Vagabond Multilingual Journal Spring 2014 | Page 7

The Ring That Stopped Time
A creative essay in the style of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis

“The train ends here” said a voice over the loud speaker. Timo Reiter opened
his heavy eyes as he awoke from a deep sleep. He stood up quickly from his seat and
exited the train. He turned his head toward the sky and felt something cold and wet
on his warm face. Timo raised his arms and laughed as the raindrops, fat and heavy,
fell on his skin.

“What a beautiful day,” he thought. Timo loved the rain. The rain that fell in
thick sheets and that people avoided with umbrellas, Timo welcomed with open arms.
Through the crowds of people that wore raincoats, Timo went bare, wearing only a
white T-shirt and blue jeans, which were stuck to his skin from the soaking rain.

On his way home, he wanted to take a different route so that he could enjoy
the rain longer without the presence of the ungrateful pedestrians. He wanted to be
one with nature. Away from civilization, in the deep forest, earthly colors surrounded
him: green trees, plants, leaves, and brown earth. Between a rock and tree, hidden
under a log he saw something golden- Timo paid attention to small details- laid a
dirty ring that looked like it had been there for a long time. He blew away the loose
dirt and put the ring on. The ring was a perfect fit on his finger.
Timo happily wen t home with his new treasure. On the way he whistled a lively tune,
much so like a bird call. Out of the woods, the air was still and it was not raining.
Suddenly, a gust of wind chilled him giving him goose bumps. He felt uneasy because
as soon as the wind came, it disappeared.

“Oh god! What has happened?” he screamed, as soon as he saw the strange
sight. The birds, whose song he had imitated before, were in the air but they did not
flap their wings. Further, a jogger was frozen, mid stride- he was now across the
running track- did not move. “Why doesn’t she move?” he thought to himself. “What
makes me different?” He thought back on the day, his travel on the train. His thoughts
then wandered to the ring. He looked at his hand and then his finger. He tried to
remove the ring, but it was stuck. He screamed, but no noise came out. He tried to
run, but he could not. He could not move his body, but then the world around him
began to turn.

by Jessica Bermudez

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