Tick-Tock

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
*SLAM!*
Ring ring ring riiiing-
Phone make noise. Go back to sleep? No, phone too loud. Pick up phone.
CLICK-

“Hello Harper! It’s 6am! You’re going to be late for work!”
Jenny. Loud Jenny. So tired.
I look at my alarm clock; it is 5:59am. Jenny’s a liar. Talk to Jenny. So tired.

“Uuhuughuum.” I reply intelligently
“Up n’ at em’ lazy bonez! See you in the office at 7am, sharp, not one second later!”
“EHEM! GAHCK! UHEHM!” I subtly clear my throat
“Actually Jenny, I’m already on my way.”  I say as I get out of bed

I hang up, not wanting to hear her lecture about paying attention to the time, getting into a time- safe routine, waking up on time, eating on time, even blinking on time! P.s: I tend to stare unblinkingly at anything that grabs my attention for uncommonly long periods of time. TIME.TIME.TIME. I’ve never hated a word so much. 
Jenny and I go way back, like “Can I borrow your purple crayon” back. She’s always been punctual, and in all her benevolence has chosen me has her lifelong project to structure and mold into the model working–class, time-orientated citizen. Yippee.
You see, I’m more of a ‘go with the flow’ type of bro. Time is just the invisible chains that society has thrown on us, and we’re more than happy to cuff those suckers around our necks, break our backs to go from appointment to appointment at specific times every day for the rest of our lives and pretend it’s not slowly killing us. Life wasn’t meant to be like this.
From an early age, we are pitted against the life-long adversary called time. It is the invisible noose that society has silently wrapped around our necks, slowly tightening its grip on us. We spend half our youth so focused on memorizing or school work retaining about as much information as a pasta strainer with water. For years we kill ourselves trying to earn our Masters degree in any mundane field. Then we spend the other half of our youth our Masters kill us, squeezing our reluctantly hard-earned dollars to pay off our student assistance fees. We may lie to ourselves in our middle-aged years, pretending to be content with what we've done with our lives, pretending that this is just how life is, but deep down we'll know we've been had. 
Then, in the twilight of our life, when we have outlived our lies and only the immortal truth stares back at us, we'll know that this was not life. That we have slim to no-chance to figure out who we are, what we are meant to do, where we come from, and what happens after we die. The dark powers of this world have squeezed out all they wanted of our lives, put the blinder on us and we let them just because we told ourselves that it was the "only way."
We've been served a joke, an illusion of a way of life and we fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Sadly, most will only truly realize this on their death bed... Well, that's at least what I think... Life's most urgent questions are our own responsibility to seek and figure out, not just with readily available information but with deep scrutiny and a hunger for truth. This truth may be uncomfortable to find, it may even be beautifully terrifying but it will be the truth nonetheless, substantial and unassailable, a blazingly bright beam of light within the desolate, dark, desperate struggle for meaning and purpose. I may not know much, but what I do know is that life wasn't meant to be like this.

DING DONG!
Unwillingly, I roll out of bed to answer the door.                                                       
What I see when I get there is a brown box, a gift, for me.
The thing is, I haven’t received a gift since my mother gave me the gift of life so this is a definite red flag.
Cautiously, I begin to timidly tear into the packaging, surgically making my way through layer after layer of dead trees until I find a smaller box and a note.
It was from Jenny, it reads:
“Dear Harper,
I know you have trouble keeping an organized schedule so I got you a watch to help you stay on time! It was my grandfather’s watch, so you better wear it. He was the most punctual man I knew so here’s to hoping some of his mojo rubs off on ya!
P.S: I love a man who shows up on time ;)
- Jen <3”

Did I forget to mention that I’ve been madly in love with Ms. Jenny Winters for about forever and a half? Well I am, and woULD YOU LOOK AT THE TIME IT’S 6:35am!
Hastily, I latch on the watch, dress up, and force feed myself a couple day-old Tim-bits. I grab my keys and I’m out the door.
As I soccer mom walk my way across the street I notice an annoying repetitive sound repeating over and over.
I stop walking, did I tell you I was bad at multitasking.
I search for the faint sound that has earned my undivided attention
“Maybe I should just Forge-“

CRASH!

The world suddenly becomes a blender of color and sound, heavy hollow pain my only companion on this rollercoaster.
I hear distorted yelling in the background, I open my eyes; squinting, the sun greets me with its stinging rays.  I see a man jumping out of his truck stumbling towards me, fear and panic written over his face. I wonder what’s gotten him so spooked.
I realize how cold I am, it’s the middle of the summer, how can it be this cold?
I slowly recognize that the annoying sound is much closer, really close.
Tick-tock, tick-tock
My closing eyes lazily lock onto the source of the sound
Tick-tock, tick-tock
My head lazily lolls to the side and my eyes lock onto the source. I stare at my new/old watch as it continues its cries
Tick-tock, tick-tock

“Th-there y-you are” I cough out
“W-would you l-look at the time” I shakily laugh “I-its six f-fifty nine”
*cough*

My eye-lids grow heavier, my chest heaves; lungs lusting for air, the world around me starts to go black; sirens whir in the distance…

“I’m gonna be late for work” Is the last thought I have as my eyes shut, life liquid slowly painting the pavement.

Tick-Tock,, Tick-Tock, Tic-