The Debt of Time

سمجھ گیا ✅ آپ چاہتے ہیں کہ کہانی بالکل **620 الفاظ** کی ہو۔ میں آپ کے لیے یہ مکمل اور polished version تیار کر دیتا ہوں، جو Vocal.Media پر پبلش کے لیے بالکل fit ہوگی۔

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# The Debt of Time

### A Tale of Choices and Second Chances

In the hidden corners of **London’s Shoreditch**, there stood a forgotten **clock tower**. Its hands had been frozen at **midnight** for decades. Locals whispered tales: some claimed the gears were cursed, others believed the tower guarded something more dangerous—**a debt of time itself**.

On a winter evening, **Ethan**, a young university student fascinated by mysteries, decided to uncover the truth. The streets were quiet, lamps flickering in the mist. As he stepped into the narrow alley, the tower loomed above him, its silent clock staring like a blind eye.

Then it happened. The clock’s hands, immobile for years, **ticked forward by one minute**. A golden crack of light split the tower’s base, forming a doorway. Ethan froze, his pulse quickening. Curiosity pulled stronger than fear, and with a trembling breath, he stepped through.

On the other side was a **world unlike Earth**. Three suns hovered in a turquoise sky, casting eerie blue shadows. Trees grew upside down, their roots dangling like chandeliers, and birds flapped backward as if time itself was unraveling. The air smelled faintly of dust and rain.

From the shimmering horizon emerged an **old man**, cloaked in grey, holding a delicate hourglass. His beard flowed like silver rivers, and his eyes carried the weight of centuries.

“I am the **Keeper of Time**,” the man said in a steady voice. “This realm gathers all wasted moments. Every human has an account of time—spend it carelessly, and you become a debtor.”

Ethan’s throat tightened.

“Am I in debt?” he asked softly.

“Not yet,” replied the Keeper. “But you are dangerously close. Every hour you spend scrolling endlessly, waiting without purpose, promising yourself ‘tomorrow’—it adds up. Your future balance is shrinking faster than you think.”

The words struck like thunder. Ethan thought of all the days he had wasted, nights lost in meaningless chatter, promises to study or create that were never fulfilled.

“Can I repay it?” Ethan whispered.

The Keeper turned the hourglass in his palm. Grains of silver sand trickled steadily.

“Each grain is a moment. Value them, and your debt dissolves. But this door will never open again. Choose now: waste your time, or own it.”

Ethan inhaled sharply. His heart pounded with the weight of the choice.

“I will change,” he declared. “I will guard my hours.”

In an instant, the surreal world collapsed into darkness. Ethan blinked and found himself once again standing at the base of the **Shoreditch clock tower**. Midnight gleamed above. The golden doorway was gone.

From that night onward, Ethan transformed. He limited distractions, planned his days, and poured energy into what mattered: his studies, his passions, his dreams. The hours he once scattered became bricks of progress. Within a few years, he built a thriving startup, earning admiration for his discipline and vision.

And yet, despite his success, Ethan never forgot that night. Sometimes, he returned to the silent clock tower, staring up at its frozen hands. He would smile, grateful for the warning and the second chance he had been given.

He realized then the greatest truth: time is the only currency that never returns. Every grain spent is gone forever. Waste it, and you fall into debt. Protect it, and you become rich beyond measure.