2018 shuffled slowly towards the exit. His shoulders were hunched, his face was etched with the creases of worry, and his skin had the weathered look that comes from too much sun and not enough moisturizing. In his right hand he carried a scythe, which he here and there grasped with his left hand, and through the power remaining in both his spindly arms, he swooshed the scythe across some growth to reap a bit more news. The harvesting was almost done. Yea, it was old Father Time himself.
I hailed him.
"Father Time! Looks like you've had a rough year! Thanks for doing what you do"
Father Time looked at me, astonished. "I've never been thanked before. Thank you for thanking me. I get a lot of pushback. People mistake me for The Grim Reaper, which I am not. I am, however, as relentless as he"
"That you are. We're just about done with this year. Only a little more, er, 'reaping' left"
"I am tired, citizen. My workload has steadily increased over the last three hundred or so years. I have so many more endings to officiate"
"Any benefit in that? For you, I mean?"
"None whatsoever. Being Father Time, I can wait for no man. I am duty bound to reap the fullness of whatever crop I am called to harvest, be it a life, a company, a leader, a country. I am the Omega"
"And here comes the Alpha" I quipped, spotting Baby 2019 crawling up the lane. "Is he an 'upgraded' version of you? Better, different, New & Improved? I've always wondered"
"He appears to be different, but nay, he is only me in a different guise. He is the appearance of youth and promise, new beginnings, and fresh starts. A blank slate upon which to draw upon. In time, he will mature and by the end of 2019 he will appear as I do now, withered and old, weary and wobbling, yet still able, for The Universe gives him strength, to complete his appointed task"
"Somebody has to do it"
"Somebody has to act as a reminder that time passes for your culture has made the passage of time almost a taboo subject. You are entranced with youth, perpetual youth. 'Forever 21' is your ideal mindset. But I must show you always, every single day, the fleeting nature of your existence. I must show you things like road kill, dying flowers, and the obituaries of famous people"
"Are you the one that brings us all that death stuff we see on TV, you know, zombie and vampire shows, crime shows, horror movies, that kind of stuff?"
"No, that is Satan's department. My task is to simply show you that the world of form is an illusion. There can be no permanence in the world of duality. There is only emergence followed by disappearance, birth and death, arising and dissipation"
Father Time got busy with his scythe, mowing down some outdated concepts, passe words, and terminally ill technology before turning his attention back to me.
"See what needs to be done? Were it not for me no room would be made for my replacement" He pointed to Baby 2019, who was crawling up some steps that led to a stage.
"That is where the ball is going to be dropped at the moment 2019 arrives. Baby 2019 has to be there, amongst the cheering throng"
"A destiny thing" I said, observing.
“An absolute” Father Time corrected me.
I looked directly at Father Time. "And where will you go, at that moment?"
"I will be no more" he replied, without a hint of trepidation or remorse.
"Sounds uber harsh. Just like that, winked out of existence? Hopefully, there won't be any pain"
"There won't. I will simply reappear in the embodiment of Baby 2019, and start over"
"Wait a minute! Baby 2019 is a separate entity! You can't be in two places at once!"
"You have a lot to learn, young man"
"Obviously you haven't seen the gray hairs! Here, I'll turn a bit so they pick up more light"
"I have seen them, but you're still a youngster to me. I have lived forever! As time itself, I cannot be bound to the concept of the passage of time, as you are"
"Ooh. Got me there. I'm very much bound by time. It's all I think about. "How much time do I have left?"
"There will come a day when that won't be an issue for you, and you will simply celebrate existence, like I do every 'day'"
"Mowing things down with the scythe of time is celebratory? That sounds kinda sick!”
Winter is the appropriate backdrop
Seth Macey- Unsplash.com
"It's not. It's necessary. Without me, you would not be able to orient in your world. You would have no reference point and things would appear to be happening in a random fashion. Time is the tool humans use to measure sooo many things. You are fixated by the concepts of progress and history, and compare your 'standards of living' and 'evolvement' to years, decades, centuries, and epochs gone by. The calendar you swear by, the careers you toil within, the vacations you take, the children you raise, the accomplishments and accolades you gather, the contributions you make to this thing called 'society'- all of that is computed in your minds and out comes the result of your efforts- the purpose of your existence! These things matter not outside of this planet you ride upon, whose existence is measured in billions of years. You think you're important but you couldn't stand to see yourselves as I see you- as temporarily animate motes of dust in the void!"
"Gulp!"
"Gulp is right! Be thankful that I am gentle with you, and stay confined mostly to the shadows. Enjoy your 'time' in the sun while you can"
After sobering me with that wintry blast crotchety old Father Time left me, and I must admit I was very glad to see him shuffle off, muttering, looking this way and that for something to lay his scythe into. Meanwhile, Baby 2019 cooed cutely upon the stage. Some people up there were already decorating it and polishing the glittering ball that would be raised, and then dropped, at the moment 'he' (Baby 2019) arrived.
I turned away. There were still a few days of 2018 left to experience, but I gotta admit, after Christmas, the rest of the year seems like a lame duck. "Is it over yet? everybody wonders, because they're ready for the next year to begin. Ready for all the events that will happen in the next 365 days, those days marking our planet's orbit around a timeless sun.