I’m going to tell you the love story of Howard, and me, Minny. My whole life had been a cycle. Round and round and round for as long as I could remember. My life didn’t feel complete. Every second of every hour I longed for something more and I felt as though a piece of my puzzle was missing.

We used to just pass by each other and didn’t really put much thought into all of it. It was so hard to get a good look at him because it always got cut off in an instant.

He looked like a fairly simple man. Tall and skinny with all dark features. What really interested me was his personality. I began to say a few words to him in passing and we quickly became acquaintances.

There was one factor in our relationship that always kept us apart and this was time. We spoke to each other for only a minute and then we got separated by some kind of force. This was something we were never able to figure out. What could possibly be keeping us apart?

At the end of our minute long meetings, that time allowed us to have, Howard would always say, “When we’re together, time stops,” and then I get pulled away by the inescapable force. Last time we met, we touched hands and I felt and heard loud ticking around me. I knew that I would have to go and that the moment could never last. The pressure of time was ruining us and we could never fix this problem. It’s like seeing something high up that you know you could never reach.

One quiet and boring day, we were having one of our brief moments together when a janitor suddenly walked in. He yelled into the hallway, “Hey Joe! I’m goin’ to turn off these clocks in here because boss said the new shipment is comin’ in.” Howard and I looked at each other as our long cycle finally ended. We were together, hand-in-hand forever.