The Hourglass (UNEDITED)

Chapter 3

When Katherine and Peter had finished their lunch, just as Peter promised, the two of them stole the time to do some window shopping. Why this was the case, Katherine did not know, however she did remember that she and Peter used to do this often. Peter probably missed those times, but since they were full time career people now, those fun things done to a minimum if at all. After passing some fashion outlets, Peter stepped into an antique shop and Katherine followed behind him.

“This is the real reason we’re here isn’t it? You just wanted to feast on your odd habiting of buying something antique,” Katherine accused him, following behind him as he stared admiringly at an old Japanese teacup set.

“Kathy-Ann, darling, you need to learn to have an appreciation for the finer things in life. Oh this is gorgeous,” gushed Peter. Katherine rolled her eyes at Peter. She remembered in college, when she was still acquainted to Peter and stepped into his apartment, she was caught off guard by some of the old items he had owned. At first she thought they belong to some old person from whom Peter was leasing the apartment, but it surprised her to learn that items belong to Peter. When she asked him why he collected old things, Peter simply put it plainly that it was his connection to the past. He also admitted that it was also to make a profit from some of the items, but it was mainly his love for all things antique.

Katherine left Peter where he was and wandered around the shop, to find something to occupy herself with. She was in a section that displayed different sorts of clocks. As she passed by, she stopped in front of an hourglass. She occupied her bored mind by turning it upside down to see the sands fall. She stood there and waited, but nothing happened. She frowned because the sands were not falling like a real hourglass sands should. She overturned the hourglass again and to start over with the sand falling. When she had overturned it, the sands still didn’t fall, it was as if time had stood still. This had piqued her curiosity, what kind of an hourglass was this anyway? She jumped when someone bumped her shoulder.

“Sorry ma’am,” apologized an old man and then he walked passed Katherine. Katherine watched him and then called to him.

“Excuse me, sir,” she said. The old man stopped and looked at Katherine, waiting for her to say something.

“Do you work here?” she asked. The man nodded.

“Yes I do ma’am. How can I help you?”

“This hourglass, it seems, is broken. The sands are not falling. You know, when I overturn it.” And then Katherine lifted the hourglass and gestured to him what she was talking about by overturning the hourglass over and over, with the sands not falling. The old man watched her gesture nonchalantly.

“That hourglass works just fine. And the sand are falling,” answered the old man. Katherine eyebrow knitted and she looked at the object in her hand. She looked back up at the old man and lifted her eyebrow as though to ask him ‘are you serious? Obviously the sands are stagnant. The old man closed his eyes and huffed irritably and walked to Katherine. He took the hourglass form her hand and overturned it. He held it up to her face and pointed.

“The sands are falling about ten grains or less, per second. This hourglass equals one month’s worth of time.” Katheirne’s eyes bulged at what the old man saying. An hourglass’s time that equals a month. It sounded so ridiculous to her ears she laughed. The old man shot her an annoyed look.