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Mr. Sackville shivered at the mere thought of it. All of a sudden, he was grateful
of where he was. What a bliss it is to come to this World as an aged man, and
then put all aspects of death behind you forever! To spend the first years of your
life continuously gaining vigor, feeling your teeth grow back and your hair turn
from snowy white to ebony! To have a party and a gold clock on your first day of
work. And finally, to spend the final years of your life as a carefree child, basking
in the love of the elders around you.
It is so easy to live in a world like ours, he wanted to say. Wars are fought
knowing the victor and the vanquished. Experiments are done knowing the
result. You’re born with your life well planned-out in front of you. Your whole life,
in short, is a countdown.
Having done enough thinking, a satisfied smile appeared on Mr. Sackville’s
face. As he laid back in his armchair, his cheeks became just a little bit rosier. A
thin layer of dust, almost unnoticeable, gently lifted off the yellowish magazines.
The hands around the clock went tick-tock, tick-tock, from 3, to 2, 1, then back
to 12.
13