For this prompt I chose The Persistence of Memory—the one painting with the various clocks that half melted. Look it up if you want better imagery for this post.
…
“Time is the strictest, most stubborn person I’ve ever met.”
Leaves and twigs cracking underfoot, Rohan confidently strutted forth, his chin high and arms behind his back.
“She doesn’t stop or even take a break for anything, ceaselessly marching on.”
The forest trees stood tall around the man, seemingly eternal with their mighty, unbending trunks.
“Yet, if you take the time to get to know Time, and put enough pressure on her…”
A large leaf fell from above, gently gliding toward the forest floor, turning and tossing on its way down.
“She’ll be more willing to listen.”
Rohan continued forward, paying the leaf no mind as it travelled its collision course, until…the leaf froze just as it entered within a meter of distance from the man. It floated there, suspended. Then, as Rohan walked farther away, the leaf continued its fall as though it were never obstructed.
“Of course, she’ll only make small exceptions at first—as anyone would for someone they’re not too well acquainted with.”
The path the man walked suddenly stretched into a small glade, where no trees or shrubbery blocked the dazzling sunlight from striking the ground with its fearsome power, causing the verdant grass to sparkle and shine with a brilliance like none other.
In the center of the clearing sat a squirrel, its little paws busy with digging a hole in the ground. It didn’t seem to notice as Rohan approached and stood before it, watching as the creature stuck an acorn into the hole it dug. The animal paused, inspecting the results of its hard work, before covering the now-buried seed with dirt.
“But as you grow closer to her, Time will become more amiable. More open. She could be persuaded to speed up, if asked nicely.”
Rohan’s words were what alerted the little critter to his presence and it ran off at the fastest speed it could muster, leaving the clearing to climb a nearby tree for safety. After the squirrel’s departure, the man bent down so that he was crouching, perfectly balanced on the toes of his shoes. He extended a hand toward the freshly turned dirt left behind by the squirrel.
Then, what seemed to be the entire forest began shaking. Yet, it wasn’t an earthquake. The grass swayed back and forth with a surprisingly fast wind as they…stretched, growing at an incredible rate.
But it wasn’t only the grass. The trees shook and swayed, leaves constantly falling from their branches. Small and large animals alike sped through the forest on their routines. Raindrops fell at some point, at speeds that would normally classify them as deadly.
And through it all, Rohan sat crouched at the location the tree seed was planted, ignoring the elements, bugs, and animals as he watched a little green sprout make its way out from the ground.
“And once Time becomes another friend, she can even be asked to take a step back for you.”
With a smile, the man casually observed as the world went dark for a moment before he reappeared on an animal trail in a forest, surrounded by tall, sturdy trees that gave an impression of eternity.
Rohan did not stand up from his crouch, but sat down, uncaring for how the forest floor could dirty his suit. The smile never left his face as he cocked his head back to watch a single, large leaf fall from the tree canopy above, turning and tossing on its way down, and eventually gliding directly onto Rohan’s open, outstretched hand.
