I dreamed I was a chess clock

I wasn't a person, just the thing that ticks. My hands were gears, my pulse the slow click of a minute hand. I watched a game unfold through glass—two players, one in white, one in black, their faces blurred. I felt every second stretch and snap. When the final move was made, I didn’t know who won. All I knew was that I’d been holding my breath for hours. And then I woke up, still listening to the silence between heartbeats.