Expiration Date 2076

Chapter II

     FreyFrey's real name was Freyshia, but she was always too young and just too cute for such a mature and sophisticated name. She had always been FreyFrey.

      And so, FreyFrey came to rest after her long, hurried journey. She sat down on a stretch of dewy grass by the side of the sidewalk. There were tall bushes every few feet, and she sat in between them. partway on the sidewalk and partway in the bushes, was the cab of an old pickup truck, waiting to be taken to the dump. All of this perfectly hid FreyFrey. In her privacy, she could catch her breath and set down her canvas satchel. Moonlight glinted of of the bag's contents.

     The girl fully opened her bag and carefully pulled out and hard smooth object. She lifted it up into the moonlight and it shone. She could see her dark reflection on it. It was a metal scrap. The whole bag was stuffed till its seams stretched, and it was filled with many scraps like the one FreyFrey held. This was her hobby. When she was young child, she would sometimes ride with her father to his dump, the scrap yard. There, she could look at all the old car and lawnmowers and bikes. Most of the time there weren't complete. There might be just an engine, or a blade, or a wheel. Although she was not allowed to play with any of the scraps, her father would let her take home a souvenir. This was how her hobby began. Collecting all these metallic odds and ends soon became a passion for her, and nearly every night she could come home with a new treasure. FreyFrey lowered her hands and looked at her palms. In the shadow of the bushes she could no longer see her reflection. Only the moonlight would reveal her tear-stained face.

     She sat there almost still in time. Minutes went by; each breath faded into the next. It was well into the night. Her eyelids were heavy at last, and all the events of the day seemed to catch up with her.    For a moment, as sleep overcame her, she was back to her old self. Her muscles relaxed, letting her belonging fall from her hand. The stars were fiery orbs leaping across the night sky in luminous travel. The bush leaves hugged her body. 

     The girl wasn't how it happened. Her eyes had opened before she had a chance to dream. There was someone standing in the bushes. He took a few steps towards her then knelt down. No light shone on his face, and no reflection could be seen in the bag.

     "What do you have there?" His voice was friction between two smooth surfaces, like cars grinding past each other on a racetrack to a crash. Somewhere in FreyFrey's mind she knew she should be afraid, but the numb feelings had come back with consciousness. 

     "They're mine. Why do you want them?" Her voice was aggravated. She felt protective of her scraps. She put one arm firmly over her bag and pulled it close.

     "What is in your bag? I need those. I am building something." He responded. His voice sounded the same, but FreyFrey could have sworn she heard it echo.

     She was so confused. Clearly he had seen what was in her bag. However, he had approached a stranger in the middle of the night. If one was to build something, they would go looking around at hardware shops and scrapyards. For some reason, her grip loosened. "What are you building?"

     "Something special. You will see. I just need to borrow them. It will change your world." Your world. FreyFrey's world had already changed enough today. She was now in her own world, one separate from everyone else's, separate from yesterday. 

     "Alright."

     The response came so naturally. It was as though she were conduction a business interaction that had been well planned in advance. There was no hesitation. She was ready for her world to change. The more change the better. She needed something new in her ordinarily ordinary life. They both stood, hidden. The bag was handed over, but when the stranger had left, FreyFrey's hands were not empty. He had given her a large parcel wrapped in brown paper. It was heavy. She ran her fingers all over it. Whatever it was, it was obviously metal. Besides that, it was rectangular and flat. She pressed it against her chest. He was just borrowing them, yet he had given her something in return. She stood there for an eternity in her world. Now she wasn't alone. She had her package.