The Watch – Part 116:

‘I need answers,’ I said to Interface.

‘And what are your questions?’ Interface said.

‘Just the one for now. Was his watch ordinary because I changed time?’ I asked.

‘When you changed time, a new timeline was created, and when a new timeline is created, a new Universe is also, separating both timelines. When a new Universe is created, the past is automatically added on.’

‘Yeah, I know that part. I remember you explaining that earlier… Are you telling me that the reason why my other-self doesn’t have the watch is because I changed time, which automatically erased any existence of the watch from his perspective?’ That could have come out so much better than it did, but Interface knew what I was saying. Amy, on the other hand, looked at me with the same expression I had.

‘That is correct,’ Interface nodded. I sighed.

‘I’ll be glad once this is all over,’ I looked as tired as I felt. This has been one heck of an emotional journey. I thought it would be done and dusted the moment we came back from the past, but instead we were flung into this paradox that comes with terms and conditions.

I don’t really know why we’re even standing here for. We came from the past, and took our parallel counterparts with us, that means we can go back to the point after all four of us left and be none the wiser. I can finally get my lie down and Amy can do whatever she wants to do to relax. What can be simpler than that? I probably shouldn’t have asked that.

I guess it wouldn’t hurt to wait until we left. They are actually us instead of our parallel counterparts… yeah, try and understand that without any context.

‘Do you think we’ve gone yet,’ Amy asked. From the other side of the road, it was difficult to make out any perfect details, but from what I could see, our parallel counterparts were still standing up, talking to us, or at least waiting for us to appear from the kitchen after having a conversation. Everything’s happening as it should.

‘This is weird,’ Amy said, watching events unfold. ‘Watching the past happen right in front of you is weird. And seeing myself appear in front of me was just as weird. I mean… it was weird. Sorry, I’m rambling, aren’t I?’

‘No, you’re fine,’ I said knowledgeably. ‘The first time I saw myself appear in front of me was a peculiar sight as well. The unexpectedness catches you completely off guard.’

‘That’s a better explanation that, “it’s just weird”,’ Amy smiled.

‘What’s going on?’ I asked. Something doesn’t look right.

‘What’s the matter,’ Amy looked at me to see if I were to say anything, but realising that I wasn’t she looked at the window. ‘Why are they confused? That didn’t happen last time.’

‘I know,’ was all I could say. I turned towards Interface who was still standing beside me, calmly, waiting for me to shout more questions at him.

‘Why are events changing?’ I unintentionally snapped, but he remained calm and explained, but annoyingly cryptically.

‘There can only be one watch.’

‘There can only be one watch?’ I asked. I flicked my eyes back towards the window. ‘There can only be one watch,’ I said again, even more confused than last time. ‘I don’t understand. I’m going to need a lot more than that.’ I turned back towards Interface who thankfully did explain everything I needed.

‘The universe can only support one watch at a time. The watch has built in safeguards which automatically activate if you meet either your past-self, or your future-self.’ Well, when I say everything that I needed, I meant to have said, hardly anything at all.

‘That time when I opened the front door and saw my future-self standing on the doorstep, he didn’t have the watch, but just an ordinary one, didn’t he?’

‘That is correct,’ Interface nodded.

‘But why is that? I mean, why his watch and not mine?’

‘You are your present-self. Whoever you meet, either your past-self, or your future-self, their watches will always be the ones that turn into ordinary watches.’ I have a tonne load more questions, but Amy hit me on the elbow.

‘Can we do this another time,’ she said, a little panicky. She was staring the window, wide-eyed. I followed her line of sight and jumped slightly. There, staring out of the window at us, were all four of us: Our actual-selves, and our parallel counterparts. Er… now what do we do?’

‘So, because we’re our present-selves, and both copies of me are not – because they are my past-self and my parallel counterparts – they don’t have the watch. Because the timelines changed, and there can only be one watch,’ I explained more to myself than to Interface, but he nodded to clarify that I was correct. ‘And that means yet another new timeline and therefore yet another new universe.’ That was the hardest I’ve ever scratched my head before. I’ve never been so confused in all my life before.

I closed my eyes for a second to try and refresh my mind slightly, and when I reopened them, I wasn’t any better.

‘Thank you, Interface, that will be all for now.’ He nodded and faded away.

There is a simple solution to all of this, and I’m going to take it before things get even more complicated.

‘Come on,’ I said. ‘We’re going back to the past. I need a lie down.’

‘But what about them?’ Amy said, indicating both copies of us two, who were still staring out of the window. It was a wonder why none of them decided to come outside and have a word with us. ‘We can’t just leave them.’

I sighed. I know this is going to make me sound like the bad guy, ‘but it technically doesn’t matter, once we’re back in the past, we can carry on forwards without any worry. They won’t be able to follow us; they don’t have the watch.’

‘That’s not very fair,’ Amy didn’t look too pleased with me. ‘Don’t forget that two of them are actually us from the past, and our parallel counterparts wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for us changing time. I think we should sort this mess out, don’t you think. We owe them that much.’ Amy looked at me sternly. There wasn’t anything I could say that will make her change her mind, so I nodded.

‘OK.’ I rubbed the tiredness out of my eyes, and as I did that, an idea formed. ‘OK, I have an idea.’

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)