Vauban's Night: A Night In Toulon, France

It was a cold and dusky evening in Toulon, France. The old man with watery blue eyes, took out the gilded watch from his pocket. He took a deep breath. It was time to go back home. His house was thick-walled and had a wine-cellar, like the traditional houses in France. But quite a few years ago, that was not the case. Back then it wasn't even his home, as he belonged to an impecunious family, which was displaced during the war. Vauban had just spent an hour observing the sun set. He came at the Bay of Magaud daily, about an hour before the sunset. Usually he sat on a particular, flat rock. When the sun was still intense, he looked aimlessly far away into the horizon, where the sea curved. He never used to strain himself by deep introspection
It was given to him by his father, who had left his family to join the army. It was a military conscription and the military service was compulsory. Fortunately, his father became a prisoner of war, and reconciled with the family upon his release when the battle had ended. Vauban's father had let him keep the watch even after his return. His father left the world, as a septuagenarian, after having lived a contented life. The watch reminded Vauban of vagaries of time. There was a minor dent on the crown of the watch. It reminded him of the day when his father was leaving to join the army. On that fateful day, when his father was about to leave, the watch had dropped by accident and the time had come to a standstill. On one hand, the hands of the watch had stopped moving, and on the other, the uncertainty about the future and grief of separation, had firmly set the happenings of that day in everyone's mind. On that day, a boy had to overcome his sorrows and support his family. He could no longer remain a boy. He was compelled to become a man - and quickly. With two siblings and an anguished mother to take care of, during the troublesome times of the war, his childhood soon transitioned into manhood. Since everything turned out to be alright, he rarely revisited those miserable times, except to extract all the bits and pieces of motivation. The wise draw strength from the troubled past. The watch was repaired only
The former chain had succumbed to the onslaught of the tides of time. The chain was replaced recently by a new one. The watch was to be gifted to his grandson, Ethan. It was Ethan's eighteenth birthday. When Vauban reached his home, Ethan was out, celebrating the day with his friends at a local pub and Ethan's parents had still not returned from work. Vauban was alone in the home. He put the watch in its case. The inside of the case was decorated with a blue velvet cloth. He took a last look at the watch. The time was thirty four minutes past six. He thought to himself, "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." He wrapped the watch-case with a soft, red velvet paper and kept it on top of the stone coffee table in the living room. With the watch, he also wrapped incalculable memories and stories. Then he went to his bedroom, switched on the television set and waited for other family members to