Aaken

It had been five days since they announced the end of the war. It came across the radio waves and was blasted over loud speakers from the tops of trucks. Everyone had heard about it, but no one really believed that it was finally finished. This wasn’t the first time “the end” had been proclaimed after all. It was quiet and almost peaceful that evening. Aaken ventured out into the street for the first time in almost a week. He walked past the old burnt out bank on the corner, a pile of abandoned cars, and the tent hospital set up in the soccer field. He watched the children sitting outside the tent playing with sticks and rocks. Once upon a long time ago baseball was a popular pass time, although Aaken hadn’t watched a game in many years. He stopped and talked with one of the nurses for a second and headed back to his house. On his way home he wandered close to the old cars and gazed across the river to where the bridge he designed used to be. How many of his bridges had been bombed out over the last three years? Both sides fought so viciously for control, but in the end the whole city was all but wiped off the map. A few more kids ran past on their way home snapping Aaken back into the present. It was nice to see the children smile again. That's when the idea popped in his head. Seeing the kids smile. How could he make the happen more? Looking around he leaned into the wretch of a car next to him. He pulled out some of the wires and cable. Then he found a few buttons that were still usable. Gears. Belts. Some sheet metal and some more wire. Aaken checked the battery – still good. He filled his pockets with all that he could carry, and headed back to his house. Laying down an old door on top of some buckets he spread his supplies out and took a look. Digging through his drawers he found his soldering iron and a coil of wire, tin snips and hammer. Grabbing a couple forks from a different drawer on the way back to his make shift workbench – the design was taking shape. He just hoped that the sheet metal would work. He a long strip off the sheet and coiled it around a pipe. That needed to sit like that for a while. Sorting through the gears, he found a good handful that should give a good ratio. Soldering the forks to another piece, fitting gears and a belt, putting a small crank on the spring of metal, almost done. Aaken put the whole thing together and set it on the floor and gave it a test run. He turned the crank that tightened the spring, when he let it go his small contraption leapt into action. The forks stabbing into the dirt pulling the whole body across the ground until the spring ran out. With a little grin, and the gears in his head working Aaken went back to his table. He needed at least three or four different models. Working all night, he hadn’t felt like this in years. His rusty engineering brain was back in action. He wasn’t drawing up bridges and irrigation systems anymore, but that was okay with him, this was more important. Aaken woke up on his couch, coil of wire in hand the sun peering in through the window blinded him for a second. Pulling himself up and clearing his throat, Aaken looked over at his little workbench. Stepping out of his door, wishing he had a cup of coffee, the kids were already lining up in the food lines and at the hospital. So much healing that still needed to happen, and so much more that would never fully heal. He pulled his small machines out onto his front step and called a group of four boys over to his door. “Do you know what these are?” he asked. The boys sheepishly shook their heads no. “Each of you grab one and bring it over here into the street.” Aaken walked out to the middle of the road and drew a line in the dirt. “Line them up hear.” As the boys did that Aaken walked a few paces and drew another line. “OK, you see the cranks? Wind them up and hold them until I say, “GO”” The boy’s anticipation grew as they felt the springs tighten. “GO!” Aaken shouted for the whole neighborhood to hear. The machines leapt, crept and bounded forward on the dirt. The boys also leapt to their feet to cheer on their racer. It was a two-way tie for first. A re-match was in order. Aaken and the boys held races all morning long. Pretty soon a small group of spectators found their way to the makeshift raceway, adults and kids alike. At the end of the day, Aaken took his little machines back home and tuned them up. Then he dug into his tools and supplies again to create a few more for tomorrow. The next day was passed much the same way, races, laugher and fun. The kids were laughing again, and so were some of the adults. After a few days of this, Aaken invited the original four boys over to his house for the afternoon. He showed them his pile of wire and metal. He gave them some tools and showed them how to coil a spring, mount the gears and solder. Pretty soon the four were in heated competition to make a racer that was faster than anyone else’s. Aaken let them work all day, tossing in pointers and answering any questions they had. For three days the boys worked and tinkered. It was time for another race. Their machines had been tested in the shop, refined, and tweaked to go fast. With a nervous pride the four carried their creations out the ‘raceways.’ They lined up and cranked tight their springs. “GO!” called Aaken. Wheels rolled, springs sprang and dust flew in the race of the titans. Glorious. Again they spent all morning racing and playing. The next day Aaken had a surprise for his young friends. He had found some paint and brushes in the back of his shed. The race was on to make the racers look the part. Blue, Yellow, Red, and every combination was carefully applied. Some of the boys tinkered with different designs and picked at Aaken brain for advice. He patiently showed them how to get a stronger ratio out of the gears, and about making their machines efficient so they would travel longer distances. Day after day the boys tinkered in Aaken’s little shop. He showed them how to make bridges, ladders, and building models with wood and metal. They held friendly contests to see who could make the strongest bridge. One chilly afternoon a knock came at Aaken’s door. Two men in military uniform were at the door. “Are you Aaken?” one of the men asked rather stiffly. “Yes,” replied the elderly man, “What can I do for you?” “The new government is looking for the finest minds to help rebuild our country after the war. We were sent to ask you if you were interested in designing again.” The men talked for a few minutes and Aaken asked for a day to think about it. Two days later the men came back. “I’ll only go work with you if I can bring these four boys with me. I’m to old to do all that you’re asking of me, but if I can teach a new generation to carry on the work in my place, I’ll do it. The boys were orphaned by your war, you owe them this much.” The men agreed, and loaded Aaken and the boys into their truck. They set off for capital. The boys had never been outside the city before. They drove past bombed out houses, cars, tanks and schools. Everything in their minds was changing and the larger world was appearing in front of them. They drove by camps of children who didn’t have parents either. They saw town after town destroyed and hungry people everywhere they looked. Aaken told them to look very closely at every face, because they were human too. “Don’t ever forget what you see today.” He said, “You are going to be their future. It will be your task to give them something to smile about again.”