“You see my watch?” Santa Claus asked as he lifted his wrist, tapping the golden wristwatch.

“Yeah, I’m not blind.”

“I know, I know,” Santa Claus placated. “You see, this wristwatch can allow you to travel in time and even stop it. Although you have to follow a few rules to use it, it’s still the most powerful device that has ever existed in this world.”

“Rules? Like what?”

“Well, for example, you cannot go back in time before your birth.”

“Why?” Misha scoffed. “It’s boring if you can’t, get rid of that rule! I wanna visit the Seventies and sing a duet with Elvis! I’m a good singer, ya’ know?”

“It sounds exciting, but you can’t.”

Misha responded with a pout, taking a sip of his hot chocolate—Santa Claus had been refilling his mug as soon as it was empty, making it so that he never ran out.

“Do you know the butterfly effect?”

“Well,” Misha frowned, suddenly deep in thought. “I guess it has something to do with a butterfly…?”

“Yes and no. It’s the name of a scientific theory. It is said that the smallest occurrence can change the course of history. So, if you go back in time before your birth and what you do changes your own fate, resulting in you never being born, then how can you go back in time in the first place and make those changes? It’s a paradox that the device won’t allow.”

“Oh… And what’s the link with the butterfly?”

“Let’s not talk about the butterfly.”

“Ok,” Misha lowered his head to take another sip. If Santa Claus didn’t want to talk about butterflies, they wouldn’t. They were cute things, though.

Santa Claus continued, “But then, there’s still a paradox if you go back in time to change a particular event in your lifetime. If that event never happens, you won’t have any reason to go back in time in the first place, and then you won’t change it because you can’t remember something that did not happen. As a result, you’ll resume your life once more, everything going back to the way it was before your intervention. Following which, when that particular event happens again since you did not change it in the end, you’ll want to go back in time and repeat the same process, creating an endless circle.”

“Gosh, my head hurts. Keep it simple, will you?”

“I’ll try,” Santa Claus chuckled. “To resolve that problem, when you go back in the past, it’s your memories that travel, not your body. The device will protect said memories inside your brain, and they won’t be erased even if you change the course of your life. So, you’ll remember the first timeline, whatever happens. Also, it cannot transfer the current physical envelope because it cannot exist simultaneously as your younger form. I won’t explain why, it’s a bit complicated, but in the end, that’s another reason why only the memories travel back in time.”

Misha’s brain shut down.

Seeing his blank expression, Santa Claus added, “In a way, it’s like a memory card that you transfer from a computer to another one.”

“Then why can’t the device do the same if you want to travel back before your birth?”

“And where will your memories go? If you are not born, there’s no receptacle available to receive them. It’s already hard enough to adapt one’s memories into a younger self since the brain did not go through said memories, so let's not talk about doing it with a stranger’s brain. The original host’s personality and memories would clash with yours, and you would most likely lose your mind.”

Misha nibbled the rim of his mug, pondering over the grampa’s words. Indeed, it’d be hard to keep his sanity if his memories mingled with another’s. It’d turn into a mess, not knowing what was his and what was theirs.

“How about a baby?” He heard himself ask.

“A newborn’s brain is not developed enough to welcome a fully grown-up mind. The brain’s capacity is too limited at this age to accommodate an adult’s knowledge. The youngest age you can go back is around ten years old, but you will still suffer from several drawbacks, like chronic headaches, fevers, extreme fatigue, etc.”

“Charming.”

“Well, traveling in time is going against the law of the Universe, so of course, you have to pay a certain price.”

“Hm… Then what about a person in a vegetative state?”

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to transfer your memories into a wounded brain? Moreover, there is also a question of moral integrity. Stealing the body of another to go back in time is not exactly ethical. However, the main reason for not going back before your birth is still the one I told you initially. The device can protect your memories if you are born at one point, but if it never happens, it cannot. As a result, your memories and self will be erased, and you will cease to exist altogether.”

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that I won’t be born after going back before my birth, though….”

“But the possibility is there. You may not do it intentionally, but your actions may trigger a chain of events that leads to this situation. The device won’t take any chance, as it protects its owner above all else.”

Misha nodded, even though he didn’t understand everything; his brain felt like it was boiling. Still, he asked to satisfy his curiosity, “Then what about traveling in the future?”

“It’s possible, but if you travel far into the future, your body will also be sent along with your memories, and afterward, you cannot travel back in the past. You can only continue to advance in the timeline.”

“Why?”

“In one hundred years or five hundred years, and so forth, you will be dead. So, how can your memories travel in the future if there is no receptacle available? In short, the body comes along with your mind so that you can travel in a timeline where you do not exist, and that is why you cannot go back in time afterward. The device can bring an organic vessel into the future but cannot bring it back into the past. It also can’t send back your memories because the time taken for them to travel would damage them. A couple of dozen years, it’s fine. But hundreds, it’s too long. Do you understand?”

“No. I don’t,” Misha admitted with a shrug. “What about traveling back and forth in a lifetime?”

“That’s… not a good idea. The memories of different lifetimes will mix up together. In each of your travels, things will be slightly or entirely different, and your mind won’t be able to keep up at some point.”

“You know, my mind already can’t keep up with the present talk….”

Santa Claus chuckled once again. “I’m sure you understand the main points.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Misha counted on his fingers. “Can’t go back in time before my birth, the memories travel like a memory card, and if I travel in the future, I won’t be able to come back into the past. Well, except if I’m traveling in my lifetime. But that’s not a good idea since I’m going to lose a few screws somewhere along the way.”

“Yes, that’s pretty much it.”

“Didn’t you say something about stopping the time?”

“I did. Traveling in time is not the only function this device has. It can also stop time for everything except yourself. That’s how I can distribute so many presents in a single night without being seen,” Santa Claus winked, making Misha laugh.

‘Even if the grandpa is a bit senile,’ Misha thought, ‘his delusions somewhat hold water.’

“Do you have other interesting things? Or only the watch?”

“I do. But that will be for another time. I’ve been idle for too long already, and I need to go back to work. But before that, give me your wrist,” Santa Claus said after fiddling with his wristwatch, pressing and turning the buttons.

“I’ve adjusted the date for the summer when you were nine. It’s already risky to send you back to such a young age, but I’m sure you will be alright. I also added a special option. If after one year you want to come back in 2019 and erase the alteration you have caused to the original timeline, then press this button,” Santa Claus pointed to one of the small buttons on the side of the wristwatch before continuing, “and say that you want to go back in 2019, December 24th, 23:59.”

Santa Claus looked straight into Misha’s eyes, his gaze unfathomable. “You won’t be able to use the watch for anything else since the other options are restricted—it’d be problematic if you were to play with the wristwatch without knowing what you are doing. Also, don’t forget to bring me back the watch when you reach this date in the next timeline. I really need it for my work.”

“Ok, ok, I’ll,” Misha indulged, thinking that the delusion was getting a little out of hand. But at the same time, he had the strange feeling that the grampa was filled with joy at the prospect of sending him back to his mother and sister. Thus, he didn’t have the heart to rebuke him, to tell him that the time-travel machine was nothing but a pipe dream and that Santa Claus didn’t exist.

“Come on, give me your wrist,” Santa Claus hurried him, and after a second, Misha reluctantly stretched his arm.

When the calloused fingers touched his skin, Misha got goosebumps all over but pretended that everything was fine. It was only for a few seconds. He could bear it.

“Happy Christmas Eve, Misha,” Santa Claus said as he strapped the golden watch.

Misha blinked before frowning. He never told him his name, did he? He looked at the man with uncertainty, wondering if he had heard him wrong. Or maybe he did tell him but had forgotten…?

Just as he was about to ask how he knew his name, he saw the clock hands on the wristwatch, making him swallow back his words. They were stuck at 23:59, unmoving. Yet they had been talking for such a long time. Shouldn’t it be past midnight, at the very least? Was the watch broken?

“Have a nice trip,” Santa Claus whispered softly, hints of sadness glinting in his gray eyes. An emotion Misha could not quite decipher flashed across his face, and that was the last thing he saw before falling into a deep slumber.

Mini theater

MC: AUTHOR!!!

Author: Hm?

MC: What’s the damn link with the freaking butterfly?!

Author: G**gle is your friend ~

ML: *Sighs* It’s about how the flap of a butterfly’s wings can create a tornado or something like that.

MC: …And what’s the link again with time travel?

ML: *Stares at the author*

Author: Don’t look at me! All of my brain cells are dead after writing this chapter! I really can’t explain anything anymore!

MC: Oh, so your brain broke too?

Author: Why do you look so happy about this?

MC: Hm?

ML: Just don’t write that kind of thing if your brain can’t keep up.

Author: *Pouts*