"When I forgot my watch, I was so anxious."
Haru said while staring at her wristwatch.
"Why?" Ren asked.
"I might be late, couldn't tell my schedule."
"Without time, you get anxious."
Mio quietly put down her book. Unusual.
"But," Ren thought, "animals don't have watches. They still live."
"Don't they sense time by instinct?"
"Circadian rhythm. But that's not 'what time is it,' just distinguishing 'day or night.'"
Haru became interested. "Only humans care about time?"
"Precisely, only humans may clearly distinguish future and past."
Mio wrote in her notebook. "Now. Always now."
Ren nodded. "Animals only live 'now.' Humans remember the past and imagine the future."
"That's the obsession with time?"
"Partly. But the fundamental reason is different."
"What?"
"Awareness of death," Ren said quietly.
Haru caught her breath.
"Humans know they will die. They understand time is finite."
"So we care about time?"
"Finite resources make us want to manage them."
Mio wrote again. "Time = Life"
"Time is life itself," Haru translated.
Ren continued. "Every second is consuming life. So we don't want to waste it."
"But," Haru questioned, "what is wasted time?"
"...Difficult to define."
"If it's fun, it's not wasted? But sometimes we regret later."
Mio looked up. Her gaze caught Ren.
Ren pondered. "It's a matter of values. Definition of waste changes based on what you prioritize."
"So absolute waste doesn't exist?"
"Probably not."
Haru removed her watch. "Then no problem without a watch?"
"Socially there's a problem," Ren smiled wryly. "Appointments are decided by time."
"Why is society bound by time?"
"For coordination. For multiple people to move simultaneously, a common time standard is needed."
Mio wrote. "Synchronization"
"Synchronization," Haru read. "Everyone looks at clocks to match with others?"
"Yes. Time is a social contract."
Haru thought. "If alone, time isn't needed?"
"The need decreases. But doesn't completely disappear."
"Why?"
"Seasonal changes, hunger cycles. The body itself marks time."
Mio stood and opened the window. Wind came in.
"What time is it now?" Haru asked.
Ren checked his watch. "Three PM."
"But wind has no time."
"Physically, time exists. Entropy increase creates time's arrow."
Haru was confused. "Difficult."
Mio came back. One word. "Feel"
"Feel it?" Haru asked.
Mio nodded.
Ren interpreted. "Not clock time, but experienced time."
"Experienced time?"
"Fun times feel fast, boring times slow. That's subjective time."
Haru laughed. "Ah, that's true."
"Time isn't constant. It stretches and shrinks with experience."
Mio wrote again. "Clock time vs. Lived time"
"Clock time and lived time," Haru translated.
"Which is real time?" Ren asked.
Haru hesitated. "...Both?"
"Good answer. Humans live in both times."
Mio smiled. A rare expression.
Haru looked at her watch. "Is caring about time humanity's fate?"
"Rather than fate, perhaps choice," Ren said.
"Choice?"
"By being conscious of time, we gain something. Efficiency, planning, and meaning."
Haru thought. "Meaning?"
"Because it's finite, now becomes precious."
Mio wrote lastly. "Memento mori"
"Remember death," Ren translated. "An ancient Roman saying."
"Dark," Haru said.
"No. It means cherish life."
Haru took a deep breath. "Caring about time is proof of living."
Ren nodded. "And how you care determines how you live."
Mio closed her book. Quietly but certainly, time was flowing.