Watching Time

By Eva Koshal, aged 8

Beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep.... Bang! Hooray, Emily is awake, that's my first job of the day done. I am a small, pink, glossy alarm clock with green numbers on my face and a button on my head for turning off my loud beeping shout. I sit on Emily's bedside table next to a messy pile of books, pens and stickers. Emily is now nine and I have been keeping a close eye on her for the last few years. Mostly, I tick along at a constant speed but there have been a few times when Emily has needed my help.

Two years ago, her big, beloved Siamese cat called Captain, went missing. She looked for him after school everyday, calling his name and asking neighbours to check in their gardens and sheds. She came home miserable and cried herself to sleep every night. She missed his warm, furry, purring body curled up next to her on the bed. I hated to see her cry and the nights dragged on and on. I used every scrap of energy to push my hands round faster and faster to try and zoom through till dawn. My hands ached and burned and the battery grew hotter and hotter. I helped to get Emily through seven sad weeks before Captain reappeared and her smile came back.

Last August I was squashed into a big purple suitcase with t-shirts, beach towels and Teddy and taken on a hot summer holiday. It was wonderful. I watched while Emily ran in and out of her bedroom in her blue and pink flamingo swimming costume, her wet feet leaving puddles on the stone floor. She released a bucketful of laughter as she found her water squirter and ran off again outside to spray her brother. I loved seeing that huge beaming smile and wanted it to last forever. I held my breath and concentrated as hard as I could on not moving my hands but the battery kept trying to push me forwards. I tensed every muscle to keep myself still and managed to give her just a little more time.

But I am only a small, pink, glossy alarm clock and I have such a big job to do. I will watch Emily every second, every minute, every hour that I can. I will speed through the sad times and try to hold onto the happy times. I am watching time.