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You are here now. And here, time moves differently. Like a turtle.”
    I’m not sure what he means. It’s true that nothing in the garden is moving very fast, but I didn’t come here to talk about that. I just want him to give me whatever he’s got. Still, maybe some small talk has to happen first.
    â€œYou like turtles?” I ask.
    He considers this for quite a while.
    Finally he says, “Why do you need to know?”
    â€œUh. Well. I don’t.”
    â€œThen why did you ask? Are there not more important things that you wish to discuss?”
    This guy is sort of rude. “Like what?”
    And he says,
“Wisdom is better thanrubies. All the things that may be desired can’t be compared to it.”
    My skin prickles with goose bumps. I stare at him, and his dark eyes behind those big glasses stare back. How could he know? He can’t know about the ruby ring.
    He smiles and adds, “That’s one of your grandfather’s favorite quotes from the bible. Did you know that?”
    â€œNo, no I didn’t.”
    â€œHmmm,” he says. “What do you know about your grandfather?”
    â€œNot much,” I mutter.
    â€œI didn’t think so. He regrets that,” says Henry. “He used to sit right here on this bench and tell me about you.”
    â€œHe did?”
    â€œYes, and he told me he wished he had been wise. And he wished for you to be wise. Do you know the difference between being smart and being wise?”
    I shrug.
    â€œBeing smart means you have learned some things. Being wise means that youunderstand what you’ve learned—and therefore you know you are ignorant.”
    â€œWhat?”
    He chuckles. “Never mind. It is merely a thought. Now, here, I have something for you.” He sticks his hand into his coat pocket, withdraws it and holds his closed fist out toward me.
    I open my hand, and he places a gold pocket watch in my palm. “Max said to tell you how sorry he is that he hasn’t given you real time. This is a fine watch he carried, even though it doesn’t work.”
    â€œIt doesn’t work?” I press a tiny button on the top of the watch and the cover springs open. The face of the watch looks back at me, and its hands are still. On the other side of the watch, three human faces look back at me: Grandpa Max, Dad and my own.
    Henry says, “Your grandfather told me that picture was taken just a week before your father’s death.”
    â€œFirst time I’ve seen it.” I stare at the faces. I know them.
    Henry gets to his feet and says, “I must go now.” Then he reaches into his pocket again and withdraws an envelope. “One thing more. A letter for you.”
    I don’t know why, but I feel different about this letter. Henry is barely out of sight when I sit down on the bench, open the envelope and start reading.
    Dear Samuel,
    Do you like the watch? It was given to me by my wife, your grandmother Bess Connor, on our wedding day. You’ll find a beautiful picture of her underneath the one of us and your dad. I’m sorry it doesn’t work. It stopped just after she passed away, and I never had the heart to fix it. Now, it’s time it was repaired. Please take it to Eli Jones at his shop, Space and Time, on Robson Street. He already figured out what’s wrong with it and I’ve paid him too, so don’t worry about the cost.
    I hope it was sunny in the garden today and that you had a good visit withHenry. He’s a great friend. We met right there on that bench by the pond and have spent many hours swapping stories. The first time I visited the garden, I wasn’t too happy, but the place gave me some peace. Might be the same for you? It wasn’t long after that I took up studying the ancient land of Sumer. I guess I thought the past might give me some answers. Over four thousand years ago, the Sumerians became the first people to write down