A month had passed since that night.in that time Brent had found another job to ease Maria’s concerns about being in a relationship with one of her employees. The only catch was, they weren’t in a relationship. Maria had insisted on dating around, but never turned down Brent’s offers to go keep her company. His new boss Anna had kept him on his toes constantly. For the first time in the many years he had spent doing that kind of work, he was exhausted. Anna always had something for Brent to do at work and would snap at the slightest sign that Brent might be texting instead of working. One night after Anna was gone, Brent had settled in for the night. All his work was done for the night and Maria had been texting Brent all evening, but he couldn’t get the time to reply. It was late into the night and one of the messages that Brent had seen was a “Good Night” text. The message brought him a sense of discouragement. He would have liked to talk to her, but Anna wouldn’t have taken it.

  There was a few minutes left in his shift and Brent couldn’t leave until another worker arrived. He opened his phone and began scrolling through Maria’s texts. “Oh did I tell you? I’m speaking in church tomorrow,” That was the text that caught Brent’s attention. Anna had scheduled him to come in the next morning, which meant that he wouldn’t be able to go watch her speak. He let out a deep sigh and texted her about having to work. Even if she was asleep, she would see it in the morning. There was a long silence that had fallen over the house. The only sound he could hear was that from the tv. Anna always kept it on one channel and made a point to lock up the remote so it couldn’t be changed. Anyone in the staff that changed the channel to anything else would get a lecture from Anna. To Brent it wasn’t worth the stress of having to listen to her. Brent wasn’t at all fond of Anna and often found himself thinking about Maria.

  The door finally opened after what felt like an eternity of silence and boredom. Brent gathered his stuff and exchanged a few instructions with his new Coworker. He stepped outside and was instantly hit with the cold night air. The walk to his car felt long and tedious and the long drive home wasn’t any better. The roads were empty, lightened only by the street lamps that were strewn along the freeway. The night felt lonely and Brent wasn’t helping it by checking his phone every few minutes when he had a breather. He’d itched all day to hear from Maria and couldn’t help wondering at times if she was as eager to hear from him. He finally sat down at the edge of his bed and made himself comfortable, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the bottle of time capsules. The bottle was starting to look empty. The rainbow colored glow had weakened. Only a few capsules remained.

  Brent slipped into his PJs for the night and made a point to get his clothes out for the next day. Something he had only done to use up the last of his energy. He stuffed the bottle into the pocket of his blue Jeans and pulled his phone out one more time. No messages or anything had come in. He let out a long sigh and climbed into bed, setting his phone down on the nightstand and closing his eyes.

  The sound of his favorite song playing from his phone served as his alarm for the morning. His brain turned on, leaving him lost in thought as he attempted to gather the willpower to get out of bed. He turned off the alarm and let himself lay there with his eyes closed. The morning was always the most difficult part of the day for him. Brent was never fond of early morning shifts. Something that he might take up with Anna some day down the road when He wasn’t so new at this job. Brent had spent much of his childhood wide awake at night, trying to sneak around his mom because he could never fall asleep on time. He checked his phone for a reply from Maria, but found nothing. It took a few minutes, but he finally got himself out of bed.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The sun shone brightly through the trees that surrounded the house. The sky was clear with a beautiful blue color. It gave the neighborhood that Brent’s workplace sat in the middle of, a very serene feeling. The moment Brent saw the short brown bristle haired Anna waving to him, the feeling of serenity faded fast. The day that lay ahead of the short haired dirty blond man did nothing to ease the dread that lingered over his mind. Brent had found a way to check his phone periodically throughout the morning, by coming up with reasons to slip into the laundry room and switch the washer and Dryer around. Maria didn’t talk to him until later in the afternoon. “Guess what,” The message read. Brent was happy enough to hear from her finally that he played along.”I spoke in church today and a guy named Darren approached me after church and started ranting about how good it was. Guess what else,” The message came. Brent recognized the name instantly. He knew what the next message would be, before he even received it. “He’s a return missionary.” Brent knew where this was going and he dreaded it. There had to be something he could do, but the sound of Anna screaming his name didn’t give him much time to think. He could hear her footsteps making their way down the hall as he reached into his pocket to grab the bottle. He began shaking the bottle as fast as he could, before Anna had the chance to find him.

  

  The grains of sand swirled around the marble floors of the temple of Time. The moment he could finally move, he cupped his hands over the back of his neck. Panic and frustration set in, as he held the bottle tightly against his neck. He gritted his teeth and paced the floors of the temple in frustration. A voice caught his attention, but this wasn’t one that he recognized. “You couldn’t possibly have thought that would work, could you?”

  “Who are you?” Brent replied, spotting a tall fair skinned man in the same color robes that Aeryn usually wore. ”Where’s Dr. Love?”

  “Aeryn is on the top floor of the temple assisting Kronos.” The man replied in a deep voice. “My name is Jaron. How can I help you Brent?” He continued offering a hand to shake.

  “Does everyone know?” Brent replied, shaking Jaron’s pale skinned hand. “Is there some kind of video broadcast of my life being screened in the temple somewhere?”

  “Relax, only the Keepers and students know.” Jaron replied, taking a step back and cupping his hand over a dark brown cane.”I’m a student of Kronos and so is Aeryn.”

  “Kronos?” Brent said, scratching his head in confusion. “Isn’t that another name for the entity known as Father Time.”

  “That would be correct.” Jaron said, making himself comfortable. ”So let’s think for a moment. What else could you have done to prevent her from meeting him?”

  The question stopped Brent in his tracks. “I don’t know. . “ He said, with his gaze aimed down at the marble floor. He was lost in thought and needed to think long and hard. What if he had just gone on a mission for the church? He asked himself the question in his mind, but the possibilities were vast and confusing. Brent could only arrive at the theory that his mom would have lost her home in the northern part of the state if he hadn’t been there to help her out with things. That couldn’t be the solution. It’s a step that would change too much and throw his life into even more chaos. Perhaps something more simple.

  “What about the new Job?” Jaron said with a wide eyed grin. The idea had struck him with a huge jolt. “What if you hadn’t taken the job?”

  “Good Point!” Brent replied, scratching the back of his head. “I didn’t have to work that morning, I would have been able to go hear her speech with her.”

  “Sounds like you know what to do.” Jaron continued, concealing the malicious intent behind a warm smile. Jaron had predicted consequences of his advice, which would play in his favor. He watched carefully as Brent began to shake the bottle of Time Capsules. The mortal’s form began to change, dissolving into the grains of sand that carried off into the never ending flow of the realm of time.