Grandpa’s favourite thing is a stopwatch, and he and his grandchild use it to time everything: racing to the end of the street and back (best speed: 24 seconds); the time it takes to eat a whole bubble gum ice cream cone (1 minute, 58 seconds – brain freeze: 6 seconds); a snore-filled nap on the couch (20 minutes).


When Grandpa dies, his grandchild inherits the beloved stopwatch. But the child doesn’t want the stopwatch ... ‘I want him.’


The child throws the stopwatch into the back of a drawer, sadness overwhelms, and everything feels different. Nothing seems right, now that Grandpa is gone.


But with the passage of time, the comforting tick, tick, tick of the stopwatch, and happy memories, life does move forward ...

Illustrated by: Carmen Mok