[ WP ] You wear a watch that does not work .

Two watches, two times. The first watch ticked along slowly, letting Robert know it was 12:42 on the dot. He tapped the broken plate of glass on his second watch out of habit. The frozen hands told him it was 12:47, same as always. 
 
 
 Other than the occasional mechanical engine roaring at him as it passed by, all was quiet on the Green River Bridge. At this time of night, everyone was already where they needed to be, and no one was too interested in being anywhere else. The rain was pouring softly, the gentle fall into the water creating a pleasant wall of white noise, cutting Richard off from the rest of the sleepy town. 
 
 
 That was, until the occasional mechanical engine roaring at him suddenly cut out to be replaced by the actual man now yelling to him. 
 
 
 `` Hey buddy, you alright?'' 
 
 
 The voice against the silence was a large overweight man, yelling from the front seat of an equally oversized pickup truck. 
 
 
 `` You got an umbrella or something? You need a ride?'' 
 
 
 Richard smiled and waved to the man. He did not, in fact, have an umbrella. He felt no pressing need for one. Nor was there any planned ride to come. 
 
 
 `` I'm fine, thanks.'' 
 
 
 `` Alright!'' The man yelled back as he brought his truck back into gear. The engine turning slowly from a roar to a whisper to nothing as it went off into the sleepy neighbourhood ahead. 
 
 
 10:44. Richard continued to watch the river in front of him. He wondered for a moment how he actually planned to get back home, before he went back to wondering about why he was here in the first place. Rather, why he had originally been here in the first place. 
 
 
 The previous year had been good to him, as had the years before that, one year, the year that led up to him originally standing here, had been rough. The cancer had finally overtaken his mother. She passed away peacefully, in the company of family who had there for her until the end. But she was the one who kept the family together, and with their father already gone, Richard's siblings finally began to scatter to the wind. They had wives and husbands and careers to return to, children of their own to look after. They had lives to live, and once the will had been read and the assets divided, Richard found himself alone in the family home. 
 
 
 Depression hits hard, but hits you gradually. The general day to day disguised the gradual creep, until eventually he noticed his occasional thoughts had become overwhelming thoughts, and not a single night passed where he did n't wonder what his purpose was now. And slowly, just as gradually, he went from wondering what his purpose was, to wondering what the value of a life without purpose was. And then one day, with all the confidence in the world backing his decision, he realized that there was no value to a life, his life, without purpose. 
 
 
 So he got out of bed and walked to the river. 
 
 
 His father, before he passed, used to love bringing the family on little boat rides around the river. He owned a canoe, and loved nothing better than taking a few of the kids out on the boat and just paddling around. Richard had hated it at the time, it was nothing but boring father stories and sore arms. Now that the family had moved on, now that the canoe was sitting unused in the garage, he missed it more than anything. 
 
 
 When he finally made it to the river, his mind was set. One quick jump over the ledge and into the river. One last trip to the site of countless childhood weekends. There was no hesitation as he lifted himself over the safety rails. 
 
 
 No, the hesitation did n't hit him until he was already falling. 
 
 
 For all that his life lacked, Richard realized in the moments before he hit the water that he had in himself the potential to attain these things, to attain meaning. He just did n't realize it until he was falling. 
 
 
 The fall was n't too far, his watch, his original watch, smacked against the water and cracked against a rock on the surface of the river. But the rest of his body was intact, and he pulled himself back to the surface and over to the shore. 
 
 
 12:47 was showing on both watches now, and Richard looked over the river. 7 years later, his watches synched up again. 
 
 
 When it hit 12:48 Richard began to walk home. He had to be up early for his son's first day of school.
