The Pocketwatch #2

“I got a few small pocket watches that I could sell for a very low price, you know, watches aren’t sold anymore since everybody has switched to these techbracelets.” The next sentences were drowned out by the tower striking half an hour and some of the clocks joining in with their own chirping. He pulled a red velvet cloth to uncover drawer with a glass top filled with all kinds of pocket watches. Though there was only one that Alice saw between the glittering and shimmering of all those circular objects. It was a little silver thing with roses engraved on the outside. She knew she was low on money, as always, but this pretty little thing ought to be hers and no-one else’s.

“How much do you ask for these?”

“Well for you I’ll make it a special price, what about 15 quid and 5 quid extra if you want a chain with it.”

That is a bargain, that is even cheaper then getting insurance for my bracelet and much more convenient than getting it replaced when I lose or break it, she pondered. She had enough money in her wallet, she hadn’t come around getting some bread and vegetables from the farmers outside the city.

“Could you check if the small one with the roses still works.”  She asked shyly, if there was anything wrong to say.

“Dear, this pretty ticks as well as a young girl’s heart.” The shopkeeper looked her right in the eye, she could find nothing but honesty and to prove it he wound it up like they did in the old world years and placed it in her hand. His hands felt soft but the warmth had left them years ago when fireplaces had gotten the stamp ‘illegal’. She opened the watch, saw the small hand ticking, counting away the seconds, the face of the watch a little bit discoloured but that gave the watch a beautiful vintage look. Somehow this pocket watch felt as if magic has wrapped its fingers around the cogs and gears visible through an open circle in the middle of the face of the watch. Beneath the sighing and pulling there was a little blue light, faintly glimmering underneath the brotherly violence above. It’s the most beautiful piece of art I have seen from the old world, there are no words to describe this beautify, Alice could not quite make up her mind why she found it so beautiful but her hand already reached into her wallet and pulled out a transparent card. The shopkeeper pulled the cardreader out from underneath the counter and inserted the sum of 15 quids on the bill. Alice only had to swipe her card over the little blue lights and the pocket watch was hers.