Time was the currency of the world. Some had it in abundance, while others, like Elara, watched each second slip away. She could see the shimmering numbers above people's heads, indicating how much time they had left. Her own digits were disturbingly low, considering her young age.
One fateful day, as Elara was sketching the sunset, an elderly woman with no visible time above her head approached her. "Beautiful, isn't it?" she remarked, her eyes reflecting centuries of wisdom.
"How... how do you have no time?" Elara asked, her voice quivering.
The old woman smiled, "I am the Time Keeper. I can grant endless time, but everything has its price."
Desperation and curiosity welled up inside Elara. "What's the price?"
The Time Keeper leaned in, her voice a raspy whisper. "You can have all the time in the world, but you can never form a lasting bond. No friendships, no love. Loneliness will be your eternal companion."
Elara's heart ached at the thought. Her art was her life, but the thought of eternal solitude was unbearable.
Days turned into weeks as she wrestled with her decision. Finally, she approached the Time Keeper, her resolve clear.
"I choose to live my time, however short, surrounded by love and connection," she declared.
The Time Keeper nodded. "Very well. But know this, child. The time you've spent pondering this decision has made you richer than any second I could offer."
With that, the Time Keeper vanished, leaving Elara with a renewed sense of purpose. She embraced her fleeting time, filling it with passion, art, and love. And in the end, she realized that the true value of time was not in its quantity, but in its quality.
