The Time Merchant: The Time Merchant
A street vendor sells minutes, hours, and days of time — literally. When someone buys an entire year, the consequences ripple through the fabric of reality.
A street vendor sells literal time. A businessman purchases a year, causing a ripple effect.
Characters
Vendor
supporting
A wizened old man, the mysterious time vendor. He has a neatly trimmed white beard and twinkling, kind, light-blue eyes. He has a slightly wrinkled, tan skin tone. He wears a long, dark-brown robe with intricate gold embroidery around the collar and sleeves, giving him an ancient and mystical appearance. He has a small, wooden stall filled with various antique clocks, hourglasses, and other time-related trinkets. He gestures with a warm smile, ready to make a deal.
Businessman
supporting
A sharply dressed businessman in his late 30s, looking stressed and harried. He has short, neatly combed dark-brown hair and intense, dark-brown eyes that reflect his anxiety. His skin tone is fair. He wears a tailored grey suit with a crisp white shirt and a loosened dark-blue tie, suggesting a long and tiring day. He carries a black leather briefcase containing stock certificates and a family photo, hinting at the things he values most. He has a worried expression etched on his face.
Page 1
Panel 1: A bustling city street. Pedestrians hurry past. A small, ornate stall is set up on the sidewalk, overflowing with various clocks and hourglasses. A sign reads: "Time For Sale!"
Panel 2: Close-up on the vendor, a wizened old man with twinkling eyes and a neatly trimmed beard. He gestures towards his wares with a smile.
“Time, friend? I have minutes, hours, days... even years!”
Panel 3: A sharply dressed businessman, looking stressed and harried, stops at the stall. He's holding a briefcase.
“Years, you say? What would something like that cost?”
Panel 4: The vendor leans in conspiratorially, a glint in his eye.
“For you, my friend, a bargain. One year... for everything you hold most dear.”
Page 2
Panel 1: The businessman hesitates, looking conflicted. Close-up on his face.
Panel 2: The businessman slams his briefcase on the stall. Inside, we see stock certificates and a family photo.
“Deal!”
Panel 3: The vendor hands the businessman a small, ornate hourglass filled with swirling, golden sand.
“Handle with care. Time is a precious commodity.”
Panel 4: The businessman clutches the hourglass tightly, a manic grin spreading across his face.
Page 3
Panel 1: The businessman walks away, clutching the hourglass. Behind him, the stall and surrounding street begin to shimmer and distort.
Panel 2: A street sign flickers and changes names erratically.
Panel 3: A bird flies backward in time, then disappears entirely.
Panel 4: The vendor watches the chaos unfold, his expression unreadable.
“Interesting...”
Page 4
Panel 1: Wide shot of the city street. Buildings flicker in and out of existence, cars vanish, and people are frozen in time or moving erratically. Chaos reigns.
Panel 2: The businessman is kneeling on the ground, clutching his head in pain. The hourglass has shattered in his hand, the golden sand spilling onto the street.
“What have I done?!”
Panel 3: Close-up on the sand swirling on the ground, forming miniature vortexes.
Panel 4: The vendor is still standing behind his stall, now almost completely obscured by the temporal distortions. He smiles knowingly at the reader.
“Time... is a dangerous thing.”
