Peter the Paper Clip

What happens when a small paper wishes to be more?

Peter the Paper Clip

 

By John Darling

 

 

Peter was getting very tired.  After 10 years of holding together the paper work for “Johnson, A.P. – SN 555-66-33xx” his tensile strength was fading, he could feel his molecules beginning to sag.  He was really getting bent out of shape.  All the while he wished that he could be relieved of this duty and maybe go on to do something better and more exciting.

 

As it was, he had not seen the light of day for a long time.  Before being shut up in this place, he remembered hearing his neighbor, who was holding a file together for “Jones, Samantha – SN 639-22-45xx”, say something about “long term storage”.  After they banged the drawer shut, his neighbor became unclipped and Peter never saw him again.  No matter, he thought, 10 years ought to be long enough for anyone.  It was unfortunate for him that he could do about his predicament, so his only option was to wait. 

 

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When Peter heard the loud scraping sound of metal against metal, he knew something was up.  At the same time he heard the noise, he felt himself moving.  He could see some light at the front of his row and he could see that some of the files held together by his co-workers were being removed.  As Peter watched, he wished that the person doing the task would keep at it until they got to him. 

 

Just as he was going to give up hope, his file was pulled out into the light.  It was so bright that it reflected off the areas of his body that were not covered with rust.  Before he could look around to see where he was, he was removed from his file and put into a clear container of some sort that held a bunch of his peers.  Some of them, he found out, had been holding files together in another area.  He even remembered a few of them from the original box in which they were delivered. 

 

No one knew what was going to happen to them now, but they were all very happy to be out of their dark void if only for a little while.  Peter was happy that he was close enough to the edge of the container so he could watch what was going on. 

 

He saw “Johnson, A.P. – SN 555-66-33xx” being taken apart with some of its pieces being put into a blue pail with arrows on it and some of its other pieces being put into a dangerous looking machine that cut them up into smaller pieces.  He was sure glad that no one put him into that thing!

 

After a while, those who were doing the work went away and it grew dark again, but not as dark as the place he had in been for the last decade.  Now that all the activity had stopped, he was able to visit a little more with some of the other paperclips around him.  A few of them had been outside for all this time and some of them were new to the place, only being delivered in their boxes within the past few years.  No matter how they came here, or how long ago, they were all sure their futures would be the same. 

 

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When the light came again, the work went on as it had before.  For the next few cycles of light and dark, nothing changed in the routine.  Finally, during one light period, workers came in with wheeled things and removed the holding cases the paperclips had been in.  If they could have jumped for joy, they would have because now they knew for certain that they would never have to go back into that darkness.  Instead, they all cheered at the idea.

 

A few more light and dark cycles passed with all the paperclips feeling great.  Now and then, a sunbeam would find its way to their container and they all basked in its warmth while remembering the heat that first formed them.

 

Finally, the workers started taking everything else out of the room the paperclips were in.  Pictures and clocks from walls, desks, chairs and mats from the office area.  Peter began to think that he and his friends would be left behind when at the last moment someone picked them all up and put them in a box, which was then moved out with the remaining items. 

 

That started a wild ride for Peter and his pals.

 

Their small package was placed in another dark cavern that was almost as gloomy as the one they had emerged from a few days before.  However, this one was much different.  They all sensed that it was a larger space and they all felt movement, which made them feel great.  What's more, none of them had to work; they were allowed to just lie in their clear container and sway with the motions.

 

Peter sensed that a few of the light and dark periods had come and gone since they were put into this cavern because it would stop moving for a while, then move again, and then stop once more in the light so things could be taken out of it.  Yet again, Peter and his pals thought they were going to be left behind as the cavern emptied out leaving them alone with a few other small things that were made of steel just like them.   

 

It was during the next light period that Peter’s life changed forever.

 

The door to the cavern slid open and rough hands pulled his box out into the daylight.  His clear holding pen was removed and turned upside down so that Peter and his friends went into a free fall.  When they landed they were in a big round metal container with other things made of steel, but these things were bigger, heavier, and came in many shapes.  They weren’t anything like Peter. 

 

Something came along and picked up their new home and after a short trip, they were lifted up and dumped again, this time into a much larger container that was filled with some sort of liquid.  Though it was harsh, it made Peter feel good as he soaked in it.  After a time, the liquid was drained away and another milder liquid filled the vat he lay in.  Soon that liquid also went away and he and the rest of the steel objects were dumped into another container that was open to the sunlight. 

 

Peter looked down on himself; he was beautiful.  The rust that had been invading his body was all gone, apparently washed away with the liquids.  His molecules felt stronger than they had in many years.  After not too long of a time, he and the rest of the metal objects were lifted up and dumped into the largest container yet.  This one was able to move, though, and soon they were traveling again. 

 

With all the switching of containers, Peter had lost track of most of his old friends, but as they rode, he came to know some of the others around him.  One was a large oddly shaped piece of metal who said that he was a fender from an automobile which was something used for getting from one place to another.  It was like the thing they were in now but much smaller.  One day his automobile hit another one and that was the last of the automobile; it was taken away and torn apart.  Some of the other automobile sections were in the same container as he and Peter but most of his friends had been taken elsewhere.  Peter told him that he would be his friend.  The fender thought that would be nice. 

 

All along the way, they talked about where they might be going and compared notes about where they had come from.  It turned out that their beginnings were nearly identical.  Both were born from iron ore.  They had been extracted from their Mother Earth, put into the heat, then formed and shaped.  It was only how they ended up that made them different.  Now they were together again, apparently headed for that same destiny, whatever that may be. 

 

When the thing they were traveling in finally came to a stop, they were dumped again, this time onto some sort of metal strip that moved.  During the transfer, Peter had become wedged in a dent that was in his new friend.  This made him very happy.  He felt safer being with his new pal who’d been around so much in his time. 

 

After a few minutes on the metal strip, they were in free fall again so Peter had to hang on to his friend for dear life.  Though they crashed on to the bottom of their latest holder with a loud bang and more metal object fell on top of them, Peter managed to stay put.  For a long time, everyone just lay where they had landed; no one came to move them around anymore.  Then some of the metal that was under them started saying something about it getting very hot down there.  Soon it became hot everywhere.  He and his new friend began to lose their form, which frightened him until he realized that everyone else was melting too.  It was the heat that had formed all of them coming to take them back again.  Could it be they were going to return to Mother Earth?  

 

 

****************************************

 

Peter woke up.  He did not remember too much at first.  The last thing he recalled was it getting very hot which made him sleepy, and then he was here, where ever “here” was. 

 

He heard a familiar voice call his name; the sound of it seemed to come at him from all around him.  It was his friend, the fender.  He told him that they were still together but now even more than before since they had been made into a part of each other.  He told Peter that they had been melted and reformed into this enormous circular object.  Hearing this, Peter looked around him for the first time.  He could see outward for miles and miles.  Apparently, he was part of a structure that towered high above Mother Earth.  Looking left and looking right, he could see that the thing he was part of curved away in both directions.  Looking up, he could see a great fin protruding out from one side.  He asked his friend if he knew what they had become. 

 

Having been out in the working world for years, the fender thought that they were part of some kind of flying vessel.  He had seen fins, which were sometimes called wings, like these at times when he was driven to a place for airplanes.  Airplanes are things that could fly off the face of Mother Earth.  However, he had never seen wings as big as these.  Being larger than Peter, his molecules were spread out more, so much so that he could see the other side of their new object.  He could see that they made up one of two large cylinders that were attached to the flying vessel.

 

Whatever this whole thing was, the fender thought that is was being made ready to fly. 

 

Another voice spoke out, it was a former airplane part, he said he’d been an engine cowl, whatever that was, and he was familiar with the way they got flying machines ready for take off and from everything he was seeing, the fender was right.  However, the machine of which they were now part of was much, much larger than the plane he had been attached to, so he thought it was going to be able fly higher and farther than he ever had. 

 

Soon each part that had become one began talking, almost all at once.  Each one told what they knew about flying machines even if they were never part of one before.  Everyone was very excited.  They talked for several light and dark cycles on end with everyone reporting anything they saw on the ground far below them.    

 

Then at the beginning of one of the light cycles, the huge machine began to shudder violently.  Everyone fell silent in anticipation of what was going to happen next.

 

A searing heat began to build up inside of their circular object and just as it seemed as if they were all going to be melted down again, they began to move, slowly at first then as they got farther away from Mother Earth they took on great speed. 

 

Peter was terrified.  It was only the touch of his other friends that made him not cry out in fear.  The larger, more traveled of them seemed in awe of what was happening, but none was afraid.  Peter looked down; he could see Mother Earth getting smaller with each passing second.  Unexpectedly, they burst into a black void and the searing heat went away to be replaced by shuddering cold.  A loud explosion sent them into free fall again.  Peter held on as hard as he could while knowing that a fall from this height would surely damage everyone.  After a few minutes, though, it became clear that he did not need to hold on—he was not falling.    

 

Everyone began to talk again, all speculating on where they were and why they could see all of Mother Earth but not go crashing into it.  Then a small voice spoke up, it was a voice that had been silent during all the previous conversations.  He said he knew where they were.

 

He had earlier assumed what was going to happen, but he did not want to say anything until he was sure, and he was sure now.  He said that he had once been a tube that made up something called a telescope.  This was a device used to look out into space, which is the stuff that Mother Earth floated in.  Through the lens of the telescope, he had seen other planets and he had seen flying rocket ships that sometimes went to these planets.  That had been what they were formerly a part of, a rocket ship.  Now they were floating in space where there is no gravity, which is the force that made them fall down while on Mother Earth.  They must have been the holder for the fuel that got the ship off the planet and now they had been discarded, most likely forever. 

 

This made everyone feel rather sad knowing that they were never to be used for anything ever again after having been used for something, large or small, from the day they were first mined out of solid rock. 

 

Everyone became quiet for a while until his friend the fender spoke up.  He said that though he too was unhappy about not being needed anymore, he was going to enjoy his retirement because you sure could not beat the view from up here.

 

As Peter’s side of the cylinder turned slowly back to where he could see the small blue planet of his birth, he recognized the wisdom in his companion’s words and he was happy to know that if it meant being up here for eternity, he would at least be surrounded by friends. 

 

 

THE END

 

Author's Note

Tell me what age range you think would fit, please.