When the Clock Strikes
11:50 P.M. - Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
A cup of tea had grown cold on the shelf where it had been forgotten about. A man was bent over his work table, squinting in the yellow light from the lamp. It glinted on the shimmery red silk in his hands. With practiced precision, the slim needle darted in and out of the fabric forming the finishing handwork details. Pausing for a moment, he stretched to ease the ache in his back and took his glasses off to rub his eyes. Glancing at his watch, he realized it was about time he went to bed. He stood up stiffly and, neatly folding the red silk qipao, he left it on table for the morning. He walked to the little window and drew back the curtain to look out. There were excited people celebrating on the street. He remembered being young like that. These days, at 80, it was hard to maintain the tailoring shop, especially without his wife. He missed her. They had worked together every day, even before he had become a sifu in his own right. Touching the picture of her on the shelf, he said a prayer for her...
11:55 P.M. - London, England
The ornate silver tie tack matched the cufflinks threaded through his French cuffs. On a younger man they would have been ostentatious, but here they just augmented the silver slowly spreading through his jet black hair. Sipping the wine in his hand, he smiled at the blonde woman talking to the group. He speculated that she could have been a model if she had wanted to. He was sure whatever she was saying was funny or delightful judging by everyone else's reaction. Looking around the room, he patiently waited to make his exit. Belatedly, he realized she had moved closer to him...
23:57 - Atlantic Ocean
The wind blew from the port quarter. The helmsman, bundled up in his fowlies and wool scarf, shivered. The night was quiet and the stars littered the sky like glitter left on the floor after a party. The lookout pointed out a tanker in the distance and the officer of the watch went below to check the closest point of approach. The helmsman couldn't imagine being anywhere else at that moment. An easy transit and a clear night under sail could only be beaten by a glass of whiskey with his best friends right now. He wondered what the rest of the world was doing...
23:58 - Boston, Massachusetts, USA
The snow was falling softly, blanketing everything in white. A pair of ladies' snow boots crunched along the sidewalk in a hurry. Where some people got days off for holidays, the woman usually worked. Today was no different. Another day on the paycheck didn't hurt, but sometimes she felt like she missed things because of it. Luckily, she lived with her three best friends, so she didn't miss too much. She was lucky in other ways, too, as they had found a nice living space in downtown and she could walk to work. She thought if she had to commute in she wouldn't quickly tire of working here. She reached out a hand to the doorknob. As the door swung open, music and laughter spilled out into the street. Mumbling an apology about being late and quickly hanging up her coat, the woman embraced her roommates and picked up a glass just in time...
23:59 - Seattle, Washington, USA
The excitement in the room was escalating. It was tangible. He couldn't help getting a little caught up in it. Maybe it was the beer. Everyone kept furtively glancing at the clock. He was standing next to a cute brunette whom he had just met. The crowd here was boisterous. The leader of the three piece jazz band who'd been playing was starting the countdown. 30 seconds. The brunette was here alone, invited by his friend to even out the gender ratio it seemed. 15 seconds. Or perhaps she'd had no other plans and didn't want to be alone. 10 seconds. Maybe his friend was trying to set them up. Either way... 5 seconds. Everyone else started counting. He grabbed her hand and she glanced down, startled. She looked up, surprised. 3..2..1.. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"Happy New Year," he whispered in her ear, then dropped her hand. He gave her a half-smile and turned away.
A cup of tea had grown cold on the shelf where it had been forgotten about. A man was bent over his work table, squinting in the yellow light from the lamp. It glinted on the shimmery red silk in his hands. With practiced precision, the slim needle darted in and out of the fabric forming the finishing handwork details. Pausing for a moment, he stretched to ease the ache in his back and took his glasses off to rub his eyes. Glancing at his watch, he realized it was about time he went to bed. He stood up stiffly and, neatly folding the red silk qipao, he left it on table for the morning. He walked to the little window and drew back the curtain to look out. There were excited people celebrating on the street. He remembered being young like that. These days, at 80, it was hard to maintain the tailoring shop, especially without his wife. He missed her. They had worked together every day, even before he had become a sifu in his own right. Touching the picture of her on the shelf, he said a prayer for her...
11:55 P.M. - London, England
The ornate silver tie tack matched the cufflinks threaded through his French cuffs. On a younger man they would have been ostentatious, but here they just augmented the silver slowly spreading through his jet black hair. Sipping the wine in his hand, he smiled at the blonde woman talking to the group. He speculated that she could have been a model if she had wanted to. He was sure whatever she was saying was funny or delightful judging by everyone else's reaction. Looking around the room, he patiently waited to make his exit. Belatedly, he realized she had moved closer to him...
23:57 - Atlantic Ocean
The wind blew from the port quarter. The helmsman, bundled up in his fowlies and wool scarf, shivered. The night was quiet and the stars littered the sky like glitter left on the floor after a party. The lookout pointed out a tanker in the distance and the officer of the watch went below to check the closest point of approach. The helmsman couldn't imagine being anywhere else at that moment. An easy transit and a clear night under sail could only be beaten by a glass of whiskey with his best friends right now. He wondered what the rest of the world was doing...
23:58 - Boston, Massachusetts, USA
The snow was falling softly, blanketing everything in white. A pair of ladies' snow boots crunched along the sidewalk in a hurry. Where some people got days off for holidays, the woman usually worked. Today was no different. Another day on the paycheck didn't hurt, but sometimes she felt like she missed things because of it. Luckily, she lived with her three best friends, so she didn't miss too much. She was lucky in other ways, too, as they had found a nice living space in downtown and she could walk to work. She thought if she had to commute in she wouldn't quickly tire of working here. She reached out a hand to the doorknob. As the door swung open, music and laughter spilled out into the street. Mumbling an apology about being late and quickly hanging up her coat, the woman embraced her roommates and picked up a glass just in time...
23:59 - Seattle, Washington, USA
The excitement in the room was escalating. It was tangible. He couldn't help getting a little caught up in it. Maybe it was the beer. Everyone kept furtively glancing at the clock. He was standing next to a cute brunette whom he had just met. The crowd here was boisterous. The leader of the three piece jazz band who'd been playing was starting the countdown. 30 seconds. The brunette was here alone, invited by his friend to even out the gender ratio it seemed. 15 seconds. Or perhaps she'd had no other plans and didn't want to be alone. 10 seconds. Maybe his friend was trying to set them up. Either way... 5 seconds. Everyone else started counting. He grabbed her hand and she glanced down, startled. She looked up, surprised. 3..2..1.. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"Happy New Year," he whispered in her ear, then dropped her hand. He gave her a half-smile and turned away.