Disclaimer:the only character I own is Misa-san. Everything else belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

AN - A series of 8 short oneshots I wrote four years ago and made myself finally clean up yesterday. Hope you'll enjoy.

GRAINS OF SAND

Time is an hourglass.

Life is one as well

and

the World is nothing more than

an endless array

of

those quiet time tellers.

As the sand

made of memories, feelings,

kept and unkempt promises,

slowly but surely

goes away,

you cannot do anything but live on.

Waiting

for

the last grain

to fall.

The thing about being a shinobi is that time moves faster for you. You only seem to be sharing the hour with the people around you, but in fact your clock is ticking ahead. Life of a ninja has unpredictable courses and you never know which corner would be the last one you would turn. Your personal papers can state your age, but in reality you are aware a few years should be added to the account. A ninja has to grow up quicker, for there is not a small chance he would leave the world quicker, as well.

When weeks and months hurry up on you in such way, you must be careful not to get disoriented in the whirl of days and nights. That's why a shinobi has to start remembering sooner.

Gaara's memories reach far.