When he got home he was still thinking about his strange encounter.
He had got off the train, still mentally working on a crossword clue that he hadn’t been able to solve, and he was on his way to the bus stop when he was approached by the young man. Quite out of the blue he had asked if he had time. If he hadn’t been trying to solve eleven across, he might have noticed the way the stranger had asked the question. Anyway, naturally enough he pulled out his phone and told him the time. The reaction to this was perplexing. The other replied with the statement; “No, not the time, just time.” What was he expecting or better still, what did he want? If he wasn’t drunk or on drugs, what was he asking for? He seemed sane enough and quite lucid. More than anything, he wanted to understand the question.
He had a very strong feeling that the stranger’s question was important, but he didn’t know why…