Failure of Glory

Chapter 9

She laid back down slowly, reimagining the pieces. They were all right where she left them, jumbled and sparking. She carefully pulled all of the pieces apart, careful not to further ruin the parts. She laughed softly at her delicate care with imaginary parts. When she was done and every part was separated she focused hard and watched as they jumbled together.

Jolie moved each piece with her hand, a wire here and a piece of metal there. She screwed a valve in and inserted a filter, marking each step of the process. Her heart sped up with each piece that fit. She felt like she was getting so close as her pile of imaginary pieces slowly got smaller. She was down to five pieces but she only needed one more. If she put in the wrong piece she would have to start again.

Jolie had been in her head for over an hour, she hadn't even noticed Aaliyah watching her curiously from her own bed. She jumbled the pieces and closed her eyes as she chose a piece at random as she had done so many times. She opened her eyes when she had picked, it was the smallest of the pile and it made her nervous; it didn't look like it would fit. She pushed the piece in and then clicked the twin buttons, waiting for a reaction.

A circle of lavender light appeared just like the neon green light on Jolie's mask and she felt tears prick her eyes. She watched as the mask rotated in her mind and she felt whole again. This whole week she had felt off, between the arguments and not being able to finish the mask Jolie felt like something was missing. Engineering was supposed to be the one thing that she was good at and this mask had been frustrating her all week despite having made the exact one only weeks earlier.

She let the completed image fade away and she sat up. "Oh my gosh," Jolie exclaimed, turning to see Amelia watching her. "Why are you sneaking up on me like that?"

"What do you mean sneaking up on you?" She came over to sit beside Jolie. "I walked in, slammed the door and proceeded to call your name five time. How is that sneaking up on you," she defended herself. "What were you even doing?"

A smile spread across Jolie's face. "Your mask," she answered, her chest filling with pride. "I had to visualize it because there was no way I was going to spend another night burning my fingers until I inevitably gave up."

"Judging by that smile I'd say you figured it out," she beamed.

Jolie nodded in response. "Now all that's left is to put it together in real life."

Jolie couldn't explain the feeling that was in her chest, it was swelling and growing. She couldn't tell if this feeling was good or bad-if it was filling a hole or creating a new one but it felt so amazing. To think that she could have a purpose in this purposeless world. To think that she can help people emerge from their safety and travel through the day and night.

But safety is a fickle thing, it doesn't stay for long, you can't capture it to keep for your own. Some people have more of it for longer than you ever will. But in the end you can't stay safe because every moment you spend lying in your faltering safety danger is getting closer, creeping up on you as you enjoy what you think is a moments bliss. It will attack you and pull you into the depths of darkness until you can't scream for help. All you can do is wait and hope for safety to return for just a second so that you can be grounded once more.

Jolie spent the rest of her day going through the process of putting the mask together so that she wouldn't forget. She marveled at the sight of the lavender light every single time it started to form the circle around the mouth piece. It was a glorious sight to her, one that she wouldn't soon forget.

Her reaction to finishing her own mask hadn't been quite as marvelous. Jolie had yet to understand the importance of her mask, but now realizing that it could truly get her out of here. It could get her sister out of here and so many more. She had always fought with her father but it truly hurt to hear him say that the one thing she loved was a waste of time.

When night came and the adults were fast asleep she snuck into her creative room and began the process that she had repeated so many times in her head. A wire there-a filter there. Some sparks there and a small victory here.

Jolie smiled at the last piece that she had cradled in her hand. It amazed her that one small thing was the difference between her mask working and failing and she guessed that that was why she loved engineering. It was much like the world, one small thing could change everything; a pebble could cause a ripple.

 If her father had decided not to walk in on whatever he walked in on, Jolie and her family might have died in the explosion like so many others and yes this might have solved her current problems but if she was dead she wouldn't have been able to feel the swelling in her chest at this amazing moment.