6:30 am.
"Alfred, wake up!" a soft tiny voice buzzed to his ear.
He wasn't sure where it came from.
"Who are you?" he mumbled, still sleepy.
The voice responded. "Does it matter now? Why not open your eyes?"
Alfred was half asleep in his bed. He slowly opened his eyes as the voice commanded him to do so.
"You got important things to do today."
"What is it?" he yawned.
"First, cleanse yourself and get a sumptuous breakfast."
Alfred acted like a puppet, unable to resist the command.
"Okay, that will be an easy task."
He rose from his bed and went to the bathroom. Moments later, he got dressed and went to the kitchen to cook his food. He prepared a sumptuous meal and neatly arranged the breakfast plate for 2 on the dining table. After he had his breakfast, he patiently waited for the voice to return.
Moments later, the voice returned in a jolly mood. "Isn't it a great day today, Alfred?"
Alfred liked the way it communicated to him, and it had given him something to smile about.
"Yes. Today... is... a…great day," he mumbled.
"Now get the watch I have given you."
Alfred followed the voice instruction. He searched for the watch in his bed, under it, on the vanity table, but he could not find it. He stopped for a moment, thinking where it might be, and remembered giving it a gift to his wife. He looked for it in the living room and saw Ingrid's bag. He spread the content on the sofa, and the watch tumbled on the floor and emitted an unusual beeping sound like it was hurt.
He grabbed the watch and put it on his wrist. It made a jolly sound and gave off multicolored flashing lights circling clockwise and then counterclockwise. The lights and sound fascinated Alfred. It seems the watch is not ordinary, and the way those lights dance tells him it has a higher purpose than just merely showing time. When it began to talk, Alfred's mind flipped.
"Thank you," said the voice emanating from the watch.
He tried examining the watch closer. He tried speaking into it like it was a cell phone.
" Hello? " Alfred asked.
It quickly answered him back."I hear you. You don't have to say it loud. "
Alfred frowned in disbelief."Are you really the one talking?"
"Yes, thank you for getting me back. I'm not supposed to be given to others. It is you that should wear this. From now on, take good care of this watch like your life depends on it."
"How come you can talk by yourself? Are you there inside?"
"Not physically."
"Huh, I thought it was just my imagination. I guess I don't have to think of myself as crazy."
"You have a role to play, Alfred."
"What is it then?"
"You'll see. Just follow my instruction."
It's a Sunday, so Alfred and Ingrid have the rest of the day to spend on their own itinerary. Ingrid was still sleeping on the bed when he looked back to check on her.
"Time to get out of the house. We will be driving somewhere. You will see the watch light up, and you can stop there."
He went out of the house and drove towards the city center. He had every step made up in his mind, so the watch will only signal when he hit the right spot. His watch gave him the first signal exactly ten minutes into driving around the city. He parked on an empty parking lot, stepped out of his car, entered an on-sale department store, and began to rummage through the ladies' section.
A young sales lady noticed he was trying to check a woman's dress in front of the mirror.
"For your wife?" she asked, smiling. Alfred nodded.
"But I'm not quite sure she would like it."
"I see." The sales lady took a gorgeous dress from among the rack.
"Why don't you try this?" The woman offered a beautiful dress matched with a Naples colored trench coat.
Alfred took it in his hand. The light on his watch lighted up in affirmation.
"This is beautiful," he said as he looked at it in front of the mirror.
"What's her frame size?"
"She was my same height and body frame, actually." Alfred stood 5 feet, 7 inches.
"You are size 26, I think, and this will fit her fine."
"What shoe will match this?"
"Let me get the manufacturer's catalog." She came back with the catalog on hand. He flipped the pages. But none of them hardly made an impression on his imaginary friend. She returned the catalog to the saleslady.
"It's not to my liking, but I would like the rest of the item wrapped."
As the saleslady was about to wrap the dress, Alfred saw the rows of wigs, and he tried one for himself in front of a vanity mirror.
"Where is this made?" Alfred asked.
"China. That wig is the cheapest we have."
"Anything European made?"
"We no longer have stocks on items made in the UK."
The lights on his watch suddenly turned on.
"That's fine with me. My wife is not choosy with its origin."
"Anything else?"
"I still have one more thing to buy. Can you hold these for a minute? "
Alfred handed the wig he selected and walked towards the shoe section.
Alfred cannot select the right shoe, so he scanned the row of shoes with his hand. The watch lit up and settled on a black pair of shoes with pointed heels. He raised it to call the attention of the saleslady.
"I want a size 7 and half of this pair," he said.
The saleslady checked the shoe and examined the brand.
"Okay, this is a phased-out item, but I can call the backroom for any left stock." The saleslady telephoned the backroom and returned to Alfred with a big smile.
"Yes, it's available."
Alfred paid for the items with the money he had in his pocket. He went back to his car and unfolded the city map in the car seat. He spread his hand, trying to guess where the lights would take him. His watch lit up to a section of the map pointing to the bustling city center. He looked for it closely and was able to identify his next destination. He returned the map behind the dashboard and started the first of his many journeys.
Ingrid woke up that morning without Alfred's insight. She saw that he had already prepared the morning breakfast. It was past 8 in the morning, and Alfred had the habit of posting a note of his whereabouts on the fridge if ever he had gone out. She checked the fridge door, and there was none. She felt it was unusual. She took her cellphone and noticed that her bag was spread out on the sofa and the watch Alfred gave her was missing. Alfred had not shown any interest in it before, so the idea that maybe he might have tried it on to keep track of the time outside is the most logical explanation.
But where would he go? She tried calling his cell phone, and she heard the ringtone buzzing in the room. She looked for the sound, and Alfred's phone was on the side of the table. 'Where are you, Alfred?' she mumbled. She saw that his laptop on the table was open. She checked the website that was open in his web browser. She was confused that he had shown so much interest in unusual disappearances, unsolved murders, grotesque experiments, and archived forensic murder photos. She closed the laptop, unable to view the blood and gore from the last website she clicked. She closed her eyes and heaved a couple of sighs. She prayed Alfred would be back soon.