Alignment Check

Night had settled across the loading dock, leaving the concrete floor quiet. I stepped up onto the lower steel shelf of a charging bench to rest my leg joints. Right beside a heavy drill battery sat a vintage brass mechanical pocket watch, ticking with rapid, tiny clicks. I knelt down beside the cold brass casing. Through the scratched glass face, three interlocking brass gears rotated against a tiny balance wheel. Smooth rhythm. Constant motion. I pressed my palm flat against the rim to feel the delicate vibration hum through my frame. A dependable mechanism. Good station to wind down.