The October breeze whispered gently over the verdant campus, rustling the branches of oak trees and scattering a fluttering confetto of fiery leaves down upon the sun-drenched walkways. Though classes had just ended for the day, the energy surging throughout the college town was palpable, a palpitation that shuddered with the vibrations of youth's unyielding curiosity and passion.
The seemingly eternal dance between teenage dreams and academic ambitions painted a symphony of enthusiasm and desire. It was amongst this orchestration of intellectual pursuits and esteemed aspirations that Sarah Thompson found herself entangled, a siren ensnared in a sea of mortarboards and ivy-draped walls.
Sarah, a young woman of striking beauty, having the embodiment of nature's most resplendent and captivating elements, guided like a laser sighted hawk through the cobbled streets and serene gardens of her enchanted college.
Her long blonde hair billowed behind her like a golden waterfall as she moved, her slender figure a delicate and intricate tapestry of femininity. She was, to others, a glowing beacon of hope and vitality, a breathing enigma of mystery and seduction. Underneath her deep-set blue eyes and academic prowess, lay the heart of a woman lusting for great love making. She fantasized about many classmates, but she knew she was too busy to have anyone special.
So, it was in solitude that she would indulge in the pleasures of her own body. But there was one caveat that she held close to her heart: she could never let her passion for self-gratification overshadow her dedication to her studies. Most nights found her passed out after a grueling match with long form essays. Others where she did have the energy for her favorite vibrating tool was the best reward available for her.
That was how her last relationship ended. The quiet closeness that she enjoyed was overshadowed by the selfish needs of her boyfriends. They always wanted sex, which was usually OK with her if they just were not terrible at it. She knew she was not perfect, but she hated how either her jaw got numb after 30 minutes of sucking their dicks or how they would cum long before she did. If she could find a real dick that wasn't attached to an asshole and blow it's load so quickly - that would be nice.
It was Friday evening, and the pressure of her studies was weighing heavy upon her shoulders these days, and the burden threatened to break her at any moment. As she stood, leaning against the cool stone wall of the library making sure she had all the books needed for her assignment, Sarah felt the weight of her existence pressing down upon her. Reading all of these would surely take hours and eat up most of her weekend. But that was life.
The sun, dipping below the horizon, began to cast a golden glow over the campus, bathing everything in its path in a warm and inviting light. A soft breeze played with her hair, tousling the golden locks that cascaded down her back. It seemed as though the very air was trying to comfort her, to ease the tension that gripped her heart.
As she turned the corner from the library outside, she felt a presence nearby. She turned to find a stranger leaning against the wall, his dark eyes boring into her soul. She had never seen him before on campus and he looked very old with long ashen hair and lanky body. She couldn't help but stop as if his gaze commanded her. Sarah's heart raced, it was his grin that was the creepiest. He had an aura that was almost otherworldly.
"Who are you?" she asked, trying to hide the fear in her voice.
The man chuckled softly, his voice mellifluous and reassuring. "I am here to give you a gift," he declared, holding out his hand.
Sarah recoiled at first, her instinctual fight-or-flight response desperately wanting to take over. But something in his eyes kept her hesitation. She glanced at the object in his hand. It was a locket, crafted of some strange black metal, inlaid with a single button on its surface.
"What...what is it?" she inquired, her voice barely above a whisper.
His dark eyes gleaming with a hint of mischief as he ignored her question. "I am here to help you dear. I have seen you struggling. I know your heart desires more from this world." His voice gravelly but firm.
The locket glinted in his hand as he spoke, seeming to pulse softly with an inner light. Sarah's curiosity was piqued as she gazed into it. "Time is an enemy of us all," he said as she finally lifted it from his palm.
"With this, you can make the world around you stop." His voice paused for deep breaths after each sentence. "Let you breath. Let you focus. Everyone deserves a chance, don't you agree?"
Sarah looked over only seeing a button on one side. "It freezes...time?"
"Yes" His voice slithered. "You will not need to eat or have thirst. Be warned of consequences. What you create there or leave behind will follow."
"Create...will follow...what?" Sarah furrowed her eyebrows until she looked up to see the man was gone without a trace. She looked around trying to see where he went. The air around her seemed to hum with an unfamiliar energy, and the once warm October breeze now felt cool and clammy on her skin.
Sarah stared down at the device in her hand again, her heart pounding in her chest as she considered the implications of what she had just received. She had initially hesitated to take the strange man's offering, fearing that it might be some sort of trick or joke. But as he had disappeared without a trace, leaving her alone with the device in her hand, she found herself compelled to explore its mysteries.
The sun had set when she got back to her room. It was adorned with framed art, books, and a four-poster bed, which was the sanctuary where she would spend most nights. Here, she could lose herself in the winding rivers of ecstasy and find release from the unrelenting pressures of academia. On rare nights, she would spend time there with her good friend Emily, the only other person in the world who knew what a horny slut she was.
Tonight was different. The creepy man left a bad taste in her mouth and immediately placed the locket onto her dresser drawer. It was impossible to set those thoughts aside. Was it true? What if it could really stop time? She could do so much with that, she fantasized a bit. It would certainly make quick work of all those books she had, she thought.
She made her usual layout on the bed, with her laptop and stack of books at bay. Each time she passed by her eyes on the locket. Her will closer to breaking.
She brushed her teeth and got her pajamas on before jumping into a comfortable position in her bed quicker than most nights. She almost reached out for the locket but stopped herself. Time stopping isn't real, that's stupid the thoughts raced.
Picking up her first book, she did her best to concentrate. The words on the page were legible but it was difficult to take in. What if it was real? That guy was pretty damn creepy.
She realized that at least 10 minutes had passed, and she wasn't even past the first page. Ok, she had to know.
Setting the book to the side, she reached out to grab the locket holding it in front of her. She studied the button with a new nervousness of touching it, her heart skipping. Finally, with a bated breath and closing her eyes, she pressed it.
Click.
It was a gentle sound. She opened an eye before both of them to see her room exactly the same. The glow of the laptop and red tint of her digital alarm clock remained still, the time 6:47 PM. She eyed the sides of the room before disappointment started to settle in.
Standing up, she peered out the window. The night sky still painted the quiet ground with the stillness it always did. "Well shit." she said under her breath, sighing. "I'm an idiot." she said to herself, putting the locket back on the dresser.
She sat back down on bed as the defeat sat in. Pulling up her laptop, she decided to check her email. However, as she typed in the keys the computer did not respond. Immediately her mind went to the thought that it froze. She pressed the control, alt and delete buttons at the same time. This did nothing. She hated it when this happened. In visible frustration, she pressed the power button. Nothing. It still glowed on the same screen that she left it on.
That is weird, she thought. Pressing the power button always worked as a last ditch effort. After a second, she looked back at the dresser and at the locket. It couldn't be, she thought. She reached over and quickly pressed it. The laptop did change screens. Cautiously, she reached over and pressed a few keys to change windows and it worked.
Her eyes widened. Impossible, it had to have been a coincidence. She pressed the button again and started to mash keys on the keyboard, nothing changed. She pressed the locket again and this time the keys did change on screen. She shifted back giggling at this. She had to test it on something else.
Jumping up, she ran to the faucet in her room confirming that when the button was clicked no water ran and when clicked again water came out. "Holy crap!" She laughed.
In the excitement, she pressed it again and wanted to go outside. She opened the door, but paranoia got the best of her as she didn't want to leave in just her pajamas and got a jacket on to cover most of her body. Just in case she totally lost her mind, she thought.
Speed walking through the hall, she rounded the corner almost bumping into a woman mid step. Sarah looked at her, she knew she was in a room down the hall from her but didn't know her name. She was holding a bottle of water apparently going back to her room. Sarah waved her hand in front of her motionless face. "Hey!" Sarah yelled but not getting a response. Sarah kept going down the direction of the hall and hiding behind a stair case while being able to see the woman.
Quietly, Sarah pressed the button and sure enough the woman started walking again. Sarah was gleefully giddy until she heard someone coming up the steps. In a panic, she fumbled the locket before pressing the button. Thankfully the footsteps stopped before anyone saw her.
Her heart raced as she ran back to her room, passing by the woman again still as before, and getting into her room and closing the door. Her breath heavy and did feel strange, she didn't really feel out of shape like she felt she would as if she normally ran that short. She thought, the man did say something about not needing to eat or drink maybe this was part of that.
As she stood there, her mind raced with possibilities. She could rob a bank if she wanted but couldn't. She wasn't evil enough for that yet, she giggled at that thought. Her eyes crossed over to the books on her bed. That would be the responsible thing to do she thought, as she walked over and found her comfortable sitting spot.
She had to sit there for a minute to process everything. There were so many things she could do, but no she needed to focus. Finally, she was able to dive into her book. Very quickly she found the inability to type on her laptop was going to be a problem and had to settle with writing on a notepad. Still the pros did vastly outweigh the cons.
Thankfully Sarah's concentration held steady as she read book after book, taking notes along the way. She did grant herself a break after each book, it was hard not to marvel at the clock still reading 6:47 PM. She did feel the silence of the world was odd, however it did help out to not have any distractions.
