Epilogue

 

Machin sat in a workshop, crowded with gears, goggles, and glassware brimming with froth and steam. Lanterns hung from the ceiling, their dazzling beams cutting through the shadows. Large lanterns, small ones, and some made of paper, cluttered tables and shelves. Dust covered the spaces between the globes.

“All have brightened, but will none burn out tonight?” Machin coughed out the scratches in his voice as he puttered about the room, pressing an eye to the lanterns, one by one.

Startled by a flickering behind him, he turned around. His wrinkled lips smoothed into a grin as he walked toward a lantern whose light began to dim. The light faded from inside an exact copy of a lantern that hung near a plantation in a faraway place known as Virginia. But not too far away; his methods had revealed strong connections between life and light.

“Ah, ripe and ready to move on.” He mopped his forehead with a moth-eaten rag. Bulging eyes blinked behind a pair of goggles as he focused on the lantern. “I’m sad to see you go, Jared. You were one of my favorites.”

Machin smiled to himself and watched as the light faded and wavered one last time before dissipating completely.