The Mechanics of Us

Chapter 27

The Mechanic and I agreed not to discuss the events of that evening and keep what happened to ourselves. We know if word got out that corrupt cyborgs are emerging, there will be even stricter, and harsher rules and punishments on the ones are existing. However, the peculiarity sparked an interest in the Mechanic and informed me that she is doing some research as to what is going on, but I am unsure how she plans on going about that. There are many intricacies and sketchy areas that need to be investigated to get these answers, and they are not safe to travel alone. I know she can handle herself, she has for quite some time now, but that doesn't mean she needs at least some support. Given our circumstances, though, I can only support her from afar, but something is better than nothing.

However, I do see her every Friday for date night. Our dates are very simplistic, but they always hold meaning. We have gone to the city's skyline a lot, where we talked about the universe, the cosmos, the infinity that lies within everything. Every moment I spend with her, I fall more in love with her. The way she laughs, how her eyes crease at the sides, how her faint dimples show when she does a cheeky grin or her little mannerisms that express her personality. When she is super excited, she squishes her face in between her hands and purses her lips out, and her big hazel eyes stare lovingly into my soul, and I am overwhelmed with love for her.

I know it is ludicrous to think I might know what love is given my age, or that I love the Mechanic after only knowing her for three months, but love is the only word that I can use to describe how I feel about her. When we talk, I feel as if I am the embodiment of the sun when she takes my hand I feel complete, and when we are apart, I feel as if a part of myself is missing and there's a hollow sensation that causes great discomfort inside of me. But I am still me; I am my person, just with her, I am a better version of myself.

A common trend I am noticing from our interactions and through messaging is just how selfless she is. She may not be verbally affectionate, in the ways someone might think, but she is. When we are apart, actions are not at our disposal, but it's the subtle things I have found that let me know she likes me.

Every day she makes sure I have had breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and if I haven't, she'll stop by with something for me to eat. Additionally, she is always offering to help. One time I was struggling with fixing my hand again, and I didn't want to bother her since I knew she was swamped with work. But somehow, probably the surgeon, she stopped by in the afternoon with her toolbox and had it repaired in under twenty minutes. A smaller gesture I noticed was that when we are together, she is always at least a foot near me and still scanning the area.

When we are apart and rely on messaging, we often stay up late talking, expressing our emotions to each other, sending random pictures we have found online, sometimes I would share my thoughts with her. The ones I have kept to myself for so long. I leave her notes with all of my passion written in between the lines, I leave them in her jacket pocket when she isn't looking, and place them around her shop and on her bike. She tells me I am a beautiful writer, but I think that it is biased. Another thing I have noticed about her is how hard she tries and how frustrated she can get with herself. I am well aware of the internal frustrations we all feel, but I can tell how she can become discouraged when I send her my clear emotional messages, and all she can send back is, "I hope you know I feel the same." When I read these messages, my heart aches because I know she has so much she wants to say but is unable to find the right words. But everyone has different talents, and hers is art.

She has shown me some of her car designs she is working on and blueprints she has for her new robotic parts. Her art is very meticulous, rigid, stiff, but beautiful in its own right. It's an expression of who she is and how her mind works, and I find it intriguing and unique. Not to mention, it shows me how detail-oriented she is. I notice the small screws she etches into the design and how she makes side notes that cross over the drawings. Her handwriting is tiny, and in all honesty, it's very squiggly and almost illegible. It's very her in the sense that she is hard to read, but with the right perspective and mindset, not impossible to read. Loving someone is similar to reading a good book. You may not understand it in the beginning, but you learn how to read it, and over time, you fall in love with all of its intricacies.