The clock marked the passage of time, silently. The only other sounds were of her muted curses, scratching of the pen on paper and the occasional clicking of tiny gears. It had to work, her calculations were correct, there was no way anything could go wrong...

Those were days gone by, she thought fondly, as she touched the old watch; it was a reassurance, a memory of her grandfather, to whom it had belonged. When her name was announced for the J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Prize, Dr Amelia, renowned horologist and physicist, walked up the stage with quiet confidence to accept her award; a testimony to her outstanding contribution to the study and physics of time. Only her white knuckles, as she gripped the award tight, evidenced her nervousness. Her voice never shook as she voiced her gratitude, in a single line, "This, Grandpa, is for you."

It was later, at the small dinner held to celebrate her success, that her family expressed their displeasure and disappointment. She had expected it of her colleagues who had expected a mention in her acceptance speech, but facing it from her father and grandmother hurt. They had accepted her admiration of her grandfather, grudgingly, but seemed to object him being thanked. Unable to sit through the dinner, she rose and disappeared to her study.

Slumping at her desk, she stared at the laptop, scattered papers and the locked leather-bound journal that held notes about her true research and significant breakthroughs. They were still secret, she would need more time before she made that public. Yet now, with the disappointment still fresh, she wondered if she could risk a trial.

Amelia made up her mind and locking her door, set to work. Her grandfather's watch, with its intricate gears, was integral to her work, she calculated as she reset the gears, which would allow the warping of space-times so that it would create a 'closed time-like curve. This would enable her individual time-cone to twist and close on itself, allowing her to travel into the distant past or far future. That was her theoretical research and today she would test it. She scribbled a note to herself, closed her fingers over it and pressed the reset button.

When her name was announced for the J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Prize, Dr Amelia, renowned horologist and physicist, walked up the stage with quiet confidence to accept her award; a testimony to her outstanding contribution to the study and physics of time. Only her white knuckles, as she gripped the award tight, evidenced her nervousness. Her voice never shook though she was surprised at the note she held, written in her hand, and she read it out, thanking her family and friends, though there was a faint memory of another time where she had said different words.

That night when she was back in her study, there was already a mention of the ceremony in her journal. She puzzled for a while before it became clear, she must have travelled back, but the memory of the early visit was vague. Excited, she continued her trials, each one teaching her that the further she travelled the lesser was her physical presence and fainter was the memory of the time she had 'lived' once.

And one day, she decided to travel far into the past, to meet her grandfather, maybe she could hint to him. During his last days, he had been worn down by guilt, torn between his obsession with punctuality and the guilt at having his lost his family for it. It hurt to see that her father had never forgiven her grandfather.

It was not without risk, she knew, for it would involve travelling almost eighty years into the past and she was not sure how much of her corporeal self would be with her. But she was determined to try.

It was summer. Bright glorious summer. And in the distance, she could see her grandfather. She did not waste time looking around too much, it was fascinating yet she was unsure as to how much time she had. She estimated a minimum of five minutes, in which she had to meet her grandfather and give her message. She quickly walked to the bus stop where he was waiting, grateful that he was the only one. It meant a greater chance of her disappearing without gaining much notice.

Her grandfather was startled when she laid a hand on him and looking down she realised why; she was more smoke than flesh. She was going to fade back in seconds and she spoke hurriedly, "Remember that, though both time and family are important, time never stops but family will always stay. Could you remember that?"

She was never knew if he heard, for at that moment she heard a woman call out and watched her grandfather walk away. He did glance backwards but Amelia could not make out his expressions. She slowly dissipated into the setting sun and the last thing on her mind was a hazy memory of the summer afternoon when her grandfather had died.

For all her accomplishments in the field of time, Amelia was not sure if she had succeeded. As the past faded away, she realised that she would not know immediately if her grandfather heard and heeded to her hurried message; only time would tell.

Word count - 894

Submission for round six of the the Reading List Marathon, where we had to write a short story in less than or equal to 1000 words, with a title borrowed from one of the books added to WattpadShortStory's reading list - 'Tissues Adviced.' The same had to feature one of the following themes:

▶ Historical Fiction

▶ Science Fiction

▶ Retelling of a fairy tale

▶ Time Travel

▶ Alternate Universe fanfiction

Update - And this won first place. 😊