The Time He Had Left

Chapter 1: Wristwatch

On Daniel Mercer’s tenth birthday, his father gave him a watch.

It came in a small black box with no ribbon, no card, and no bright paper to tear apart. Compared with the other presents waiting on the kitchen table—a football, a model airplane, and a new winter coat—it looked strangely dull.

Daniel lifted the lid.

Inside was an ordinary grey plastic wristwatch. Its square face displayed a row of glowing numbers.

**68 years, 147 days, 06 hours, 22 minutes, 11 seconds.**

The final number changed to ten.

Then nine.

Then eight.

Daniel frowned. “Is it broken?”

His father sat across from him, watching quietly. He was usually a cheerful man, especially on birthdays, but that morning he looked unusually serious.