Time

There one was a little boy, who wished time would go faster.
"FASTER! FASTER! FASTER!" He cried.

His parents advised him that one day he would think otherwise.

The little boy thought about driving, being able to be 'cool' or even move out- away from his annoying parents. The little boy never showed anyone affection.
Again he stubbornly cried "FASTER!"

One day, a great magician appeared at his door.
"I've heard that you have a request to make; may I ask?" the great magician inquired.

The little boy, stuck at 5 years of age, excitedly screamed "Time! Faster!"

The great magician questioned "Are you sure?"

The little boy nodded and the great magician replied with a gentle smile
"Very well."

Zap. Buzz. Boom.
"The effects are irreversible" were the parting words of the great magician.

The selfish little boy squealed in delight, as he watched the clock race- faster and faster, as he wished.

The little boy's parents were confronted by a question
"What does irreversible mean?"
"Irreversible means that you can't go back to where you were before."
"Oh...Good."

Time whirred on for the little boy. Within the blink of an eye, he was out of college. Working. He was successful and had a beautiful wife, though he still never showed affection.

Suddenly, after another rushed working day, two policemen came knocking at his door.
"We're here to announce the sad passing of your own... mother and father... in a tragic accident."

The not-so-little boy burst into tears, regretting the little time he had spent with his own parents. He cried and cried, by the time he had stopped it was already dawn.

The little boy was still present, living inside a 40 year-old man's life. He yearned for his childhood again, the nurturing love of his parents. Alas, this could not be. "You can't go back to where you were before". He recalled the words of his mother.

Not long, his beloved wife had aged dramatically and faced serious health problems. Although doctors claimed that she could live no more than two months, the little boy knew that it would be over in a matter of seconds.

Now, he was 80, facing death himself. The little boy was not ready. Would a 5 year old boy ever be ready for death?

As he lay at his deathbed, a flashback of his compressed life brought him regret and shame. He had still never shown affection, not even to his own wife or daughter. Tears welled up in his eyes, as his own daughter, now 50, asked her daddy what was wrong.

He struggled to breathe and watched his heart rate drop lower and lower, into the hands of death. He mustered all his strength and uttered

"I love you..."