Engagement

He found himself stranded there in middle age, left with only a few broken and imperfect objects to show for his time here on earth. They were the left-overs of his errors, the ones that had served as the guideposts for his journey. He saw them now for what they were and felt a mix of grief and relief that it was almost done. What he thought was hokey, schmaltzy, and less that serious was now embarrassingly meaningful. With reluctance at first, then with momentum fueled by joy, he let himself fall into the meshing gears as they engaged to put the wheels in motion.