Gear

1

There is not a greater sadness in this world than the death of an illusion. Illusions are the biggest scams, but can also be the best way to escape from reality. They distort the senses, and can mislead or even deceive you. They blur what is around you, and can make an ugly reality, bearable. After death, souls wander. Souls wander through an endless nothingness that can only be shaded by a false reality- illusion. It is then a world of their own. It is a perfect world without end. The only difference is that they are all alone.

Many people would get lonely in a world to themselves. Man was meant to have a partner. People need to feel things for and with other people. It would be too solemn to feel things all by yourself.

She looked out over the sunset horizon. It bled a brilliant mixture of pinks, reds, and oranges. The clouds barely puffed through the bright array of color, and the wind blew them just so slightly. The final rays of the sun peaked through the towering blades of grass that seemed to continue for miles in front of her. She sat on a rock and watched. The soft, brisk wind blew her hair around her face, as well as the orbs of light floating amongst the vegetation.

They shined with a particular aura that produced a warm, fuzzy feeling. The orbs were not too large; they could fit in the palm of your hand. They gave off a faint yellowish color that faded to a deeper copper towards the center. The colors reminded her of sunflowers. She passed her time watching and pondering the balls of light, as she asked herself in her head:

What are they? What are they doing here?

The girl thought. She let out a sigh. Time passed and the sun began to sink. The sky darkened and the moon rose high over the landscape. It was a clear night and the stars were twinkling. The rock was hard underneath her. Her hands clinging to its sides holding herself up, slowly slid her down the face. When her feet hit the ground, she began towards the orbs of light. The tall grass came up to her chest. As she tread forward, she pushed the blades to her sides to make a sort of path in order to investigate.

The girl walked on and on. No matter how far she walked, the orbs never got closer. They always seemed to be out of her reach. At last, she stopped in her path and plopped herself down on the soil. She could just see the glimmering of the orbs through the grass. There were three of them. They danced in the air with the wind and the clouds. Without a care, they bounced up and down. No matter how long she walked, how hard she tried, or how badly she wanted to, she could not reach the orbs.

She was all alone. There was no hope for her there in the place she was. Looking in all directions, all she could see was grass, and the three orbs of light. No other beings were there to accompany her. No other beings were there to comfort her. She felt a lurch in her stomach and a knot in her throat. Her breaths deepened and fastened. She was afraid.

"Hello? H-hello!?" She yelled out hoping someone would hear her. "Is there anybody there!? A- anybody!?" She spun her head around furiously, continuing to cry for help. Her little fists pegged the broken soil that she sat on. This went on for hours. In an attempt to grab somebody's attention, she let out a icy scream that echoed across the field. She then dropped her head down in defeat. Her eyes closed. Her mouth began to tremble. And she began to cry.

Tears slowly fell from her eyes. They ran down her face, over her cheeks, and hung from her chin. One by one, they dropped to the ground, forming a small puddle.

All of the sudden, a strange ringing noise sounded over her head. She looked up through her teary eyes to see a glowing ball of light. Her jaw dropped. It gave off a strange pulse that was mysteriously warm. The little girl blinked a few times, rubbed the tears from her eyes, and straightened out her dress. Turning back to the orb, it began its descent towards the ground. The girl felt its heat radiate from its center. It got closer and closer, even to the point where she could reach out and grab it. She quickly wiped her hands off on her blouse and slowly reached out towards the light. Steadily, it lowered down into her grasp, but only to fall through her hands and go into the ground. Glancing up ahead, the girl noticed that the other orbs had disappeared. She turned her head towards the sky and it began to roar.

The rain came down like gunfire. She sprung up from the ground and ran. The rain hit her entire body like bullets as the grass lashed at her dress tearing it to shreds. Lighting flashed in the distance and she threw her hands up to protect her eyes from the strike. Her heels skidded across the loose earth and she began to put her eyes to work. Off to her left and after the grass ended, there was a towering rock that was shielding the downpour on one side. It was decided. She would reach safety under the rock. Once she made her way over, the shower had calmed to a light drizzle. She sat under the rock alone in the mud.

Shielded by the rain, the girl sat and watched the dark clouds in the distance. The now soft sound of falling water calmed her nerves as she leaned against the large mass. She stayed still and simply stared far away.

Where am I? I don't remember where I was before... I'm all alone. There is no one here to talk to, or laugh with. I can't play with anyone. I'm going to get lonely.

She was now on her back drowning in her thoughts. Her drowsy brain tossed at the fake, annoying sounds of questions. She was tired. The girl's eyes danced over the wall of the rock to the sound of the rain in an attempt to distract herself. There was no use. Lighting still crackled and thunder still rumbled off in the sky, but she no longer paid attention to them. Her small body slowly rocked back and forth to the wind. She let out a deep breath and relaxed her whole body. Her toes curled, trying to soothe her feet after walking, and her arms reached to the sky. Once they came back down, her shoulders melted into the ground. She adjusted her head to its hole in the ground. Her body went limp.

Her eyes flickered open to a blue sky and the shadow of the rock that towered over her. She was still sprawled out on the ground from the night before, and she felt groggy. Her mouth was dry, her back was sore, and she had the worst pain in her neck. Slowly, she sat up from her position on the ground to a sitting one. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes. As she let out a big yawn, a few balls of light could be seen through her tears. Blinking to wipe away the excess, she could then clearly see the orbs floating in the sky again. Three of them. They frolicked about just as the day before. Their buzzing sounds rung across the field into the ears of the little girl. A small smile formed on her face. Not only from her mouth, but from her eyes as well.

Some of the mud still remained from the night before. They formed little puddles in the earth around the girl until the edge of the grass. Now on her knees, she crawled on all fours to the first puddle.

She began to dig and reached her hand into the indent in the dirt. She felt something round and hard. At first, she had no idea what it was. It was bowl- shaped, but not round. It was more similar to a rectangle. And on one side was an arm that looked like it would connect it to something. Surrounding the rim of the object was shattered, reflective mirror material. She knew what it was. A rear view mirror.

She went around to every puddle up until the edge of the grassy area. She found odds and ends of different machines and other pieces of just- trash. There were old candy wrappers, plastic containers, more miscellaneous car parts, and other strange items. Having piled them all up under the rock, she had built quite a collection. The rain had washed the dirt away to reveal all of these pieces to her. But in the corner of her eye, she spotted another puddle by the corner of the rock. She started towards the mud.

Still on her hands and knees, she reached into the muddy mess, but this time it was deeper. She stretched until her arm was covered up to her elbow in the brown, unpleasant substance. On the tip of her fingers, she could feel the edge of something with many square teeth. Her arm was submerged almost until her shoulder. She reached past the teeth and to a circle in the middle of the object. After grabbing hold of it, she gave a tug. The thing would not budge. She tried again. It still did not move. She then stuck her other hand into the deep muck. She was on her stomach trying to pull out the unidentifiable object with mud covering her arms and chest. Feeling around for a point to grab, the girl rested her fingers around its teeth and gave one last tug. A large circular thing flew up into the air followed by a sucking noise from the hole. Mud came out from behind it and fell onto the girl. It fell on the ground and span until it came to a stop.

Crawling towards the object, the girl immediately noticed what it was. A gear.