"Curiosity killed the cat."

This was especially true in the case of Aaron Jeffery.

Aaron was an extremely curious seventeen-year-old. So, one evening, when a mysterious package addressed to his classmate Rekka Star arrived, it was no surprise that Aaron's curiosity gave away.

At first, a tiny voice in his head warned him not to open the package. It was, after all, addressed to Rekka.

Rekka Star was excelled at everything she did, but her specialty lay in academics. However, she was a cold person who preferred to be left in solitude. She didn't talk much either and never attended any parties, even if they were meant to celebrate her very own achievements.

But she especially disliked Aaron. Sure, with her icy attitude, it wasn't easy to actually make it out. She disliked human interaction and mostly kept to herself. However, Aaron had known her for a long time, and he knew she hadn't moved past her father's death. She perhaps even blamed Aaron's father for it.

There was once a time in the distant past when Aaron and Rekka were family friends. Their fathers had associated with one another and had launched a big business. However, an unfortunate incident took place when Aaron's father had gone abroad to another company to negotiate a business deal and wasn't in the office building for a few weeks.

A fire broke out due to a short circuit in the electric generator, which resulted in a blast, and was spreading quickly. Many employees had mistaken it to be a normal fire, believing the generator to have blasted due to a normal fire as the canteen was nearby, not an electrical one, and hence they had tried to pour water on it. This led to twice the number of fatalities because the people stayed behind to put out the fire by wrong means, rather than escaping the building. Rekka's father had been trapped within the building due to the fire, and had sadly passed away.

The business went downhill from then on. So many families, who had lost their beloved ones to the fire, had to be compensated. Aaron's father was able to find another stable job soon, but Rekka's family had had a hard time from then on, which resulted in Rekka studying harder, living in solitude and losing her ability to trust people.

Her logic wasn't wrong. How could the fire break out only when Aaron's father was abroad?

But it was simply a coincidence.

Hence, even though he decided to remain cautious, he wanted to open the package anyway.

The letter had a mysterious date on it. 26th April, 2053. It read:

"Dear Self,

You have come a long way. You are now a world-famous scientist, and your inventions have gotten you a Nobel Prize. And this, an artifact I have sent you along with this letter, is one of our very own inventions: The Time Clock.

Please proceed with caution. I have tested it, and it has the ability to take you to the future or the past, leaving a clone in your position in the present. However, I have not labeled it to be safe yet, and hence, please do not use this more than once.

I had gone back in the past, and I would like you to go to the same. 30th March, 2010. Yes, it is the day our father died, when we were only seven.

You will have to turn it several times, for this Clock can only be adjusted to six hours in the past or future, but please bear with me. I'm certain that you can calculate the number of turns the hour hand is required to take to go about ten years into the past.

After experiencing the past, I have not been able to sleep for several nights. Pure regret has washed over me, as I had sinned. The fire had nothing to do with Aaron's father. Please understand. Please, don't repeat the same mistake I had made.

The imbalance will certainly be settled as time passes, so do not hesitate to alter the past.

Stop Aaron's murder from happening in the night of 2nd May, 2020, precisely at 11:46 PM.

I promise, you'll never regret it.

Regards,

Yourself, Rekka Star, 50 years old."

Aaron bit his lower lip. The only information that had burnt itself in his mind was 'Stop Aaron's murder from happening in the night of 2nd May, 2020, precisely at 11:46 PM'. He didn't pay attention to even a single word more. He didn't try to understand the letter.

He didn't care about anything other than his life. He didn't want to die so soon.

He slowly turned to the left and settled his eyes on an antique clock his parents had bought for him a few months ago. 9:53 PM. There were only about two more hours left.

He had a look on the object that was attached to the letter. It was a golden watch-bracelet meant for women, and had a small clock in the center. Its hands were on a standstill on the roman numeral XII. This was 'The Time Clock'.

At first, he reasoned with himself. Could he actually believe the words written on that sheet of paper? Considering the fact that it was Rekka, certainly she would have been a Nobel Prize winner...

If it was true, he could survive. He could go into the future, and only his clone would be killed, but at least he would be safe.

Should he do it? Or should he just send it to Rekka before the two hours elapse?

Time was running out of his hand.

Well, the Clock might be dangerous, but if it could be used once...

What had he to lose? Nothing.

Then, why not? He could always give it to Rekka later on so that everything got cleared between them, and at the same time, he could save his life. He could kill two birds with one stone.

And so, he did it. He adjusted the clock and set the clock three hours in the future. The hour hand pointed at +III.

Suddenly, his surrounding went black. His head ached for a split second. Just a moment later, he found himself standing in his room, instead of sitting on the sofa like he was supposed to have, and saw his own body, or rather, his own clone lying on the bed, which was stained red due to its blood.

To his horror, he found out that its hands had been torn off and eyes pulled out from its sockets.

But how was it possible? Was it because the clone wasn't aware of the murder, or was it because he was meant to die, whether or not he knew of his murder, whether or not he sent the letter to Rekka?

...At least he had survived.

The next day, in school, he was observing Rekka. Her complexion was pale, all the hairs on her arms had stood up and she was continuously trembling in fear.

He wondered why. But then, he remembered the watch-bracelet kept in his front pocket.

Should he give it to her?

But what would happen if he tried the Clock another time? Perhaps, it could be dangerous... but he was just curious. If he just went six hours in the future, had a quick look and then come back immediately... surely, no harm would be then be done.

He rotated the hour hand such that it pointed at +VI. Another moment of discomfort, and then he could breathe freely again.

He really wasn't expecting to find his clone dead in the schoolyard, most probably flung off the rooftop.

This kept on recurring. Every time he went into the future, he would find his clone dead. One time in the park, stabbed in the stomach. Twice in the living room, both times something hard had been thrown at him, for his head had been smashed. Once in a deserted street, stabbed to death again. Seven times in the school cafeteria, poisoned all seven times.

He no longer paid heed to the warning that Rekka's future-self had given: However, I have not labeled it to be safe yet, and hence, please do not use this more than once.

He kept coming back to the past. He kept going to the future. He lost count of how many times he had done it. He didn't stay for more than a few minutes, afraid that he would lose his life. Yet he wanted to know the identity of the murderer, and hence, he dared to go a few minutes back and... so on and so forth. But the past would be altered, and either he would already be murdered or he wouldn't find the murderer in the end. However, even after doing hitting a dead end so many times, he kept on going.

Slowly, he felt like he was going insane.

Then he heard a loud crack.

Out of everything that could have happened, Aaron wondered, horrified, why did it have to be the Clock? Why did the Clock have to break?

Shaking wildly, he ran back home. He had been murdered too many times in the school and isolated areas. Even though he was murdered in his living room thirty times or so, it was still the safest place.

He ran and searched the kitchen. Finding a few knives, a sharp one and two with blunt edges, he rushed into his room and hid in the cupboard.

Ding-dong. Someone had ringed the bell.

Aaron could hear his blood pumping through his ears. He first griped the handle of his knives, and then, he remained frozen, crouched in the little cupboard. He wouldn't open the door no matter what.

"Now, kid," a raspy voice rang in Aaron's ears which caused him to jump out of his skin, "don't play the fool with me. I just prefer to be formal, that is all. I could have come invisibly if I wished to, but I'm a nice Immortal."

"W-Who are you...?"

"Me? Oh, I'm Death. Please come out of there. I'm not like those twin sisters, Fate and Destiny. I don't pointlessly argue about whether you are 'fated' to die or you are 'destined' to die."

Death. Aaron suddenly felt a certain ease in his heart. Not being murdered painfully, but just taken away by Death... Thank you, God, a small voice in his heart said. Thank you very much. I was scared.

He willingly came out of the cupboard. He didn't mind Death, a skeleton wrapped in a cloak. He didn't mind Death at all, and just stared at Death, who was holding a small clipboard and was scribbling a few things with a small pencil.

There was nothing to describe about Death. Death did not show emotions. Death did not talk much. Death didn't hurt, if he himself came to take the soul.

He was just a skeleton who could read without eyes, talk without a larynx, and move without muscles. That was all.

Death did a good job. Death was merciful. Death was a nice Immortal.

Though not a single Mortal thought so about him.

But he sensed that this boy, Aaron Jeffery, actually felt so. His body, which was trembling just a few minutes ago, was now calm. His eyes showed gratefulness, not fear, not regret, like so many Mortals Death had met. There were a few Mortals who did show the same emotions as Aaron...

Those Mortals were the ones who eagerly wanted to meet with Death. Humans called that act of trying to find Death when they weren't meant to die 'suicide'. But, in all reality, Fate and Destiny gave them two different lifetimes. They were 'destined' to die early, but if they wanted, they could also be 'fated' to die much later on. But whatever, Death did not care. He was meant to take the souls to their afterlife, Heaven or Hell, or just hand them over to whichever Immortal concerned them.

But this child wasn't like those Mortals who tried to commit suicide. This child... wanted to live. He had just changed his opinions when he saw himself murdered so ruthlessly every time he messed with Time. He had decided that dying peacefully was a better option than being killed by force.

"Very well," Death said, after noting down Aaron's name next to Heaven. The child would go to Heaven after his death. It was quite a bright, nice and lively place, though Death despised the amount of light there was in Heaven. His cousin, Life, liked it more. "Any last wishes?"

"Yes," Aaron said quietly. "I want to write a letter before leaving."

Death did not mind. In a different reality, a woman had done the same, writing a letter to her past self. However, Time didn't agree to it and neither did Destiny, so Fate made a few changes in the fate of Aaron of this reality and sent it to him. He consulted his notes... ah, there it was.

Rekka Star, 50 years old.

She died of cancer. It was a surprise... a talented scientist like her was traumatized so badly, after she went back in time once, that she was unable to make out the symptoms of cancer, though it was easily curable in her reality. It was mainly because Time disliked her actions, as well as her inventions, and had punished her. It was also because she had murdered Aaron Jeffery on the 2nd of May, 2020 in her reality, and hence, Karma was seething in anger. But it was only one murder, so Karma had let her live for sometime and have a glorious future.

Alas... the Rekka Star of this reality didn't have such a future. She had killed countless clones of this boy, and Karma had taken everything entirely in her hands. Just six more months before he would have to visit this reality again—for Rekka Star's soul. Death felt pity for the little child. She had blamed her father's death on Aaron's father all her life, and wanted to take revenge by murdering Aaron. She was not even destined to go to Hell. She was going to get the cruel Punishment of Insanity from Karma herself.

Had Aaron not been curious... everything would have been in a better position. But manipulating Time couldn't alter Fate. If Aaron had indeed sent the package to Rekka, all the events would have been balanced by Time, and Death would anyway have had to come to this Reality twice for certain.

Aaron sighed in relief. He had completed his letter for Rekka, explaining everything that had happened after the mysterious package had arrived. He smiled. He was happy to die quietly with peace.

"Your cause of death—old age."

"Huh?" Aaron was shocked. "Old age? Seventeen is old?"

"Seventeen? No, my dear boy, you are ninety-seven at the moment. Certainly, quite young compared to me, but quite old compared to your species." Before Aaron could say anything, Death continued, "I believe you had gone back and forth in time. Now look here child. Even though time didn't pass for others when you time-traveled, time still continued ticking for you. You are ninety-seven. Yes, for the Mortals you are still seventeen. But Fate had given you only ninety-seven years to live, and hence, I had to break that Clock so that you would stop jumping from one reality to another."

Aaron couldn't argue against that logic. Not bad, he thought. It's still fine.

"Then," Aaron said, "let's go."

"Your last words?"

Aaron took a deep breath. A little phrase left his lips before he ran out of breath. His body collapsed and lay on the floor until his neighbor found it the next day. He was given a funeral soon after.

His soul had been acquired by Death, who safely escorted him to Heaven.

Death thought of that kid several times in the future. Aaron especially came to Death's mind when he went to deliver death to Rekka Star. She died of insanity, Karma's special punishment, in a mental hospital, a place where not even her own parents came to visit, a place where everyone looked at her with an expression of disgust.

Aaron unfortunately was 'fated' or 'destined' to die—Death did not know the difference between Fate and Destiny, even though they were two different Immortals—because Aaron was designed by Life, Death's cousin brother, in such a way that he would be too curious for his own good.

But Death often wondered why his last words were...

"Curiosity killed the cat".