The Timer

by Jacob Jorden

That damn timer. Always mocking me. Taunting me. Every second, ticking by, one by one by one by one, I hated it. Why couldnt it just reach zero already? Why did I have to wait so long? Who will it be? When the clocks reaches zero, who will be with me? Who will have their clocks reach zero at the same time as me? So many questions, and such little time to find the answers. 2 days, 5 hours, 3 minutes, 2.641 seconds. That was all I had left to prepare. Most people find solace when their timers have such little time left. But for me, it was a feeling of anxiety which was akin to torture. 2 days, 5 hours, 2 minutes, 56.083 seconds. I had found the outfit I would wear, all black, just my style. I liked how it looked. Cost $500, which was a bitch to get, although my parents helped me buy it. They know the feeling of watching the timer reach closer and closer to zero, although they say that the moment after watching that clock tick down, is a moment of joy that is indescribable. Ill test that. 2 days, 4 hours, 48 minutes, 23.461 seconds. What type of man will he be? Tall? Blonde? Short? Grey-eyed? White? Black? I dont know. I dont want to know. What if hes somebody I already know? No, that would mean the timer would already have reached zero. And plus I didnt feel like any of my friends would be my true love anyways. What if he is a she? I mean, I think Im straight, or gay, I really dont know. 2 days, 4 hours, 23 minutes, 0.134 seconds. I looked at my alarm clock to see the time. It was 4:30 in the morning. I would see the person I will spend the rest of my life with at 9:19 AM. I will be in traffic when I meet my true love. Wait no, it's gonna be a saturday. Why I would be anywhere except in my house on a saturday beats me. God this is weird. 2 days, 2 hours, 22 minutes, 29.810 seconds. What the hell? How long have I been thinking about this? I looked at my alarm clock again, 6:31, I should probably get to work. I didnt have a good night of sleep, so I had been up since 2, and with the occasional break of going to the bathroom or getting something caffeinated to drink, was just staring at my wrist, watching the seconds tick by and thinking of what, who, when, where, why, and how. I stopped looking at it and got dressed, glancing at it every once in awhile. When I got to work, I looked at it again. When I got home, I looked at it again. When I went to bed, I looked at it again. When I woke up the next day, I looked at it. Always looking. Always watching the timer. Ive been told Im young, and that Ill be happy because Ill have a long life of love. Ive been told Im old, and that Ill be happy because Ill have fewer, more impactful years. I didnt care which, I just didnt want to fuck up. The timer has never failed anyone. No glitches, no ways to change it, no one knows why or how it got there. But its there. On everyone. Always ticking. Always counting down. Except for, of course, those who had it count down to zero. 0 year, 0 months, 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds. Staying there for the rest of your life, reminding you of that day. 20 hours, 49 minutes, 53.718 seconds. The stress was killing me. My boss told me to take the day off, and enjoy my last day of being single. I didnt want to, but my boss told me to. So I did. I was much more willing to listen to advice and commands, now more than ever. I didnt want to argue. I wanted to have a normal day. I wanted the damn timer to be 0:0:0:0:0:0. God my heart was racing every moment. I tried on my outfit. It still fit. I checked my accounts on everything. Still working. I looked at the status on my bills. Still payed. What was I so worried about if everything was working perfectly? Fucking up? But I cant. This person will be the one. Just go through your day, just go through your day, and youll be fine. At least I told myself that, but my anxiety was growing larger and large. Somehow I made it to the end of the day, and somehow managed to sleep. I woke up to see my alarm clock at 8:17. For some reason I felt fine today. I got dressed, with my fancy outfit, and got ready. I stopped at the door. I looked at my timer. 0 years. 0 months. 0 days. 0 hours. 0 minutes. 5 seconds. Whoever is on the opposite side of this door is my love. I opened the door with confidence, Hello?


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