I dreamed I was a chess clock

I wasn't a person, just the thing that ticks. The hands were my arms, the chime my voice. I stood in a silent room where games never ended, only paused. Every time someone moved, I felt it—like a breath caught in the throat. I didn’t want to keep time. I wanted to forget it. But the silence after each move… that was the real game. I woke up with my wrist aching like it still held a weight.