The golden hues of the setting sun bathed the grand ballroom in a warm, welcoming light, a stark contrast to the turmoil brewing within Hannah. At 47, she stood amidst the jubilant crowd gathered for her younger sister Bianca's wedding, yet felt worlds apart. The laughter, the clinking of glasses, and the melodious strains of the string quartet seemed to amplify her sense of isolation.
Hannah, once vibrant and full of life, had seen her beauty fade over the years. Her reflection in the mirror now showed a woman burdened by obesity, her face etched with the lines of time and a life of unspoken hardships. As she watched Bianca, 34 and radiant in her bridal gown, a pang of longing and lost dreams gripped her heart. Meanwhile, Hannah looked into the bathroom mirror and saw nothing of her past. She hadn't even bothered to choose a special outfit for the event, and made do with her business suit.
The evening's festivities were a reminder of what Hannah had once aspired to be. She remembered her own youthful dreams, now overshadowed by the demands of a mundane job and the relentless passage of time. She had become an observer in her own life, watching others live out the joys and triumphs that had somehow eluded her.
As all the guests had now arrived, the bride came to greet everyone at the microphone with announcements for the afternoon and evening, all accompanied by thanks and fine words that Hannah denigrated in the highest degree, jealous of her sister's good fortune, which she herself would never regain. As the party continued in its lively dance, Hannah felt a growing need for solitude.
She excused herself, stepping out into the cool embrace of the garden. The estate's gardens, a spectacle of floral arrangements offered a tranquil refuge. The scents of blooming flowers and the gentle rustling of leaves under the blue sky provided a soothing balm to her restless spirit.
Wandering aimlessly, lost in her thoughts, Hannah's attention was suddenly drawn to a glinting object on a stone bench.
“Mmh what’s this ?” Hannah asked herself as she picked up the small object. It was a pocket watch, ornate and seemingly ancient, its surface engraved with intricate patterns. Picking it up, she was intrigued by its unique design, featuring dials labeled "self," "family," and "time," alongside various switches for speed and start/stop functions.
A sense of curiosity, mingled with a strange fear, washed over her. The watch felt significant, almost otherworldly.
Driven by curiosity and utter boredom, Hannah activated the button labeled "start" and was stunned to see the watch displaying its own age.
"Just what kind of stopwatch is this?" the middle-aged woman asked herself, even more intrigued.
Looking more closely, Hannah saw something surprising: after a good 2 minutes, the stopwatch was displaying not 47 but 46 years, and she could also see a number of months being displayed, which was also decreasing rapidly. "Let's see..." Hannah murmured, looking at the "speed" button. With a simple movement, the time displayed on the stopwatch decreased even faster, in just 1 minute this time the number had risen to 45. Another minute and it was 44...43...42, the number kept falling, and Hannah, not really knowing why, felt something strange in her body, she was somehow feeling better and more energetic...,as crazy as it sounded: what if this stopwatch displayed her age?
With the stopwatch reading 41, Hannah approached the fountain and examined her reflection, the murky water not allowing her to see much, and reached for her phone.
A cry of shock startled the young couple strolling through the garden not far from her. The lines on her face, the grayish streaks in her chestnut hair, even the retained fat in her pronounced hips, there was no doubt she'd lost 7 years and was soon to have lost 8.
Passing through the guests, the stopwatch indicating that she would soon land in her thirties, as unobtrusively as possible, Hannah made her way into an unoccupied restrooms, far from the main square where the guests were supposed to be.
Facing the mirror, Hannah gasped. The signs of age were gradually disappearing, her body losing the fat it had acquired over the years, her skin softening more and more.
"Please don't let this be a dream" Hannah prayed as she ran a hand through her longer, silkier hair.
Grabbing the stopwatch again, the new thirty-something looked at the number displayed, 37, and pressed the "speed" swich again, switching to 1 year every 15 seconds.
36...34...32
Hannah realized how much weight she'd put on in recent years as she noticed how roomy her tailored pants were becoming, slipping a hand into them she giggled as she noticed how slim her waist was becoming, while her breasts, though less full, were perking up, pushing off the shirt. Her face still sported a few crow's feet and her thighs were not entirely free of cellulite. Hannah shuddered at the thought of returning to her pre-pregnancy days, when she'd had an hourglass figure shaped by hours of relentless exercise.
"Come on...more...more" The young thirty-something insisted, she wasn't going to leave it at that, was she?