-10-
tubes

I stood silently by this dim-lit metal frame, the only sounds in the room was his irregular breathing, followed by a muffled click some machine in the corner of the room made. I tried a number of times to tell him what really went on in my life, how I was actually doing and how I was trying to cope with the difficulties of certain changes. The comfort of the soft-seated chairs was too good now, so I kneeled next to the frame. The pain in my knees gave me some kind of weird comfort, in times like those it relaxes me. I fumbled with a curved tube that seemed to be leading to nowhere, while a dozen scenes flashed through my mind. Did he ever take the time to sit down and get to know me? Well, it didn't matter now, I was proud of him, and that was what counted.
The simple stop of the flowing from whatever generated life into what was on the receiving end, would cause for the subject to silently slip away. Wouldn't that be the most perfect death you could possibly imagine? Especially in these times, where you could only hope for a painless end. Come to think of it, the machines at night would most possibly not cause any real pain. Their equipment was of the highest level of dynamical engineering. Occasionally the victim would bleed, depending on where exactly his or her body was struck. But mostly the shining blades would make a clean, deep, lethal cut into the weakend flesh of its target. There wasn't even enough time for the victims to change their expression from fear to pain, indicating the efficiency of our society.
And then I didn't have to worry about pulling the plug on him anymore. My backbone was pulled out of me, painless yet discomforting.