[ WP ] All pain can be delayed at will . However , the longer it is delayed , the stronger the pain will be when finally felt .

As I do every day, I am on the metro for the commute over to the office. I bypass Eric the homeless guy because I know he does n't really need my money, and that he'll spend it on booze. I get off the metro, cross the street to a cute little cafe next to the gigantic hospital I work in, for a cup of coffee. 
 
 I settle in for my usual, and I notice the cute brunette at the other table. Karen. She has two cats, which is a reasonable number. Three would be encroaching into cat lady territory. Wake up, she's out of your league. She does n't work at the hospital, but nearby, and our routines have us meet in the cafe every morning. 
 
 Meet is n't the right word. I've never spoken to her. 
 
 ___ 
 
 I look up at the clock. Just a few more hours to go. Got ta power through these last few appointments, and that'll be that. I bring the next person in. You need to work through this, I say. You ca n't let pain fester inside of you like that. It's unhealthy. Every person has the same eyes. They're the same as my eyes when I hear the phrases I'm spouting. Tired. Incredulous. Uninterested. I wish I had something better to tell them. I certainly would n't believe the crap I was saying. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Today, too, I am on the metro for the commute. I bypass Eric, who loves to spend his begging money recklessly. I get to the small cafe next to the big hospital, grab a cup of coffee. 
 
 I sit down, and there's Karen. Her dogs are so cute, they must be pining over her not being at home with them. Wake up, man. She does n't work at the hospital, she works nearby and I always happen to meet her every morning. 
 
 Meet is n't quite right. I've never spoken to her. 
 
 ___ 
 
 I snap out of a trance. I must have dozed off at my desk. I check my watch. Just a few more hours until it's time to punch out. I tell my assistant to bring the next person in. It's worth it, I tell him, to work through it, even if it hurts. Being healthy is its own reward. The faces they make when I tell them this stuff... I recognize it. They all look so familiar. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Metro. Commute. Bypass Eric, grab coffee. 
 
 There's Karen... Shoot. Why not? I'm going to speak to her today. 
 
 I get up from my small table. She's only six feet away. But after I take a step, my perspective shifts. The walls stretch. *Space* stretches, and suddenly she's further away. I take another step, and it happens again. My head is slightly dizzy, and I can feel a slight soreness in my chest. 
 
 No, I'm doing this. 
 
 I take more steps, and it happens again, and again, and again. I break out into a run, and suddenly the cafe floor gives way to the ground underneath, the wooden boards cracking and splintering open. The half of the cafe with Karen inside it is hurtling away from me until it stop, and now the ground underneath me cracks open too. The roar is deafening, though I still hear the baristas preparing coffee for the other, completely unconcerned cafe-goers. When the ground settles, there is a wide rift between the two halves of the cafe, and magma has bubbled up from underneath to separate us. 
 
 I look over the chasm at Karen. She finishes her coffee, gets up, and leaves the cafe to go to work. 
 
 ___ 
 
 I look at the time on my computer screen. About time to go. There's a nagging sense that I forgot something. I bring the next person in. This pain will not go away until you deal with it. He nods, gets up and leaves. 
 
 My assistant pops his head into the door. Next person, boss? 
 
 I'm trying to shake my head no, but no matter how hard I strain, my head is n't moving. 
 
 Boss? 
 
 I strain harder, pushing and willing my neck muscles to shake my head. I take a deep breath and relax. 
 
 No. Come in. Sit down. 
 
 My assistant comes in and sits down. 
 
 What's up, boss? 
 
 I want to ask you something, but I do n't... I do n't remember what I want to ask you about. 
 
 Take your time. 
 
 I sat back in my chair. What did I do this morning? How did I get here? The details of my day before just now are suddenly so hazy. 
 
 The cafe. 
 
 The cafe! 
 
 What happened in the cafe earlier. 
 
 You do n't know? 
 
 No... should I? 
 
 ___ 
 
 I am in the break room with my assistant. My heart is racing. The haziness is gone, and I'm feeling an increasing amount of clarity. 
 
 `` Are you sure you want to know?'' he asks me. I nod. `` Well, I ca n't tell you. But I can ask questions. Why do you do the same thing every day?'' 
 
 `` Everyone does the same thing every day.'' 
 
 `` How do you know the homeless man's name?'' 
 
 `` Eric? He's a fixture in the city.'' 
 
 `` Have you ever spoken with him?'' 
 
 `` Of course I have.'' I thought back. I had n't. How *did* I know his name? It was just- 
 
 `` Just something you know, right? And how about Karen? Have you ever spoken to her? Her pet's names are...'' 
 
 `` Gucci and Cappucino.'' I said, quickly. How did I know that? 
 
 `` What's your name?'' he asks me. I have no answer. `` You find yourself in places, but do n't remember how you got there.'' 
 
 `` I know what you're trying to tell me. No. No way.'' 
 
 ___ 
 
 I glance at the clock on my desk. It's blinking zeroes. It must need to be set. I press the buttons but nothing happens. My assistant pops his head into the doorway. Ready for the next appointment? I am. I look at his face. He has my face. He smiles, and leaves. No next appointment walks in. 
 
 I get up from my desk and walk out. The waiting room is empty. The sterile light gives the room a pallid shade of blue. I exit the hospital and see no one on my way out. I step into the small cafe next door. It's silent. Empty, except for one table, with Karen. 
 
 She looks so close, but I look down at the floor, and the bubbling lava is there, a river separating us. My assistant is next to me. 
 
 Why? Why do I have the choice now? 
 
 You're ready to make the choice now. The choice to remember. To experience it. 
 
 For what? For her? 
 
 I ca n't speak for Karen. All you get is the chance to be hurt again. 
 
 I am crying now. I do n't want to be hurt again. The first time was tough enough. I ca n't even remember it, but I remember the pain. It was welling up, it was taking over. 
 
 You'll need to experience it again. 
 
 I'm afraid. Will I make it? 
 
 I looked over to my side. My assistant was gone. I took a deep breath. I braced myself, and I stepped into the river of fire. 
 
 [ And it all came rushing back to me. ] ( https: //www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/5godyf/wp_everyone_has_a_clock_and_when_it_reaches_zero/datzv7q/ ) 
 ___ 
 
 The light blinded me as I opened my eyes, and it felt like it was searing my retinas. Noise rushed like an angry river into my ears. A pain, like the pressure of a giant anvil, was on my chest. In front of me was the doctor. THE doctor. And beside me was Sarah. She was crying. On a couch behind her was a broken clock. 
 
 `` John. John, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. It's bullshit. It's all bullshit. You're the one for me. We'll get you better, and we'll work it out, OK John? Just stay with me.'' 
 
 I could n't make out anything else she was saying as her sobs overtook her. 
 
 `` John?'' the doctor said `` Good to see you back from your coma. Everything's going to be OK now. You just got ta get some rest, and we'll work everything out when you're all better.'' 
 
 I nodded. Some sleep would be good. Who knows how things will turn out? But I'll be able to decide what I want to do, at least. I nodded, and then I nodded off.
