"Should I get a cream bun?" I thought for a while as I stood in front of the brilliant emporium's bakery.
"No, I should not... otherwise I won't have enough to get the new volume of 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'."
I scratched my head lightly as I turned back. It was indeed a sad outcome. I really liked the cream buns here, but what could I do? If I didn't get that book, I would be bored as hell during my summer break.
I kept walking through the busy street, telling myself not to get downhearted. "I will have enough for the bun by the day after tomorrow. Right now, I should hurry, or else Dad will get angry for me taking so much time in bringing the groceries."
I was almost home, but suddenly, something caught my eye. It was a watch, a really old analog watch. I tried to ignore it and walk past it, but I couldn't.
"Damnation! Why did you raise me this way, Dad? Now I have to find its owner?"
I walked up to it. It was lying near a puddle of water; luckily, it was not in the puddle. In front of it was a windowless wall of the apartment which belonged to one of my friends, though his family was currently on a trip.
Thanks to that, nobody saw me picking up a watch from a corner of the street.
"Yeah, definitely some rich guy's watch it is," I remarked as I admired its old but rich designs and texture.
"Okay, now comes the hard part... going to the police to check if someone went there to hopefully find the watch. I am not giving it to the police. Who knows what they might do with it." I scoffed.
I started running. I had just gotten past the Brilliant Emporium when I noticed something strange: someone was following me.
"Damnation!" I increased my speed as I dashed through the sidewalk.
I had just reached the bakery. The owner shouldn't be here; he would have been looking in the street, not here. It was clear by the way the stalker was coming that he definitely wasn't the owner—he was here to steal the watch.
The man was dressed in black. His hair was covered by a big top hat, his eyes were covered by sunglasses, and he was walking faster and faster by the minute.
"Are you crazy? This much for a simple wrist watch! You could have just simply asked me for it, I would have given it! But in this situation, stopping is too dangerous..." I cried to myself.
My legs were getting tired. I was getting lightheaded; my lungs felt like they were going to explode.
But the man... he was now full-on chasing me!
I stopped to catch my breath for a second, but it was too late. The man had already caught my wrist.
I gave him a scared smile. "Oh! Um, yeah, I was looking for you. Here, take it, the watch. Believe me, I just noticed you, oh-hehe."
The man looked at me, dead in the eye, and said, "Have you used it?" His rough voice startled me.
"Ah, yes... no—! I mean, No! I haven't even—won—looked at it. Yeah, I just picked it up," I gave him a weak smile.
The man looked unpleased with my answer, then he scratched his head and said, "Look the other way."
"Ah—yesh—yes. I mean," I turned around, but suddenly my vision went blank.
A sharp pain radiated from my head. I tried to scream but something was covering my mouth. I was being dragged towards a shady part of the street. I tried to struggle, but my body felt weak. My consciousness was fading. I was dying, my thoughts were becoming more and more jumbled. I couldn't scream.
But suddenly something spoke to me: "Turn the dial of your watch...."
Not even being able to properly think, I used my other hand to turn the dial.
Something was odd. My pain was suddenly gone. I opened my eyes.
In front of me was a classic British Pavilion. The narrow street was gone, the cars were too. Instead, there were people who were riding on horse-carts.
Everyone was dressed like a Victorian-era person. The shops, instead of concrete, were made of wood, and the bright streetlights were replaced by gas lamps on top of wooden poles. Someone was running towards me.
I thought to myself, "Damnation!"