[ WP ] Someone has the ability to save and reload their life like a video game . One day something goes very wrong .

The hardest question for me to answer is `` So, how old are you?'' That one always gives me pause. I make a joke that I must be getting old since I ca n't remember and everyone has a laugh, but the truth is I just do n't know. My drivers license says I'm 31 but I lost count of my true age somewhere around 1400. Or was it 1200? It does n't matter; people say time is an illusion. If that's true, then I'm the guy with the rabbit in his hat. 
 
 The watch was my greatest invention. A simple stopwatch, broken to the casual observer, only showing one time on its frozen face. But it was n't broken, merely holding my place. A temporal tether, attuned to my bio-matrix, allowing me to jump back to the point I last stopped the watch at. Indiscriminate time travel is impossible, you ca n't just jump back or forward wherever - whenever - you want. Trust me, I spent three hundred years working on that for nothing. But for a simple re-do or second chance, it works wonders. 
 
 I got the most use out of it in college. No, not to relive nights of debauchery or to see what would've happened if i went home with him instead of her. I stopped the watch the start of my freshman year and reset right after graduation; on each pass through I'd get a different major. I was a regular renaissance man by the time I was done. I had a well paying job, a big house and a loving wife. I did n't let the power corrupt me, everything was done with good intentions. Well, you know what they say about using good intentions as pavement. 
 
 It was n't her fault, she just wanted to do something nice for me. Something for our anniversary, our 5th for her, our 37th for me. I remember the smile on her face when she took the box out from behind her back. `` I cherish every second I have with you,'' she said, `` and I want you to keep track of every single one.'' I opened the box and found my stopwatch, `` repaired'' and ticking away. I put on my best fake smile and hugged her, thanking her for the best gift ever while cursing her for destroying my life's work. `` It was nothing, just had to open it up and reset the battery. I've been watching how-to videos.'' We made love that night, and for the first time I could n't replay the situation to ensure she got everything she wanted. I think she noticed. 
 
 After she was asleep, I took a look at the watch and found what was done. She opened the case, removed and replaced the singularity with a standard battery and restarted the internal timing mechanism. If I was n't so scared, I'd be very impressed. I put everything back as well as I could and found that I could no longer `` save'' a time, only reset. And without a save, the only option was `` factory reset''. A complete and utter re-start. 
 
 And that's why I'm where I am now, sitting in a hospital room watching doctors try to understand what's wrong with the love of my life. They do n't know she was exposed to lethal radiation when she opened the shell of the battery of the watch, even if I could explain to them, there's nothing they can do. Nothing except use the watch one last time, re-do everything. I ca n't remember the first half of my life; 20 years and 7 centuries ago. I do n't know if I'll remember this time. I do n't know if I'll be able to find her again or even rebuild the watch. But it does n't matter, what's an eternity compared to another day for the one you love? 
 
 After the doctors leave, I locked the door and kissed her on the forehead, apologizing for what I've done and what I'm about to do. I take one last look at her face and press the small silver button on the side of the watch. 
 
 A bright flash and sudden darkness, different from any other time. Pain. Blood. Screaming. Suffocating. Light. Something choking me. Air! My eyes struggle to see, but it's too bright. I try to talk but can only scream. My limbs feel weak and the noise is cacophonous. Finally, the world begins to come into focus and I realize I'm being carried. I look up and see a man in a blue mask. `` Congratulations, Mrs. Welkash, it's a healthy baby boy!'' 
 
 I think of that tough question i used to get, `` how old are you?'' Time to start counting again. 

