TIME WAITS FOR NO MAN

Jim wakes up exhausted, tired as if God had forgotten to plug him into a universal charger. He climbs out of bed. It's his day off.

After a long hot shower, Jim enters the kitchen with a small Bluetooth speaker. Soft classical music plays. He's ready. Jim bounces around the kitchen, gathering cooking tools and ingredients. His movements are smooth but agile, synchronized with the rhythm of the music. The stovetop is decorated with a colorful array of breakfast foods. A sight that you can smell. Jim turns off the stove. He admires his creation and is quite satisfied. Jim grabs a plate and packs it until there's no room left. He pours himself a glass of apple juice then retired into the living room. He sits down, just about to dig in when the doorbell RINGS.

Jim answers the door, revealing his nine-year-old son Peder, twelve-year-old daughter Mia and his beautiful ex-wife Grace. His kids hug him and run inside. Jim looks at Grace, confused. "What? Did you forget?" asked Graced.

"Come Grace, Can I have some time to myself, just for today?" begged Jim.

"I'll pick them up at nine," said Grace as she walks away.

"Nine? You're supposed to pick them up at seven!" yelled Jim.

Grace makes her way to her car. Jim loudly whispers something under his breath.

"Yea, I know!" Replied Grace.

Jim walks inside as soon as he turns around; Peder laches onto his waist.

"Can we go to the park today, Dad?" Asked Peder.

"Jesus! Peder, no!" Barked Jim.

Peder walks away with his head down.

"Alright, fine. One hour," demand Jim.

They arrive at the park on a bright sunny day. The park is filled with loud kids. His kids joins in on the noise. Jim stays in the car for a moment. He places his hand on the gear shift and puts the car in drive.

He stays in that position until, "Hey Dad, are you coming? Yelled Peder from a distance.

Jim snaps back into reality. He puts the car back to park and exists.

Jim Peder and Mia pass around a soccer ball. Jim kicks it at Peder, but it's too fast. The ball bounces away from Peder's legs and rolls next to an old man wearing a black suit. He's also wearing seven black watches. Peder goes after the ball but gets scared halfway. He backs away and runs to Jim.

"Dad, that man is scary," said Peder.

"Peter, that's rude," said Jim.

Jim approached the old man.

"Sorry, he's not used to strangers."

"That's alright young man." Said the old man.

"I like your watches; where'd you get them?" asked Jim.

"These were given to me. I have a lot of time to myself these days, and they help me manage my time quite well," replied the old man.

"You're lucky. I don't have any time to myself anymore," said Jim looking back at his kids.

"Really? What would you do if you had all the time in the world?" asked the old man.

"I would re-live the glory days. Have some fun like I used to." Replied Jim.

"I see. Well, young man, it seems that fate is on your side." Said the old man.

The old man pulls out a little black book.

"This is a special logbook. It has the power to take you to any moments of the past. Simply write the month and the year of when that moment occurred and picture the memory in your mind, and you be able to re-live that moment." Explained the old man.

"Sure. And I'm supposed to believe that," said Jim.

"Try it for yourself. And if it doesn't work, come back tomorrow, and I'll give you one of my watches," said the old man.

"They are good-looking watches. Okay, I'll take that bet."

Jim receives the book. He looks at it more closely.

"And when you want to get back to the present, simply write PRESENT in all caps, and it will take you back," explain the old man.

"It looks like an ordinary boo-"

The old vanishes.

Jim unlocks the door. His kids run inside. Jim walks in, flipping through the book. It's all blank. He finds a page that has instructions written on it. Glass BREAKS in the background. Jim runs into the bedroom and sees his glass trophy broken into many pieces sprinkled on the floor. His kids' standstill in his bed.

"In your room, both of you! Now!"

"But it was an accident," said Mia.

"I don't care. You know you guys weren't supposed to be jumping on the bed." Yelled Jim.

The kids run into their room. Jim slams the door shut and locks it.

"And be quiet! I don't want to hear a word!"

Jim walks back into the living room. He opens the book and writes something down aggressively. A moment goes by.

"I can't believe I"-

Jim finds himself standing in front of the roaring crowd. He's much younger with more hair. He looks at his brand-new guitar, then at his bandmates. One of his bandmates mouths, "what are you doing?" Jim snaps into reality. He starts with a wicked guitar solo that makes the crowd go crazy. The rest of the band joins in. Jim is in the zone, playing every song with full force. Waves of ecstasy electrify his body.

After the show, Jim and his bandmates celebrate. They toast with glasses full of whiskey.

"Oh, what time is it?" asked Jim.

"Why? Are you meeting someone later?" said one of Jim's bandmates.

Everyone laughed.

"Yea, okay. What's the time?"

"Half-past seven." said another one of Jim's bandmates.

Jim leaves the room. He pulls out the notebook and starts writing.

Jim finds himself snowboarding down a mountain in a light blizzard. His headlight beams out in front of him. He struggles for a moment trying to maintain his balance.

"You good?!" yelled someone from a distance.

"Yea, I'm fine!" Said Jim.

The wind picks up, but so does Jim. He picks up speed. A jump comes up. Jim does a three-sixty spin, then lands perfectly.

"Wooh!"

In the end, Jim high-five his friend.

"Another round?" Said Jim's Friend

"No, sorry. I have to go." Said Jim.

Jim writes PRESENT into the little black book. It takes him back on the coach. Jim looks around. The walls are painted pink, and all the furniture is polka doted.

He runs into the kid's room.

"Hey, Peder. Mia. I'm ba"-

The room is filled with boxes.

"What the hell are you doing in my house?" Asked by a voice from behind.

Jim turns around and sees Heather, a tall black woman wearing a flower dress.

"Your house?! This is my house! And where the hell is my kids?!" yelled Jim.

"You know what, I don't get time for this," said Heather as she dials 911 on her phone.

Jim reaches for the phone. They wrestle for some moment. The phone jumps out of their hands. Jim knocks out Heather immediately.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

Jim looks around for the phone. Meanwhile, Heather slowly creeps into the kitchen. Jim looks at the phone. His eyes widen. He looks back where Heather uses to be. He hears a drawer opening. He runs into the kitchen. Heather pulls out a gun, slowly points it at Jim, but he's too fast. Right when she's about to pull the trigger, Jim pushed the gun towards her, POW. Heather lies still. A pool of blood spreads out from under her like wings. Jim backs away and runs out of the house. Jim runs into the busy street. Futuristic cars swerve left and right, trying to avoid hitting him. Overwhelmed, Jim falls to his knees.

"Where the hell is you! Show yourself, old man! Do you hear me!" Jim yelled.

Time stands still—everything around Jim freezes.

"Did you read the instructions?" said the old man.

"You told me all I have to do is write down the month and the year and have the moment in mind." Said Jim.

"Yes, you're right." Replied the old man.

"And all I have to do to come back to the present was write PRESENT in all caps." Explained Jim.

"Yes, I did," said the old man.

"Then why am I in the future? Huh? Where the hell is my kids?!" yelled Jim.

"Well, the only answer I can give is this: time waits for no man." Replied the old man.

"What?" asked Jim.

"The more time you spend in the past, the more time you lose in the present." Explained the old man. "You wanted this, and now you have it."

Jim hangs his head low. Time resumes.

Jim makes his way towards a light blue house.

"It's still here." Said Jim.

He RINGS the doorbell.

Peder, now about sixteen, opens the door.

"Dad?" said Peder.

"Oh my God. You've gotten so big. Where's Mia?" asked Jim.

"Ah, Mia? Um. Where? When did you-" said Peder nervously?

Grace comes up from behind Peder with a knife and pushes him behind her.

"You got some nerve coming here!" shouted Grace.

She swipes at Jim furiously. Jim Jumps back, barely avoiding the knife.

"Woah! Wait! Stop!" yelled Jim. "I just want to see my kids."

"You think I'll let you see them after everything you've done?!" yelled Grace. They were in that room for hours!"

Grace gets held back by a tall slim Asian man.

"They were in that room for hours!"

"Look, I'm sorry." Said Jim.

"Yea, that's all you can freaking say. If you come around here again, I swear, I'll kill you." Said Grace.

"You know, there was a time you loved me!" said Jim from the sidewalk.

"Never again!" yelled Grace as she gets escorted back into the house.

"Yea, we'll see about that.

Jim takes out the little black book and writes something in it.

Jim is now in bed, half-naked. A much younger Grace walks out of the bathroom wearing lingerie. She climbs into bed slowly and starts making out with Jim.

After the deed is done, they're both tired. Jim writes in the little black book again. He's in bed again. Grace comes out of the bathroom and climbs into bed. He replays the moment repeatedly, each time growing more and more unsatisfied.

"What am I doing?" said Jim.

This time, he takes a moment to think. He sits up, grabs the little black book from the nightstand, flips through the pages until he finds the page with the rules and instructions on it.

The user may find someone in the present or past by simply writing their name and when they would like to see the person.

Jim writes Mia and PRESENT in the log section.

Jim finds himself at a hospital, standing in the hallway. He hears crying and Peder's voice.

"Isn't there some way we can pay for the surgery? Said Peder.

Jim walks into the room and sees a much older Peder and Grace crying. Mia is lying in bed unconscious.

"No. No, this wasn't supposed to happen." Said Jim.

Peder and Grace both look at him, confused.

"Wow, after all this time, you still haven't changed." Said Grace.

Jim runs out of the room.

"I don't want it. Take it back. Tack it back!" screamed Jim.

People nearby stopped and fixed their attention on him.

Time freezes.

"Are you sure? Returning the book will result in termination of one's existence." Said the old man.

"Fine, at this point, nothing else matters," said Jim.

The old man walks up to Jim and lays his hand on his shoulders.

"It's done. You now know how important time is."

Jim looks up.

In an instant, he finds himself back in the hallway with a check for $ 500,000.

Voice over: "Now do something good with the time you have left.