In a small town where even the clocks ticked softly, lived a boy named Arin. He wasn't famous, rich, or especially loud. But he had one strange habit: he loved watching the future.
Not in a magical crystal-ball way…
but in a broken watch way.
Arin found the watch in his grandfather's old toolbox. It looked useless, scratched and silent. But when Arin wound it for the first time, the world blinked — and suddenly he saw ten seconds into the future.
Just ten.
Enough to dodge a falling book.
Enough to avoid bumping into someone.
Enough to win every race at school.
Arin felt unstoppable.
But one day, the watch showed him something different.
Ten seconds ahead, he saw his best friend Milo fall from a tall bridge into the river below.
Arin froze.
The real world hadn't reached that moment yet… but it was coming.
He ran.
People stared as Arin sprinted like his life depended on it — because it did. He reached the bridge just as Milo slipped on the wet wood.
Arin grabbed him.
They both fell — but not into the river. They hit the ground hard, shaking but alive.
Milo gasped. "How did you know?"
Arin looked at the watch, now cracked and silent.
"I didn't borrow tomorrow anymore," he said.
"I just chose today."
From that day on, the watch never worked again.
But Arin didn't mind.
Because the best future…
is the one you make with your own hands.