I once visited a world filled with scientific advancements. Flying vehicles, floating homes, virtual forests, almost as perfect as the real thing. The world bordering the city walls was empty where black desert sand swept across the horizon.

Everything was modified to be sustainable. The planet core was transformed into a reactor that fueled the city. The citizens of this city lived easy and all their needs were served on a golden platter. The system was a dream to be in.

Some citizens mutated themselves from organic lifeforms into tech sloths. Living in their dream worlds, they explored their dreams and wishes.

There were others who stayed away from the synthetic lifestyle. They roamed the city daily and built communities of friends. Spending their limited lifespan living for and with others. There were friends who felt familiar and some who they had never met before.

I roamed the city observing the lives of this place. On a floating home I saw a letter.

“I came to this world to set those free from their dreams and bring them back to reality. They think they are living here but out there, they are dying.”

Passing by a run down area, I heard a soft voice sounding like the sweet smell of rose petals brushing across your senses. With confidence she muttered to herself.

“I am not crazy, something feels missing. I don’t remember having parents or even being born here.”

I decided to follow her and write her story.

She went by the name Tink, probably short for “thinker” or “tinkerer”.

She explored possibilities and new ideas. She wondered how this place came to be. Seeking answers to where she came from. The history of this place stayed in the past.

Having a mental map of the city, she studied every wall and corridor. The floating homes were difficult to get to but she mapped their coordinates. She observed the movements of the vehicles. What do they carry? Where do they go?

With her endless curiosity she taught herself how to use the technology to her advantage. Spending countless hours breaking and repairing tiny machines to figure out how they worked. She made notes of every little change and advancement.

The next day she went exploring to find new scrap to experiment on. Back home she placed all the scrap she found on the floor. Separating them into different piles she stumbled upon a mechanical creature. It was not a creature that lived in the city let alone this planet. Unsure why, Tink felt a nostalgic feeling to the shape of it.

I have seen these species countless times, flying around in the open air. According to my past stories, they are called swallows. Wherever nature flourished, they would perform their dance of life.

I digress. Back to the story.

Tink was unable to recall where this swallow came from. It bothered her that she could not remember if she picked it up. Her curiosity got the best of her, studying the swallow’s mechanical shell.

She came across a phrase engraved on it.

Tink read it aloud:

“Breaker seek”

The swallow came to life. Twitching and jolting, gears spinning, sparks flew, the wings flapped, it hovered. It stayed in the air for a few seconds.

Plummeting uncontrollably to the ground, Tink jumped forward catching it in the nick of time. In her hands struggling, she observed its movements. With her little technological knowledge she decided to try and fix this little thing. For the next few days she spent every hour, resting for brief moments, learning the ins and outs of this little thing.

She found a small cracked gear in the left wing, preventing it from flapping properly. Grabbing her tools she got to work. It took her a few hours to get it working. She set it down on the table repeating the phrase.

“Breaker seek”

This time it was different. It ascended into the air and darted for the window. Breaking through it. Tink ran to the door and grabbed her portable toolkit. She hastily clipped it onto her waist, in pursuit of the swallow. It was flying high and quick. Tink could barely keep up but the swallow slowed down at times knowing she was in pursuit.

The swallow knew exactly where to go, like a moth to a flame. Tink kept her eyes on the swallow like an eagle stalking its prey making sure she did not lose sight of it. In the distance she saw the swallow turning a corner. Knowing this city, like the back of her hand. She knew that the corner ahead led to a dead end. As she turned the corner she stopped for a breather. She straightened her back, took in a deep breath and looked around to see where the swallow went.

She looked through every nook and cranny, unable to find it anywhere. She came to the conclusion that it took the turn, not knowing there would be a dead end and flew over the wall. She stayed a few minutes thinking where it could have gone next.

There were a few places beyond the wall it could have gone. Knowing how big the city was, it would have taken her a few minutes to get to the otherside. Taking that into account she would not know where to start looking when she got there. Turning around, her shoulders dropped in disappointment. She will never see it again, that which she had fixed, left her.

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Just as she was about to turn the corner to go home. A light blue light flashed behind her. Turning around without hesitation, Tink saw the color emanating from a square, you could hardly miss it, almost blinding. Without a second thought she ran closer to observe this phenomenon. She unclipped her portable toolkit and laid it on the ground. She took out a hammer, raised her arm, charging up a swing. As the hammer was just about to touch the square, the swallow popped out. Startled by the appearance of the swallow, Tink fell backwards onto her behind.

The swallow hovered above Tink, opening its tiny beak.

“Don’t do that. You were about to destroy your only way out.” Spoken with a chirpy high pitch tone.

“My name is Breaker and I was created to free you from this world. It will seem odd at first but I am here to train you.”

“Why fly away from me and not introduce yourself first?”

“I was born to fly, you were born to run. Next time keep up.” Breaker chuckled.

“Not funny, I could have died from exhaustion.”

“Ohh please, your body is only controlled by your mind. Once your mind dies then your body follows.”

“What is it you want to train me for and what do you mean by freeing me from this world?”

“You will see when we leave this place. I will show you the ropes to get out of here and continue living. ”

“What if I don’t wanna do it?”

“Don’t be fooled, if you had a tail it would be wagging it in excitement.”

“What is a tail?”

“I said too much. I know how short your fuse is before your curiosity takes over.”

“I have a very good handle on my curiosity thank you.”

“If you move closer to the light, squint your eyes, you will be able to see what is on the other side.”

Without any hesitation Tink squinted more and more the closer she got.

“Good handle you said… You look like you are 10 years older, squinting like that.” Breaker laughed

“You little… What are you?”

“You will find out soon enough. We should get started on your training.”

Being Tink, she wanted to get started as soon as possible. Breaker and Tink went home, on the way he explained a few things to her.

“The blue square you saw is a gateway. You first need to learn to bypass the system before you can pass through the gate. I will teach you to hack the system. In order for that to happen, you will have to hack me first”

It took several weeks for Tink to get the basics under her belt, hardly taking any rest. Tiring through all the training, Breaker kept a steady pace with her. After 6 months Tink had the opportunity to try her hand hacking Breaker. She had to do this on her own. He explained that when she starts the test, he will be in recovery mode and will not be able to guide her.

During this time she built a friendly relationship with Breaker. She wavered in fear. If she messed up she could lose a friend and end up being lonely and alone again. Within, she knew that this needed to be done. If she broke Breaker she could bring him back and keep her only friend close.

Tink had to go through all the data inside of Breaker and look for a passcode. She was at it for 3 days when she came across a phrase:

“We live to dream, we dream to live. All there is, is turning the key and pursuing reality.”

Tink chewed on the phrase but found no meaning to it. Scouring for a few more days she rebooted Breaker and took a step back. In the silence there was no movement. Her heart sank, “I broke him”.

Breaker laid still for a few minutes. He twitched as the reboot process started.

Tink heaved a sigh of relief.

As soon as he was up, he hovered in the air and bolted straight to the window, breaking through it.

Tink looked at the window. “Why not go through the same broken window?!” she shouted.

“Here we go again.” sighing as she clipped her toolkit to her waist.

This time she knew exactly where to go, sparing her energy. As she got to the alleyway, Breaker was hovering in the air waiting for her. She moved closer to Breaker.

“What could you find?” asked Breaker

“I didn’t find anything of use but a phrase. I have thought a lot about it, but it did not feel like anything of use. I thought there would be a passcode?”

“When you looked for a passcode, what did you think it would be?”

“A single word, numbers and words. I don’t know.”

“If you have found anything, tell me, but whatever you say be ready.”

Unsure what Breaker meant, she replied.

“We live to dream, we dream to live. All there is, is turning the key and pursuing reality.”

“What's locked gets opened. What's trapped is set free.”

The instant Breaker finished the sentence he began to fall to the ground. During the descent, his shell tore apart, flinging small particles across the alleyway. Sparks shot out as his body began to collapse and change shape. Pieces broke off to the side. As it hit the ground Tink could not believe what had happened.

She ran straight to where Breaker fell. Sweeping her hand across the floor brushing away the burnt and broken pieces. In the pile there was a single intact piece. Tink picked it up with tears in her eyes.

The shape of Breaker seemed familiar to her. It was a key. It was engraved.

With tears dripping from her eyes onto the words.

“Hold in those tears. Joy is freedom. Never forget.”

Tink picked herself up from the ground. In the moment of sorrow she could not allow Breaker’s sacrifice go to waste.

With the key in hand, she approached the square light. From the light came a keyhole. Slowly lifting her hand, she slotted in the key and turned it.

Her whole body got sucked into the keyhole. Transporting her to the so-called reality.

Tink’s eyes slowly opened to a bright light. Her eyes felt heavy, as if she just woke up from a nap. There was beeping in her ears. Her eyes moved across the room, the room had white walls to either side of her. There was a painted wall in front of her with drawings she could not make out.

Struggling to sit upright, the door opened and a robot came to assist her.

It looked at her and said, “I will go and get the doctor.”

Soon after, the doctor returned with a white note in hand.

“I have something for you. When you are ready I will return.”

Tink, being unsure, opened the note. A small chain fell from it with a key attached. It looked similar to the one in her dream. Turning her attention to the note, tears formed as she read it.

“Tink, you ended up in an accident a few years back. You got a serious knock to your head, we rushed you straight to the hospital. We received news from the doctor that you were in a coma. They didn’t know how long it would be before you would regain consciousness. Don’t look up yet but I hope you like the wall. I fought long and hard with the hospital to get it done for you.

It was hard. I struggled seeing you lay there. Day in and day out I wondered what was happening in your head. You probably had an awesome time dreaming and being free.

A few years back science made a breakthrough where people could be brought back from a coma. It was still early stages and the doctor didn’t approve of this method just yet. He said it was too dangerous for me and for you.

I had to be induced into a coma and be connected to your wavelengths. If I were to stay too long my mind would lose consciousness and I will never return. I tried and tried to get approval for this method. I wanted you back.

A year later I got the greenlight. I knew it was risky but I had to try.

You were my everything so I had to give my everything.

If it was a success you would be given this letter. I hope you like the key. Your words to me are written on it.

“Hold in those tears. Joy is freedom. Never forget.”

You were my Joy. You were my Freedom.

I hope to see you soon.

Breaker”

Tink looked up to the wall in front of her. The tears in her eyes overflowed with brokenness and sadness. The wall was filled with green and wondrous colors. Trees and flowers flourished with a single swallow hovering in mid air looking in the direction to where Tink was laying.

The door to her room swung open.

A being stepped in and her tears turned into freedom.