Serena Dispenser had learned to never give his heart away. Too many times it had been stolen from him, ripped away, torn apart, plastered to something in need of mending. Again and again, he retreated to his dark drawer, resigned in knowing he would always be alone.
Daylight shone through the drawer’s cracks, and a moment later, a fluid-filled being pulled him out of his home and dropped him on the desk. Ah, the desk, where his day job would begin. Another mundane day ahead, Dispenser barely noticed when the being fitted a new roll of tape into his container slot.
“Hello.” The voice was feminine and clear, the sound of an unbroken factory seal.
Wow.
She was mesmerizing. He had never seen a tape like her before. She was shiny, smooth, but most of all: clear. Clear as glass, so clear he couldn’t see where she began or ended.
The other tapes he’d been paired with—friends, enemies, or lovers—all had flashy designs. But they all ended exactly the same: with a heavy white strip to signal the finish line. The pattern could go on no longer. It was during those darkest nights, when Dispenser saw the white strip approaching, that he hated himself most. There was no way to save his lovers. And so he stopped loving.
“Perhaps you would like a moment alone? I would love to give you some privacy, but I can’t seem to leave.” She was speaking to him again. What a beautiful polish to her voice, Dispenser thought.
“You’re good. I’m good,” his words were stuck. “No, yes, you are good, what I mean to say is—”
A crystal clear sound cut through his rambling monologue. She was giggling! It made her crinkle at the edges, the office sun shining off her illuminated layers. “Oh, don’t worry. I know what you mean. I think we’re going to be good friends, don’t you?”
So it was. Days flew by, nights crept by. She told him stories and he was content to listen. She never stopped encouraging his words, no matter how minimal they might be, and gradually, Dispenser started to open up.
“So tell me about yourself! What wonderful mysteries do you have?”
“Well. I guess. I mean there was one time when a fluid-filled being almost tripped on me.”
She laughed. She laughed! She thought he was funny! “Oh, tell me quickly! What happened next?”
Dispenser fought against it, knowing every day she was being torn from him, bit by bit. But she would share her thoughts about the world and her love for being alive, and he would be drawn back to her again. “Oh, and this one time I was sitting next to some glass. I could see into the Outside! There was green and blue and red, and oh–you’d never believe it!”
Days turned to weeks and they carried on like there was no care in the world. She showed him a world of possibilities and the joy of being infatuated with the unknown. She had a certain way with him. They clicked.
Late at night, she shifted towards him, “Have I ever told you how much you mean to me?”
His plastic heart was rattling so much he might fall apart. She carried on, “You gave me my greatest joy and happiness. I will always remember what we had.” What does that mea—She interrupted his thoughts, “Rest. I know you are tired, we did a lot of work today. I love you.”
His mind went clear. She loved him! He didn’t know how, but she loved him. Plastic heart soft and warm, he consented to her request.
Dispenser didn’t wake when late at night, a fluid-filled being opened the drawer and took the last of her from him.
