I rub my hands against the surface of the pocket watch. It’s sides are a dull golden colour with a couple of scratches. Both hands are touching the twelve while the third one ticks from number to number. I play with the rusty buttons at the back for a few minutes that read “second”, ‘minute’, ‘hour’, ‘day’, ‘week’, ‘year’, and ‘century.’ Before realizing what my eyes were seeing, I press ‘day.’ My skinny pale palms suddenly get sweaty and the World spins around me. Dizziness overwhelms my mind and my knees buckle. My brain feels like it’s exploding into millions of tiny pieces. My lungs are burning and a terrible cold stabs my back. Then my eyes pop out of my skull and my body disintegrates into thin grey sand. I now realize what the buttons on the back mean. The watch in my hands could go back in time… An excellent way to see where my mom went. She’s been missing for many hours now. When I ask everyone on the train about her whereabouts, their voices cry murder… 

I’m suddenly back in the dining hall in my original form and laughter fills my ears. I spot my mom sitting at a table a few steps away from me. Her dark hair is tied back in a ponytail and her midnight blue eyes gleam as she stares at the person sitting in front of her. I blink a couple times to make sure what I’m seeing is actually real. The person is me... My eyes take in my messy black hair and dark green shirt. I gasp and continue to stare in shock. The boy sitting next to my mom looks exactly like… me. I pinch myself hard, just in case I’m hallucinating. The boy gets up, kisses my mother goodnight and leaves for our sleeping car... like I had yesterday. My mom slowly gets up afterwards and leaves. I carefully follow her a few seconds later, making sure not to get caught or things would turn out very badly. Afterall in the movies the main character makes sure never to get caught or they end up in a lot of trouble. After a while my mom enters the train balcony and closes the wooden door behind her. I crowch up behind the abandoned grey suitcase in the hallway that is right in front of me and stare through the foggy window. My mom is peering at the sky for stars with a calm expression on her face. I smile slightly as I touch the glass in front of me, tracing her figure in the dark. Suddenly, out of nowhere a dark figure in the corner of the small balcony moves towards her. She notices him too and asks “Who are you?” her voice clearly frightened. The man takes a step closer before speaking in a rough voice. “You and your husband have invented a time gadget. Where is it?” he demands and pulls out a sharp knife and points it at my mom. My hands reach for the doorknob in front of me but it’s locked. My mom steps back towards the railing and says, “I don’t know what you are talking about,” her voice is calm even though she is visibly shaking. “Don’t you?” he asks taking another step closer, intimidatingly. She shakes her head, “No.” “How much does your life mean to you?” he asks frustrated now. “It means more than yours ever will,” she says confidently even though her face betrays her voice. The man growls angrily and strikes her with the weapon straight in the heart. She screams and falls down clutching her shirt tightly with her trembling fingers. Her body shakes and blood pours out of her chest after a few more violent stabs. The man attacks one more time and more fiercer than the rest. My moms bloodcurdling cries echo in the air but it’s no match for the trains incredibly loud noise. Then the cries for help stop and my mom's motionless body lays still on the balcony floor. The man looks around for a few seconds at the same time I duck under the window so I wouldn’t have to view the murder. He slowly leaned back against the door and when I looked back up. The man had vanished. Hate and tears devour my body and mind along with shock at what I had just seen. My mouth feels numb and the tears roll down my face uncontrollably. I know I will never get her back… Then I quickly press the buttons of the clock once more… I carefully stare at the gravestone in front of me, taking in the blood red roses that lay on the ground right next to the bottom of the grave. I slowly take out the watch from my front jean pocket. I can hear my dad yell at me from a distance that it’s time to go. But I take a deep breath and shut my eyes. Thinking back to the day I had gotten the watch...

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I grab the rusty brown box from the bookshelf in my room at the train.The trees and sky zoom behind us as the train picks up its pace. I feel the soft blankets in the shelf next to me. Taking in the warm feeling between my fingers. I open the lid of the giant box and gaze at what is inside. The most beautiful watch I had ever seen. I hear my mom come into my room and say, “ It’s special, Hugo. Me and your father have been working on it for years. I’m sorry he couldn’t be here with us today. Something came up at work but he couldn’t make it. But we have decided to give this to you because we know you will use it for greatness. Happy Birthday my dear Hugo.”

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I smile at the memory and open my eyes again. Slipping my watch into my pocket and getting to my feet, I walk towards my dad promising myself I will use the watch for greatness like my parents were talking about.