starry nights and robot hearts

prologue

This year is anonymous.

This world is anonymous.

                      But

Must you never forget these events of ours.

For they hold something more dear than our universe could ever even attempt to make.

-grandmother

☆

  The room downstairs was cold and damp. It was full of gadgets and toys; things you would find by a mechanic's side, or perhaps a scientist?

  One wall was lined with plastic shelves containing a metal face or two. Every now and then you could find a pill bottle laying around from someone forgetting to put them up.

  In another corner of the room you could find a desk, littered with an array of tools and sketches. There would be gears and wires dangerously out in the open.  A floating light would hang above.  At this desk there was a wise woman, who had seen better days, working away at the litter of junk. She was wearing an apron over her bland t-shirt, covered in grease stains. Her hair, silver, was brushed back into a messy bun. Her face had wrinkles and sagging cheeks. Her eyes, dark, yet sparkling and full of youth.

  Next to the old woman, was a young boy, a small age of ten, mesmerized by the magic at work. He tipped over the stool he was sitting on, almost falling over. He was curious about what his grandmother was making.  

  His hair had bouncy, wavy curls that fell around his face. Every strand was as golden as the sun. His golden eyes were shining with even more youth than his grandmother's. He had a single plastic earing dangling from one ear. It was see-through and resempled a glass bead. He had begged his grandmother for him to 'look more in style' with the kids these days. She couldn't resist not letting him down.

  There was another place around the room, through an open doorway. The grandson and grandmother never talked about it much. It was just something that became the norm for them. There were heavy wires that branched out through the basement. Through the shelves, the desk, and around their feet. All through the floor and the ceiling. They led to that doorway. A glowing light would blink from the room. Grandmother wouldn't find it distracting, but the little boy would sometimes stare for too long; he would forget how to blink.

  Grandmother continued to mess with the gears on her desk. She was making a wind-up toy. She figured her grandson would appreciate something to distract him during the day.

"Hoshi, would you be a dear and grab me a screwdriver from the shelf? I guess I forgot to put it back in my drawer.."

Hoshi nodded and made his way across the room, stepping over any loose nails or wires on the floor. He often avoided talking; it was the best way to save his energy. He stood infront of the shelf and spotted the screwdriver. It was too high up for him. He began getting on his tiptoes and reaching as far as he could. The young boy's knees began to shake; he began to grow tired. His hand fell down, accidentally knocking over a bottle of pills that was carelessly set on the edge of a bottom shelf. He knew he was falling but he didn't have enough time to catch himself; he was already beginning to lose consciousness.

  Hoshi's grandmother noticed the loud thud and the sound of the pills falling onto the floor. She quickly slid back in her chair and ran to the boy's side. She scooped him up in her arms and made way to the ominous room in the back.

  The light in the room was florescent. The lighting bouncing off of every reflective surface. In the back of that room was a coffin shaped box, standing up and facing towards the door. It was made of metal and had a glass front, steam was boiling from the inside. Every wire that ran through the basement was plugged into this machine. It almost seemed..alive.

  She stood infront of the box, carfully setting down Hoshi onto the floor. She opened a panel on the side of the machine and pushed in a code. The glass door slowly opened as cold steam poured out and a hissing noise was heard. Grandmother picked up her grandson and gently placed him inside. She closed the glass door and punched in the code once more.

  She stared back at Hoshi's face through the glass as she placed her hand on the surface, leaving behind fingerprints.

"Let's call it a day, my little star."

☆