...deus ex machina?....

The tears stream down our faces as we rip apart the hard exterior. Sweat, blood and frustration all combined together. We smash through, sparks flying, as effectively and with as much speed as we can. The pieces come off one by one and the insides of the machine reveal itself. It gets harder and harder to take this machination apart the closer we get to the center. As we break through the hard exoskeleton the soft inside reveals itself, an explosion of emotions hits us full force like trapped vapors in a pressurized environment...

It is easier to take out a lot of anger, animosity, annoyances and frustrations on the negative, hard and colder aspects of the machine. It is once you break through the shell, though, that you realize what the machine was made from. Like Dracula and all of the classic monsters, it was love that created them and love that created this machine. Seeing that stops us in our tracks and the tears of anger turn to tears of sadness as the beauty of what once was overwhelms us both.

…The vapor fills our bodies with memories as it dissipates, floating away into space as a fragment of time. The light within the machine shines bright at first but it weakens, as if injured, broken even. We keep dismantling, slower this time. The realization sinks in, reality solidifies the plan. We know that we have reached the point of no return, we MUST keep going. She stops every once in a while to gather herself. I cannot help but look and feel sad, but only for a second. I can no longer cherish these memories with her. She looks to me as if to invite me in, to remember our lost child. I reach out to her, take the piece in my hand and help her to put it down. All the while smiling, telling her that it is ok, we can let go now, there is nothing to fear.

This moment of closeness lasts only a split second and then we remember what we are doing and the distance returns...

Fear. It is the ultimate hurdle. It makes and breaks but what it makes is never a good thing and what it breaks always is.

…the fading light emanating from the machine traces out a silhouette. We cannot see what it is so we pick up the pace, breaking off more pieces. The more we break apart the machine the more the silhouette takes form. It is a human. No, there are two humans, children. They could not see us, we are too far away. What we can see are two children naked, cold and scared holding each other. They are the source of the fading light. They cannot see us, they cannot see the opening at first, but one senses it. It is a boy, he is looking up and around. The other, a girl lifts her head and senses the change in their environment. As they look around curiously I catch a glimpse of the little boy. She catches a glimpse of the little girl. We both say to ourselves “I know you. Where have you been all this time…”