Recent Edit: 2019.03.23
The man wearing business-formal attire exited the train last and looked around, his black briefcase swinging heavily in his hand. He wondered if he had been followed to Third Street’s train station. He hoped not.
He waited impatiently until the station had cleared of people walking up to the streets before he took out a white business card from his breast pocket and consulted from it. Glancing around again nervously, he then walked to his left, all the way to the end of the station.
At the last bench slouched another man, dressed in a gray-silver double-breasted suit. A thin golden chain hung from his right breast-pocket, and his color-matching fedora covered his face as the man leaned against the wall, seemingly unaware of the businessman that walked in his direction.
The businessman stopped in front of this last bench and eyed the sitting man, glancing at his wristwatch without really looking at the time as he waited. The seconds ticked by, then minutes, and then another train arrived, opened its doors to let another gaggle of people enter and exit, before the station was silent again.
And yet, the sitting man seemed unaware, as the businessman began tapping his foot, choosing to set down his briefcase next to him.
Finally, another train had passed by before the businessman cleared his throat carefully.
“Mister, um, Kolo…?” the businessman began slowly but was interrupted by the man’s response, muffled by the fedora.
“I beg your pardon?” asked the businessman, taking a step forward.
The fedora came up. “I said, ‘Just Kolo is fine.’”
“Kolo. Understood. Kolo. I hear you can help me.” Stated the businessman, tapping his foot again.
But Kolo didn’t respond. Tap. Tap. Tap, went the businessman’s foot. Finally, the businessman reached down and picked up his briefcase again, then pushed it towards Kolo.
“I brought money. More than enough money, I think. Surely you can respond to my –” But the businessman was interrupted again by that muffled voice.
“You haven’t told me what you wanted. Mister…?”
The businessman let the briefcase lower down to his side. “My name doesn’t matter, but if you must insist, call me Daniel, and just Daniel. Will you help me or not? If money isn’t what you want, I know people. Powerful people. I can get people to do anything. That’s how I found you, because I’m told that you are the only one that can help me.”
The fedora came up this time, settling finally towards the Kolo’s head as Kolo revealed the entirety of his face.
“The thing you want can’t be bought, Daniel. It’s just how it is.”
Daniel did not hesitate. “Favors then. Fortune. Connections. Whatever you want.”
Another pause came, then Kolo sat up, spreading his legs and leaning against his knees with his elbows propping himself upright as he stared into Daniel’s eyes.
“She calls you Danny, doesn’t she?”
Daniel flinched, then responded quickly, “You are not my mother, Kolo. I would appreciate if you refrain from calling me Danny.”
Kolo’s head tilted to the side as he observed Daniel. “Of course, Daniel. Of course. And I’d appreciate if you understand that what you want simply cannot be bought with money or favors.”
Daniel dropped the briefcase in frustration, hearing the next train coming along as he shouted against the sound of the oncoming train. “What do you want then, Kolo?! If it’s not money, what?!”
But Kolo reached into his right breast-pocket and pulled out a golden pocket watch and released the latch, then everything was silent.
Daniel spun around quickly. The train had just entered the station. But it wasn’t moving. Nothing was moving. Only them. Daniel froze, then slowly turned back to Kolo, who hadn’t moved. Daniel’s hair was on end and his scalp itched, but he didn’t dare reach to scratch it.
“There. All quiet. At least, for the time…being.” Kolo chuckled to himself out loud as he viewed the watch, then spoke pointed to Daniel. “Surely you know who I am. You have my card.”
Daniel returned to his senses, having wondered if he should attempt to pick up his briefcase. And then he remembered who he was dealing with. His eyes darted around the station again as he prepared his reply.
“The Time Merchant.”
“Michelle, wasn’t it?” Kolo didn’t ask, merely stated. Daniel nodded vigorously, his eyes still trying to look around. “She should have told you that I don’t need money too.”
Frowning, Daniel tried to tap the toe of his shoe against the briefcase, only to realize he could not make it budge. It too, was stuck in time. “I don’t understand. She said she paid you for your services. So I thought that…”
“Oh, she did. She did pay, Daniel,” Kolo smiled quickly, tapping his pocket watch knowingly, then frowned as he thought to himself. Kolo then added almost silently, “She will, unfortunately. We all do.”
But Daniel paid that no heed as he focused on what he wanted to hear. “Then what is wrong with my money? I’ve got so much money in this briefcase you wouldn’t even believe –”
The pocket watch was shut tightly with a quick close of the Time Merchant’s fingers, and time resumed itself as the train drowned out Daniel’s tirade.
It wasn’t until the people had entered and exited and the station was quiet again before Kolo responded in a low voice, one that echoed unnaturally inside the station.
“Time is money, Daniel.”
Daniel’s mind whirled at what was being said. He looked at Kolo, who stared right back at him without really looking at him. It seemed as though Kolo were looking at something else, something that Daniel couldn’t see. But he swallowed dryly and attempted to reason with the Time Merchant.
“I…don’t understand,” Daniel replied hesitantly.
“But you do, Daniel,” Kolo said without smiling, “You do understand.”
Daniel heard the words but felt numb at them, watching as Kolo looked through him searchingly. It felt as though Kolo knew his answer before he even spoke it, but Daniel tried regardless as his business instincts kicked in.
“One year of my life,” Daniel offered. “For one year added to hers.”
The Time Merchant shook his head without closing his eyes that stared through Daniel.
“Three years,” Daniel said immediately.
The Time Merchant looked at Daniel with no response, still looking through him.
“Five!” Daniel desperately stated, “For two years! And then I want you to make it so –”
But Daniel fell silent looking at Kolo’s straight expression. Daniel knew without asking: it wasn’t enough.
The silence was broken by Kolo, who spoke softly and with a sense of finality. “Ten for one.”
Daniel blanched visibly. “Ten?! You mean, years?”
“Ten years,” replied Kolo. “And to be perfectly honest, you don’t need it, Daniel.”
“Of course I need it, my mother will die in three months, and I can’t help but –”
“That means you have three months left to see her, Daniel,” Kolo said simply, “Three whole months.”
“I can’t see her in these coming three months! I run a multi-national, well-known business! I can’t put aside my business, for all the people depending on me, to go off on my own selfish little family get-together.”
Kolo’s head tilted again. “Why did you come find me? Instead of visiting your mother right now?”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed at the question. “To invest. She only has three months left and if you lengthen her time, then –”
“So you’re telling me, Danny, that you prefer running your business over spending time with your dying mother.”
“What? No!” replied Daniel hastily, “I love my mother! But an entire company depends on me. We’re launching a new product soon, and now is not the time to leave it in someone else’s hands. But I can’t choose when my mother gets cancer. I didn’t want to have to do this but I have no choice. I don’t have a choice in the matter, Kolo. Ten years is a lot to trade, but I will do it if that’s what I must.”
Daniel fell silent, waiting for Kolo to respond to his agreement. He watched nervously as Kolo slowly spun the golden pocket watch between his fingers, waiting for any indication that the Time Merchant was willing to complete the transaction.
“I think you are misinformed about something, Daniel,” Kolo started slowly, gazing at the light reflecting from the pocket watch as he spun it between his fingers. “You always have a choice. You seem to think that the main barrier to you spending more time with your dying mother is her limited lifespan, made apparent to you by the onset of her illness.”
A moment passed, then two as Daniel tried to process Kolo’s statement. Then Daniel exploded with indignity.
“Are you implying that this is NOT the main barrier? I’ve already made it clear to you; I cannot simply abandon my company. Will you do this transaction or not, Kolo? I’ve already agreed to your price. Ten years off my lifespan in exchange for one year of hers.”
Kolo depressed the latch again, causing Daniel to flinch. But Kolo’s fingers prevented the pocket watch to flip open, and time did not stop.
“Daniel. No matter the time she has, your behavior won’t change. The amount of time you can spend with her is the same.”
A train came again, shedding its burden of people, accepted a replacement of human cargo, and then left again.
Daniel waited until the other people had left, then hissed at Kolo, “Three months left, compared to fifteen months? That’s a huge difference, Kolo. What does my behavior have to do with any of this?”
The pocket watch’s cover flipped open, and the station was silent again. Kolo stood up and stretched his shoulders, causing Daniel to flinch and take a step back, tripping over the briefcase that stayed immobile and landing on the ground.
“Allow me to show you something, Daniel. Consider it on the house.” Kolo offered Daniel a hand. Daniel brushed it off, choosing to stand up on his own.
“What do you plan on showing me, Kolo? Nothing can change my mind.”
Kolo’s hand was still proffered to Daniel. “I’m afraid that’s the problem, Daniel. But I will try my best. Take my hand.”
Disgruntled, Daniel slowly reached for Kolo’s hand. “If you think this is some Christmas Carol stupidity, I’ll have you know – WHERE ARE WE.”
To Daniel, the station had disappeared and they were standing on thin air, overlooking his own office at the company. Daniel saw himself sitting at his desk, reviewing the screen.
“We’re in your office, Daniel, a year from now.”
Curious, Daniel walked over to review the spreadsheets over his future self’s shoulder. He gasped. Everything had succeeded. Their new product launch had succeeded far beyond his wildest dreams.
Then future-Daniel’s intercom rang, and he answered it.
“Hello Daniel. Your sister is here to see you?” came his secretary’s voice from the intercom.
“Let her in,” future-Daniel replied.
Kolo walked up behind Daniel and laid a firm hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “Watch,” Kolo commanded. “Listen.”
Daniel’s sister came in, closing the door behind her without decorum. “Danny. We need to talk.”
Future-Daniel’s eyes didn’t shift away from his screen. “Hello Nicole. How’s mom?” future-Daniel asked.
“Why don’t you go see for yourself, Danny?” Nicole retorted, walking towards his desk and putting her hands down on the desk. “She’s not doing well, Danny. And you’re sitting here, staring at your precious spreadsheets. You think this is more important than mom?”
Future-Daniel pursed his lips, frowned, then input a different variable into the spreadsheets. Annoyed, Nicole reached over and turned the screen away from future-Daniel.
“You aren’t even paying attention to me, Danny. What is going on? Why are you so relaxed?! Mom could die any moment now and – ”
“Mom has a few more months to live, Nicole. Calm down. I saw her just last week, for New Year’s Eve. She’s not going to die all of a sudden.”
“You can’t possibly be certain of that, Danny. You aren’t the doctor here. The doctor told me that her outlook doesn’t look good. In fact he’s surprised that she lived this long – a whole year longer than she was supposed to even have.”
Future-Daniel closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “I just know, Nicole. I’ve done everything I can to ensure that she has the best treatment and that her final year with this disease wouldn’t cause her undue pain.”
Nicole slammed the table furiously. “Why aren’t you spending more time with her?! You promised us half a year ago that when the product was clearly successful, you would. It’s been half a year and everything has been fine. Mom is dying, Danny. Mom misses you even if she doesn’t say it. Why aren’t you coming to see her!?”
“I’ve spent more time with – on — her than you could possibly know, Nicole,” future-Daniel replied stiffly. “And I will see her again this weekend.”
“The weekend, really? Again? Just so you can pop your head in for what, half an hour again, then disappear as soon as you get another phone call from work? Take some time off, Danny. Please,” Nicole pleaded.
But future-Daniel shook his head, “I can’t, Nicole. I can’t. The future is always in flux. In fact just earlier today, the company decided that – ”
Daniel started as Kolo’s hand gripped his shoulder again. “I think that’s quite enough,” said Kolo. Daniel blinked, and then they were in the station again.
“Wait, Kolo. I wanted to finish hearing that bit. Can’t we go back?” asked a bewildered Daniel.
Kolo looked at Daniel pityingly. “I give you a sneak peek at the future you, and that’s still what you focused on? The future of your business?”
Daniel drew himself up and thrust out his chest. “Of course! Didn’t you even hear what my future self said? I visit my mother every weekend! So lengthening her time is obviously the correct answer here. I can see her every weekend for a whole year!”
Shaking his head, Kolo sighed, then sat back down on the bench.
“I don’t think you understand, Daniel. If you took the next three months off to spend it with your mother, you will have spent more time with her than if you lengthened her life span by a whole year and only visited her every weekend. Yet you are willing to trade ten years of your life for this,” explained Kolo as he wound up his pocket watch.
“I don’t have a choice, Kolo. Will you do it or not?” asked Daniel with a sense of finality.
“Of course, I will,” Kolo replied, finishing up the winding of the pocket watch, “You accepted the terms of payment.”
“How will this work?” Daniel asked, relaxing visibly. He felt that he had won. “Do you suck my life out or something? Do I sign a contract on human leather parchment?”
“No. Take my pocket watch and wind it ten turns.” Kolo undid the chain and offered the golden pocket watch to Daniel. “One turn for each year.”
Daniel eyed the pocket watch with caution. “You aren’t afraid I’d steal this?”
“You wouldn’t know how to use it at all..”
Daniel hesitated for a moment longer, then gingerly touched the pocket watch. It was warm. Not feeling any different, he took it. “Clockwise? Counterclockwise?”
“Wind it clockwise,” Kolo instructed.
And Daniel did so, winding the crown of the pocket watch clockwise ten times. Then he stopped.
“I … don’t feel any different?” asked Daniel questioningly.
“Of course not,” Kolo replied, stretching a hand out for his pocket watch, to which Daniel deposited it gingerly. “You paid with your future.”
Moments passed as Daniel watched Kolo fiddle with the pocket watch. “My … future,” he mused. And then it struck him.
“Can I at least know how long I will live then?”
Kolo continued to wind the pocket watch as he answered, “No. That’s future information you may not have.”
Daniel opened his mouth to respond, then chose to stay silent.
“If you think that I forgot that I’ve shown you the future, Daniel, I have not,” Kolo continued dryly, “When this time bubble collapses around us, your memories of that future will have disappeared. Now leave. And I hope that you visit your mother with the extra time you’ve bought.”
“What? That’s it? Nothing to give me?” exclaimed Daniel, wondering if he had been tricked, casting his mind back to the entirety of this encounter. But no, all this man had done was ask him to wind a pocket watch. He couldn’t even be sure if he had paid a payment. He only knew that he had come here because a journalist had given him a business card when he was desperate.
“To give you? Only advice, which you’ve ignored, Daniel. Oh, and if you tell anyone about what you’ve done regarding your mother’s life span, the effect breaks. Keep that in mind.” Kolo stood up and walked to the ledge overseeing the train tracks. “And visit her tonight, Daniel. Take the next train to do so.”
Then the time bubble collapsed, and the background noise of the station flooded Daniel’s ears as he walked up to stand near Kolo, but unwilling to stand closer. “Aren’t you a bit too close, Kolo? The next train is coming soon, and you’re beyond the yellow line.”
The speakers blared, announcing the next train’s approach.
“This train, right?” asked Daniel, remembering Kolo’s final advice.
“Yes,” Kolo replied, leaning forward slightly to look down the tunnel. Daniel almost made a grab for Kolo.
“You’ll fall in,” Daniel said, then observed, “The trains aren’t usually this on time.”
“Trains are always on time,” Kolo responded nonchalantly, almost dismissively. “Oh, and don’t forget your briefcase.”
Daniel looked behind him, almost having a heart attack. But the briefcase was still there. He spun around to pick it up, and began hearing the thundering blare of the train as it approached.
“You may think trains are late,” continued Kolo, whose voice sounded crystal clear to Daniel despite the loud roar of the oncoming train, “but that’s because trains never follow human time. A train is only where it ever needs to be, and pays no heed to your rushing. If you think about it, you’d complain equally if a train had arrived earlier and left earlier than anticipated.”
Hefting the briefcase in his hands, Daniel looked back at Kolo and tried to yell above the roaring sound of the train. But Daniel’s voice was drowned out by the train, and all he could see was Kolo smile at him briefly before taking a step off the ledge in front of the train.
In that brief moment, the sound stopped for Daniel. All he saw was the glare of the train’s lights reflecting off Kolo’s suit, the wind blowing debris and newspapers around in the station as the train pushed into the station, and Kolo’s arm reaching up to snag the silver-gray fedora that was blown off his head, then the moment passed by as the train rushed right through.
Resisting the urge to shout for help immediately, Daniel stared around at the station. No one else had seen it. The nearest person was a mere twenty feet or so from him and there was no way she did not see the man walk off the ledge right in front of the train.
Coming to his senses, Daniel realized that people were pouring from the train carriage. And then he remembered the final piece of advice Kolo had given him.
Daniel stepped into the train.
One Year Later
“Hello Daniel. Your sister is here to see you?” came his secretary’s voice from the intercom.
“Let her in,” Daniel replied.
Nicole came in, closing the door behind her without decorum. “Danny. We need to talk.”
Daniel’s eyes didn’t shift away from his screen. “Hello Nicole. How’s mom?” Daniel asked.
“Why don’t you go see for yourself, Danny?” Nicole retorted, walking towards his desk and putting her hands down on the desk. “She’s not doing well, Danny. And you’re sitting here, staring at your precious spreadsheets. You think this is more important than mom?”
Daniel pursed his lips, frowned, then input a different variable into the spreadsheets. Annoyed, Nicole reached over and turned the screen away from Daniel.
“You aren’t even paying attention to me, Danny. What is going on? Why are you so relaxed?! Mom could die any moment now and – ”
“Mom has a few more months to live, Nicole. Calm down. I saw her just last week, for New Year’s Eve. She’s not going to die all of a sudden.”
“You can’t possibly be certain of that, Danny. You aren’t the doctor here. The doctor told me that her outlook doesn’t look good. In fact he’s surprised that she lived this long – a whole year longer than she was supposed to even have.”
Daniel closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “I just know, Nicole. I’ve done everything I can to ensure that she has the best treatment and that her final year with this disease wouldn’t cause her undue pain.”
Nicole slammed the table furiously. “Why aren’t you spending more time with her?! You promised us half a year ago that when the product was clearly successful, you would. It’s been half a year and everything has been fine. Mom is dying, Danny. Mom misses you even if she doesn’t say it. Why aren’t you coming to see her!?”
“I’ve spent more time with – on — her than you could possibly know, Nicole,” Daniel replied stiffly. “And I will see her again this weekend.”
“The weekend, really? Again? Just so you can pop your head in for what, half an hour again, then disappear as soon as you get another phone call from work? Take some time off, Danny. Please,” Nicole pleaded.
But Daniel shook his head, “I can’t, Nicole. I can’t. The future is always in flux. In fact just earlier today, the company decided that – ”
Daniel stopped, pausing mid-speech as he thought about what he was saying. What was he trying to say?
“Decided what?” Nicole asked angrily, interrupting Daniel’s thoughts, “Decided that company profits are more important than family? Is that what your precious company decided?”
“Wait,” Daniel held up a hand, clutching at his head as he furrowed his brow and tried to recall something. “Have we had this conversation before?”
Nicole ignored him, continuing, “Never-mind. You’re a lost case, Danny. I’ll go see mom myself and you bet I will give her… your regards.”
Daniel’s head pounded as he tried to negotiate desperately with his memory to no avail. “Wait, Nicole. Hang on a minute. Let’s go together.”
His sister’s expression changed immediately. “You will?”
“Yes, yes,” said Daniel distractedly, still trying to remember something important, but wasn’t sure why. Was it really important? He couldn’t tell, but he felt a nagging sensation that he could remember it if he just followed Nicole to the hospital. “It’s the middle of the week but I can spare some time, I’m sure. Let me just put on a coat.”
Daniel stood up and stretched, then put on his coat. As he followed Nicole out of his office, his secretary looked at them and said swiftly into the phone, “Our company president just came out of his office. Let me talk to him.”
“Daniel!” his secretary spoke in a hush voice to him, “Remember that business deal you were pursuing three weeks ago with Eden Corp? Their CFO is on the phone and wants to talk to you about the situation!”
“Really?! That’s great news!” Daniel was elated, all sense of urgency passing. “Give me the phone.” This business deal would mean a great deal to the newest product they had in mind. If only Eden Corp agreed to it, then…
“Danny. Are you serious?” Nicole’s shrill voice made him stop.
“What?” Daniel looked back up at his sister.
Her wide-eyed face was twisted with disbelief. “Danny. We are going to see mom. Now. Not later. Now.”
But Daniel looked at his secretary, then at the phone, then at Nicole. Then he thought about it. His mother had three more months to live. But this phone call, he had waited three weeks for it. He needed to take it. He knew he needed to take it.
“Give mom my regards, Nicole.”
For more Time Merchant stories, please visit the index!
Monadic Storytelling 