Chronosaurus

By Devina Ghose

The familiar hum of the grandfather clock reached their ears.

It was a constant reminder of how restrained they felt as if time itself had put shackles on them.

Every second, every minute, and every hour of their life, they felt bound to time.

Afraid of the fact, that they would get caught up in it, if they didn’t keep moving forward.

For if they waited, would it be them or their dreams that would decimate?

Alas, such was the illusion of time. If you kept waiting, you’d be consumed in its wretched claws.

They fell under the age-old trance of time, thinking it would solve everything.

However time couldn’t solve this.

It was like a mistress that rarely did what you asked of her, instead demanded more than you could ever offer.

Oh how they wished to escape from the chains of this godly demon.

———

The wooden floorboards creaked as they walked towards their bedroom.

The only source of light were the windows that bathed the corridors and rooms with sunlight.

Upon entering they noticed an antique watch laid peacefully on their bed over a piece of paper.

Its rhythmic ticking filled the entire room.

Hesitantly, they picked it up.

Strange…

Why would there be a watch like this on their bed? More importantly whose was it and how did it get here?

Peering though the glass, they noticed something engraved inside.

CONSTANCE

Keep running

Countdown…

They flipped the watch over to see a line etched on its metallic back.

…Till Eternity

They moved their attention to the note that looked back at them menacingly.

A set of instructions greeted them on opening, which ended with one ominous line,

If you so choose to, it shall stop at once.

They glanced back at the watch.

Should I?

I mean I have nothing to loose.

I feel like I’m stuck in hourglass anyway.

This was the miracle they had been waiting for after all.

Dubiously, they followed the directions given on the piece of parchment.

Nothing happened for a while. They let out a soft chuckle. How could they believe in something like this?

However before the piece of paper could even slip from their fingers, their vision started blurring.

As they staggered back in shock, coloured orbs seemed to whizz past them and before they could even process anything, darkness swallowed them.

———

Their eyelids flickered as the view became clear.

What is this place?

It was dark and moist. The sound of water droplets hitting the ground pierced their ears.

It was eerily quiet. Too quiet.

Their head moved in all directions encompassing the whole place.

It seemed like they were in a tunnel.

Darkness shrouded every corner of the tunnel except a small portion— a single light source above them.

It felt as if something unknown would creep out from the shadows any moment and devour every inch of their body if they didn’t stay inside the circle of light.

So it really happened…

They let out an apprehensive sigh— unsure of whether this was a dream.

Their face wrinkled as they focused on the piece of paper in their hand one last time.

Not wasting a split second, they hastily carried out the last set of instructions left on the paper.

This was the most crucial part. The part that would give them what they had always wanted—

To be in control…

To finally change their…

A tornado of wind surrounded them as they were finally taken to the place where they wanted to be.

Past…

They scoffed in disbelief.

It worked?

Be that as it may, they spared no time doubting this very instance.

They got to work, immediately- changing everything that induced pangs of regret in their heart.

Whenever they would face a mishap, they would come back to this never-ending tunnel.

The only difference- they’d be a few feet away from their original spot.

Forby, they would also be in a peculiar stance each time.

The first time they arrived here, they were standing.

The next time, they returned to this portentous place, they were in another pose as if they had just started walking.

It was like being in an animation sequence.

To top it all of, not an inch of their body could be moved.

But this setting didn’t seem to bother them at all.

After all, an opportunity like this would never knock twice on your door.

An opportunity to redo your past to your will.

In-fact, they thought, it was a small price to pay for the power they got instead.

Indeed, a perfect formula to live a perfect life.

———

A wave of confidence hit their body as they realised that they not only had their life, but everyone else’s in their hands.

They were finally free from the reigns of time.

They became more and more elated, as their ego started festering.

They kept running as if time couldn’t see them.

How could it? It was in their grasp now. The scales had tipped and the tables had turned.

They would keep running, even if their breath ran out.

And there was no one to stop them now.

———

That was until they returned to the tunnel once again.

How much time had passed since they were back here? Decades?

This time they were in the same place as when they had first arrived.

Their sense of glory could be seen in their rejuvenated face.

Regardless, something felt…odd.

What…

For the first time in ages, they felt scared.

Their overwhelming sense of pride came crashing down as they realised they couldn’t go back anymore.

Fear had started creeping up their body, slowly engulfing the entirety of it.

They grunted trying their best to move yet remained rigid as ever.

All pointless.

Fruitless.

They couldn’t go back. They gritted their teeth.

Panic-stricken, they tried darting their eyes around. The tunnel was endless as usual.

Their eyes landed on the murky walls. The walls that had accompanied them throughout this entire bewitching journey. The walls that had seen them at their worst and at their best.

They should’ve just stopped.

Another one.

They should’ve just been content.

They cannot move now.

Peering further, almost squinting, they realised the walls were covered with carvings.

Give me that lottery ticket.

I would like to invest here.

Off-course, I know the future.

Got too greedy.

No no no, they thought as sweat beaded from their forehead.

Every single dialogue they had ever said in their life was recorded on the wall.

And it was talking to him…?

Suddenly they felt an unimaginable amount of force sucking every fibre of their body forward into thin air.

Their wish had come true.

They materialised in the next position. They started hyperventilating.

Unfortunately this was far from over.

They kept looking at the wall as they shifted to another position.

Now they would run endlessly, in this tunnel with no light.

They vaporised, yet again.

Faster and faster each time.

Every hour, every minute, and every second, a prisoner of time.

Faster.

Bound to the chains of time once again. The very thing they tried so hard to escape.

Faster

The only evidence of their existence left, was time itself.

Faster

The very thing they hated. The very thing they did not have enough of.

Faster

Now they had…

Faster

Till eternity.

Only the rhythmic ticking echoed through the walls as they were lost to the sequence of time being nothing more than mere frames.

By Devina Ghose