The Pocket Watch
"Come, children," Mama called, "I want to tell you a story.” She wasn’t very sure that the children were ready to hear her story, with William being 7 and Betty being 6. Since Papa died, she had been afraid to tell the children why he passed. Mama wanted to tell them about Papa before the war got worse.
"About what, Mama?" Betty asked with enthusiasm, hopping on Mama's lap. She always loved hearing Mama's stories.
"About Papa," Mama said a little nervously.
"Is it exciting?" asked William, who was always searching for adventures and getting himself into scrapes. He always wondered about Papa and he knew that there was something else about him that Mama wouldn’t say.
"Yes, William," said Mama, "Papa was very exciting."
“Go on, Mama,” said William, who could also be very impatient.
"All right now," said Mama, "It was January 12th, 1933 when you children were a very young. Papa went to the shed to get tools. He got his hammer and nails and headed out to fix the fence. But right as he walked towards the door, he saw a glimmer of light. Papa looked over, and guess what he saw?"
"What?" asked the children.
"A beautiful pocket watch,” said Mama, "This was no ordinary pocket watch, it was some-what…magical. Then after a while, Papa and I forgot about it and went on with our daily lives. One day we were invited to a very fancy concert. Papa wanted to look nice, so he took the pocket watch with him. The concert went well; we had a splendid time. Afterward, we went to the parlor and ate delicious food. There were salads, french fries and hotdogs! That was when disaster struck, there was fire everywhere and it was very frightening." Mama's eyes filled with tears. "Well, children, that was the last time I saw Papa," she said.
"What happened to you, Mama?" said William, "And the pocket watch?"
"I passed out and I woke up in an empty room," Mama said. "It was very dark and I was afraid. So I looked around for a lamp, I found one and I lit it. To my surprise, I saw the pocket watch lying on the floor next to a knife. So I reached and grabbed the pocket watch and the knife just in case. Right when I touched the pocket watch, everything lit up. And I heard a voice. It sounded like Papa."
"You mean you heard Papa?" asked Betty.
"I think so," said Mama, "Though I'm not quite sure; I couldn't make out the words. But then everything vanished and I came back to the room. But those words comforted me and I wasn’t so scared. I looked around the room and I saw a window with curtains. I pulled back the curtains and I saw the thing I thought I would never see. I saw the Eiffel Tower!
"The Eiffel Tower!" cried Betty. She had heard about the Eiffel Tower in one of Mama’s stories.
“Wait,” said William, “Were you in Paris?”
"That’s right," said Mama, "And I was in a very tall building. There was a door on the other side of the room. So I ran over to it, opened it, and rushed through the hallway. It was very long and twisted, and every time I thought it was the end, it was just another turn. It took me at least an hour to reach the end, and I was very tired. But now I was in a different room, it was very pretty. There was flower print wallpaper and tables with pretty tablecloths. So, I just strolled out the door like nothing happened. I rode the next boat home, and I came back. When I came home, I was very tired. I fell asleep on the couch. I didn’t know what to do. Papa was gone, I had two babies to take care of, and I still had the pocket watch. I decided to go to the store because I needed milk. As I came home, I got the newspaper and the headline read, “Concert Hall on Fire.” I was shocked as I read the article. It turned out that everyone who was in the concert hall did not make it out except Julia Antoinette, the opera singer and some of the cast. I was very confused. Had had the pocket watch saved me? I looked at the pocket watch. It was very strange, but when I looked at it, it seemed to look back at me. It seemed like it was smiling at me. The next few days were very odd. I wasn't lonely either because I had the pocket watch. Two weeks later, I was very happy and I thought everything was going to be ok. That night, I heard a crash. I quickly rushed towards the sound. I saw someone running. I saw something sparkling in the thief's hand. It was the pocket watch! I didn't have time to call the authorities or anything. I was very heart-broken.”
“Someone stole your watch?” cried Betty
“Yes, Betty,” said Mama, “it was very sad.”
“I'm sorry, Mama,” said Betty, close to tears.
“It’s okay, Mama,” said William, sympathetically, “You have us now, you don’t have to feel sad anymore.”
“Thank you, children.” said Mama who felt relieved that the children were not in shock. But little did the family know, that in a little burrow underground, the thief that stole Mama’s prized possession, was happily munching on carrots and watching her little bunnies play with straw.
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