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Five Card Story: My Precious Gift

a #etmooc story created by Max Alvarez

flickr photo by cogdogblog

flickr photo by JudyArzt1

flickr photo by cogdogblog

flickr photo by mrsdkrebs

flickr photo by ncaramanico
It was my 18th birthday and my dad gave me this watch as a present. His dad had given it to him when he turned 18. It was a very special watch. It had been handed down from one generation to the next one since dear great-great-grandfather arrived in Buenos Aires.

The watch was assembled in Spain, my great-great-grandfather’s homeland, and the outer parts were replaced over the years. However, the clockwork – the heart and soul of the watch – was made in Switzerland and it remained untouched. So this birthday present was meant to mark a rite of passage on my dad’s side of the family.

My 18th birthday was on a sunny winter Saturday and I wanted it to be a special day. Instead of having a typical birthday party, I felt like going camping with my cousins and closest friends. No parents, no relatives and no other adults in the whereabouts; just us.

Despite the weather forecast saying there would be heavy showers and strong winds, it turned out that the weather was fine. We went sightseeing and trekking. We had a picnic and took a lot of photos of ourselves striking funny poses. I wouldn’t say we had the time of our lives, but we enjoyed ourselves a lot.

Yet great fun is never meant to last. On our way back home, we had a car accident. It was really dark and it started to rain heavily. There were strong winds. My eldest cousin, Paul, was driving along, at low speed, trying to make out the road.

Suddenly, a lorry flashed its lights straight at us, and hopefully in time, Paul managed to veer off the road. But he lost control of the car. It’s funny but time seemed to go by so slowly at that moment. We ended up into a roadside ditch.

Luckily enough, the ditch wasn’t full of water. I don’t quite remember how we managed to get out of the car. We were soaking wet and freezing cold. It was pitch-dark and pouring down with rain. The only thing we were able to make out was the lights of a farmhouse far away.

We walked towards the light. It was Mr and Mrs Baume’s dairy farm. They were a kind elderly couple whose children had already married, so they lived in this big farmhouse alone. They were delighted to have some young visitors and put us up for that night. I was so tired that I fell asleep as soon as I got into bed. I didn’t even notice that my watch was missing.

The following morning, I woke up early. Everybody was still fast asleep. I wanted to know the time. That’s when I realised my watch had gone. I jumped out of bed and started to search the whole place up and down. It was useless. I couldn’t find it. I must have left it in the car and the car was deep down the ditch.

I felt tired and a bit miserable. That watch had ticked the time away on my dad’s side of the family for years and now it was gone for ever! I lost it. I knew I would be ticked off. Feeling guilty, sad and hungry, I went into the kitchen.

Sweets! Tons of sweets in different colours and shapes… gummy bears and my favourite ones, M&Ms. I headed for the jars on the counter, and as the sweets slowly melted in my mouth, I started to think how to go down the ditch and recover my precious gift.

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