Good Enough

After an astonishingly short breakfast, during which Zephyr explained some of the intricacies of the bike and how he had managed to make the changes so fast, Audra offered to help him clean up the dishes again. Now, they were doing so together.

"So, what do you normally do during the day?" she said while rinsing off a spoon. "I mean, besides fixing up bikes and stuff. Got any hobbies?"

"Me?" he replied, putting down a clean plate in the drying rack. "Well, I mostly just tinker with things or work on projects. I'm a licensed mechanic, so sometimes I help other people fix their vehicles or appliances too, but that's usually only on Sunday."

He gestured toward the calendar.

"Other than that, I just read, watch TV, play my guitar, go for walks… You know, the usual old man stuff."

"A very active one, maybe."

"Maybe," he chuckled. "What about you?"

She pondered the question for a little while before answering.

"I used to do a lot of things."

"Mind being a little more specific? 'Things' encompasses a lot."

Her lips quirked. It'd probably be fine to tell him more.

"Usually I'd be learning for most of the day, and then I'd have to help my mom at the antique shop. Chores and homework would come later, then if my dad came home early, we would all eat dinner together…"

Her voice trailed off, and she got lost in the reflection of the bowl as she rinsed it off.

Zephyr seemed to notice her sudden change in mood and tried redirecting the conversation. "Say, speaking of homework, I was planning on asking it at some point, but you're fifteen, right? Why aren't you in school?"

"I was homeschooled for the past couple of years," she replied simply, not wanting to go into details about the incidents that caused that change. "I graduated earlier this year thanks to the accelerated program I was enrolled in. Was good enough to quality."

Metal clanked against porcelain as Zephyr whistled.

"Graduated, at fifteen? Amazing. What kinds of things did you learn about?"

Audra blinked, pleasantly surprised that Zeph had just taken her for her word. Half the people she had already told that to had doubted her, like she was lying just to make herself sound smarter. It was nice to not have to deal with that again, especially since she was already getting tired of that reaction.

"Aside from the general things everyone is required to know? I learned a bit of engineering, robotics, programming, economics, and business. I wanted to help out with the antique shop since it wasn't doing so well, so I figured learning about that stuff would be the best way to get started. I don't know everything about those topics, obviously, but I think I've got a decent grasp of them."

"That's a good selection of topics to study. If you're serious about them, then that'll probably lead to a lot of opportunities in the future. Are those the kinds of jobs that interest you?"

"Yeah… well, they did," Audra muttered. "I don't know what I'm going to do now, though. I'm still working that out. I guess that's part of why I came here. To get away and think."

Zephyr gave a thoughtful hum. "Well, you'll still have some time to do so. I can't say I'll be able to offer much in terms of helping, but at the very least, I can provide you with a roof and food while you think."

She didn't reply, instead focusing on the dishes. She didn't know how to respond to that, honestly. It still felt strange to have a grown man beside her father treat her so kindly, especially since she barely knew him. Yet, there was a small part of her that felt happy to hear him say that.

Once the plates were all done, Audra put away the last of the silverware.

"So, Zeph… I'm guessing you're going to start working now?"

"Yeah. I'll be in the workshop, but I'll try not to make too much noise. Aside from your bike, there was another special project I was working on earlier—a commission of sorts. I'll be finishing that up before the afternoon. Feel free to do whatever you want in the meantime."

"…Could I watch you work, actually?"

"You want to?"

She nodded. "I already told you that I was interested in stuff like that. Besides, maybe I can learn something from watching you work."

He rubbed his chin.

"I don't see why not. As long as you don't touch anything dangerous, that is."

"I lived in a scrapyard for a week without a single injury. That should be proof enough of my safety awareness."

"If you ignore the lack of foresight, sure," he quipped back before motioning for her to follow him.

After they entered the workshop, Zephyr walked over to a control panel near the entrance. With a flick of a switch, the metal shutters of the garage door retracted to allow in the natural light of the outside. A second switch turned on a ceiling light fixture, and soon, the large room was bathed in brightness. However, he paused before flicking the third one, noting where Audra was currently standing.

"You may want to step clear of that area for this."

"Wait, why?"

"Aside from the fact that it's hazard-taped? The answer will be obvious in a few seconds."

She looked down at her feet, and sure enough, there was a yellow hazard line a few centimeters in front of her shoes.

Ah. Whoops. She probably should have noticed that.

With a sheepish smile, she stepped out of the area.

"Is this good enough?"

"It should be." Zephyr flipped the third switch, and suddenly, the ceiling above the space she had just vacated began to shift and lower itself. It seemed like the ceiling there was actually a platform, and on top of it was what looked to be the remains of some kind of pod.

Eventually, the platform and the thing on top of it came to rest right beside the souped-up bike.

The frame was made of dull metal with various smooth conduits and cables snaking through the gaps in its exterior. There was a small door at the front and a polyvinyl window that had been cracked from some sort of impact. Audra could see its interior was covered in a soft foam-like material that surrounded an empty chair. It was illuminated with the faint glow of an LED light somewhere in its depths.

"Is that a cryosleep pod or something?"

"Nope, not cryosleep. It's a VR capsule."

"A VR capsule?"

"Yeah," Zephyr said. "This is a special project I've been working on for a friend. It's almost done, but I need to finish installing a few more things before I'm satisfied. Some of the things I picked out yesterday at the scrapyard should help."

"What kind of VR? One of those full-immersion ones?"

"Yup, the whole shebang. Full sensory stimulation, neural interface, life support, everything. I've had to overhaul a bunch of parts, replace a lot more, and add even newer ones."

"Sounds like a pain. How much did it cost to get all of that done?" Audra asked before speculating.

She knew full dive systems weren't cheap. Even a low quality one would easily run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"Twenty-thousand USD or so, I think, if you count the cost of materials."

"For that cheap?! Are you sure you're talking about a full dive system?"

"Of course. It'd be a lot more expensive if I hadn't refurbished this capsule. It was actually pretty beat up when I found it. The outer shell was heavily damaged, the main circuit board needed replacing, and the power supply was shot. But luckily, most of the internal hardware was still salvageable."

He walked up to the machine and placed his hand on the side of the metal shell, giving it a soft pat. "In the end, it's a pretty solid setup. I'm proud of it."

Audra stared at the capsule for a while longer before shaking her head in disbelief. She had heard about people refurbishing VR machines before, but she had no idea that someone could fix a full-immersion one without a team of specialists and an industrial facility.

Just who was this guy?

She turned back to Zephyr, who was already pulling out various tools from a nearby workbench. "Hey, do you mind if I ask you a question? How do you have the expertise for all of this?"

"I'm old; I've had a lot of time to learn."

"No, don't try to pull that on me. Being old can make you wiser, sure, but that doesn't automatically give you a bunch of skills. You're not just old, you're experienced. Where did you get that?"

Zephyr let out a short laugh. "Well, aren't we perceptive?"

He didn't seem annoyed by her observation, thankfully, but she couldn't tell if he was pleased either.

"I suppose I could tell you a little bit, but first, can you pass me my toolset on the table?"

She nodded and quickly grabbed it, bringing it over to him before taking a seat.

"So? What is it? What's your secret?"

"There isn't much of a secret. I used to work in a lab researching and developing new technologies." He began to deftly fiddle with the wiring inside the capsule's control panel, his hands like a well-oiled machine.

"That's where most of my knowledge comes from. I'm self-taught in many things, of course, but that place is the main reason for my skill set."

"A research lab? Like, a university or a company? What technologies did you work on specifically?"

"A company. I worked there for several years. As for what technologies? Many different kinds. It was mostly biomedical, biotech, and genetics, but there were some other adjacent things as well."

"What other things?" Audra asked.

"Nanotechnology. Neuroscience. Neurobiology. Those were about it."

Her curiosity was piqued. Those were interesting fields of research, especially considering the advancements in recent times. "Why did you stop? Did you quit or were you laid off?"

"I quit," he replied simply. He continued his work in silence, seemingly focused on the task at hand. After a few minutes, he finished soldering a new component into the panel and closed the lid, locking it into place.

"Something like that must've paid well," she said. "Why did you quit to do this? You could've probably lived a nice, peaceful life as a researcher, or something. At the very least, you wouldn't have to worry about money if you had that kind of job."

Zeph paused for a long moment, as if considering her words. Finally, he sighed and stood up, turning to face Audra fully.

"I finally realized I didn't want to waste away in a sterile white room, doing the same mundane tasks every day until I died. So I decided to leave."

She frowned, looking at him skeptically. "That's it? You wanted a change of scenery, and so you left a well-paying job to do this? There had to be another reason."

He shrugged, returning to his work. "Maybe, maybe not. It doesn't matter now, does it? What matters is that I'm here, doing what I want to do."

Audra couldn't help but feel a little frustrated at his non-answer. She wanted to press further, but she figured it wouldn't get her anywhere. She decided to try a different approach.

"What made you want to do this instead? You know, this whole salvaging gig."

"Well… it's hard to explain," he said after a pause.

He leaned against the edge of the workbench and stared off into the distance with a strange look in his eyes before getting back to loosening a bolt.

"In a way, it was an extension of what I did before. I used to be working on projects that were meant to benefit humanity as a whole. Now, I'm still helping people in a way, just on a smaller, more personal scale. It's harder to forget why you're working when you're interacting with them directly."

She listened carefully, trying to understand what he was saying. She felt like there was something deeper behind those words. Something important. However, she could see that his mood had grown into something resembling melancholy. It was probably best to not push the issue.

Instead, she just watched him work away in silence for a while.

It was almost hypnotic to see him create and tinker with such skill and precision. She could tell that he enjoyed his work, even when he seemed to get lost in thought or distracted by something else entirely.

She didn't know how long she just sat there and watched him. Time seemed to flow differently here in the workshop. Eventually though, Zephyr's hands stilled, and he looked up at her with an expectant expression.

"You're being awfully quiet now."

"Just thinking."

"About?"

"Stuff. Things. Myself, you, my future, whatever. I've got a lot to ponder on."

His lips quirked slightly as he wiped some sweat from his forehead.

"Do you want to talk about it? I've told you a fair bit about myself, after all. It's only fair for you to return the favor."

She tried to think about how to respond before a question suddenly escaped her, as if by instinct.

"Do you ever wish that you could change your past? Go back in time and fix things so everything would turn out better?"

He raised an eyebrow. "That's a heavy topic. Not what I was expecting. Why do you ask?"

She scratched the back of her head before doubling down.

"I… don't know. It's been on my mind lately, I guess. Like, have you ever had regrets or things you wished had gone differently?"

There was a brief pause before he answered. Something in his eyes seemed to darken, but the change was gone as soon as it appeared.

"Yeah, sure, I've thought about it. Everyone does. We all have mistakes we'd like to undo. Things we want to take back. But the truth is that the past is set in stone. All we can do is learn from it and move forward."

"But isn't it normal to wish otherwise?" Audra asked, leaning against the workbench. "To hope that there's some way to change things for the better? To imagine a world where everything turned out okay?"

"It is. However, it's important to distinguish between what is real and what isn't, especially when that difference is between a fantasy and reality. Some people get too caught up in wishing and hoping about things they can't change. Then they forget to actually do anything about the things they can. It's a trap that's easy to fall into if you aren't careful."

His words were firm, yet gentle, as if he'd thought long and hard about this exact topic before.

"…" In that moment, Zephyr reminded Audra a bit of her father again. His calm, reassuring voice had always had the same effect on her when she was growing up. Like she could trust him to guide her through whatever problems she had.

She shook her head slightly, pushing away the memory. Now wasn't the time to reminisce. She needed to focus on the conversation at hand.

"What if there was a way to go back? Would you do it?"

"…Perhaps, but only if I was certain it wouldn't cause even greater harm. Even then, I'm not sure I would. As terrible as it is to admit, the pain and suffering we experience can often lead us to becoming stronger people. Sometimes it's necessary to go through hardships to reach a point of growth."

He stopped for a second, and his lips curled into a bittersweet smile. It looked like he wanted to say more—to continue his thought further. Instead, he just shrugged.

"But that's a conversation best reserved for another time. For now, I'm content with living my life as I am."

"Are you sure? What about the regrets?"

He chuckled softly.

"I'm positive, mostly. Right now is good enough for me."