Wasted Time

The trigger was the words "wasted time."

An old man whose wife had recently died took a slow stroll throughout his luxurious home. He saw his garden, his fountain, his study filled with enough books for a hundred lifetimes. But what he found most interesting were the rows and rows of pictures of his family. From the first steps of his first child to the wedding of the youngest child, from the first wedding anniversary to his wife's final birthday he stared long at each one. But as he stared at more and more pictures he noticed something truly troubling.

 

His entire life he struggled to gain as much wealth as he could, never being satisfied with the amount he had. It had been an obsession of his since childhood and he could proudly say his family always had enough. Even now he had a safe full of money he and his descendants could never spend. He loved his family and they loved him. He loved them now more than ever. As he looked at the pictures he realized he hadn't gained anything in his entire life. He had only lost.

 

His face wasn't in a single picture. His children left long ago, he rarely heard from them. The rooms they once stayed in had grown cold and gathered dust. The kitchen that once prepared meals for an entire family was now only used by a lonely man to make sandwiches. Even the bedroom he once shared with the love of his life had grown dark and depressing.

 

The only room that seemed to have any life left in it was his study that had a safe filled with wasted time.

Author's Note

I used to write a lot on typetrigger.com

They would put out a new trigger, which was a word or a couple words, every 8 hours. You would then write something that was inspired by it in 300 words or less.

I cracked open my old account to bring you all my lovely creations.

The trigger for this was 'wasted time.' It's not great, but with what I had to work with and this being my first trigger I'm kinda pleased with it.

What do you think?