearing black trench coats which eerily resembled ones from her nightmares – which she used to get as a kid. She realized that they had been standing all this time when the train came to a halt. She got off the train and immediately became aware of the distinct vicinity and turned around to find the train was not there anymore. She kept repeating an inaudible prayer and made her way, as she would do daily. She had an undeniable feeling of fear lacing her as she took one step after the other, with her eyes on the ground. She looked around to find a clock to keep track of time but was not able to find one.

She suddenly noticed that with her exception, only three other people were present there, the ones who were with her in the train. She walked on the pace of a cheetah and hurried her way up the stairs. She was finally able to take a breath without the feeling of fear when she looked around and saw people hurrying to their workplaces. She sprinted off to her office, where she found out that she was about right on time, a little early actually. She quickly checked herself on the attendance marker in her office and got to her desk. She was relieved to be on time; however she was not very happy to find out that she was the first employee in this morning.

She went to the kitchen and made herself a cup of coffee to freshen up, and drank it on her desk. It had been about fifteen minutes and no one else had entered the office, but she told herself to mind her business and put her server on, and started waiting to receive calls. She waited for about five minutes, and received her first call for the day. It was an old lady, seeking advice whether or not to watch West Side Story, which had been put up in the cinemas again. Alana debated over the gravity of this woman’s question and chuckled lightly, advising that if the lady wants to enjoy, she may watch the movie. Alana noticed that no one had yet come into the office, and glanced at the time on her desktop when she noticed that the year on her computer was 2020, she rubbed her eyes and looked at it again when she screamed and started panicking.

She opened her LG flip phone to find the year on her phone as 2008, which gave her relief and she slowly got up and rushed to the women’s restroom to wash her face. On her way back to the desk, she wandered off to the supervisor’s office where she found the sign “Closed”, but it is never closed she thought to herself. She rushed to the upper floor, and found out that everyone on the floor was present and working. She hurried to the supervisor’s office on this floor, who was wearing a familiar apparel and inquired the reason the employees on the ground floor were not present. She did not seem to catch up when the supervisor showed her the live CCTV footage of her colleagues sitting on their desks and working. Out of the corner of her eyes, Alana took a quick look at the time on her desktop and found out that the year here was 2006, when she first joined the company.

“You are new, but I don’t expect this foolish behavior from almost anyone child.” The supervisor said to her, and embarrassed she walked right out of her office. She rushed to the ground floor of the office, and was confronted again with the bleak and barren floor. She ran through all the pathways on the floor, and in and out of every room, but there was no one to be found. She was baffled, and almost had tears fill her eyes. She raced back to her desk, picked up her coat and belongings and scuttled towards the exit door, and marked her leave on the attendance counter.

She came out, and found the exact same scenario as she did when walked out of the station an hour ago. She started feeling dizzy, with the overwhelmed feeling that her universe had been changing constantly over the last hour. She found her slowly losing consciousness when the last few state of affairs flashed in front of her eyes.

Alana, on finally gaining consciousness, slowly opened her eyes and found herself in her house. Must have been a nightmare she thought to herself, and got straight up and went to her washroom. She got ready for office and had breakfast, and then walked to the station. As she took her seat on the train, she realized that she was wearing her plain black strap watch, though she did not remember wearing it. It came to her realization that the time was now 08 17, and the only other people on the train were the three grim-looking people, standing in black trench coats. She tried to remain calm, and the next thing she knew was that her heel had slipped which caused her to fall down, and that her watch was now broken, nowhere near to be made use of.