To Rest

It was unthinkable. I came home from work. Undressed mostly by the door and unloaded the single grocery bag I had brought from the international store: peanut butter, pasta, chicken and curry. Then I stepped into the bedroom to find Dell laying silently on the table.
`Dell?!` I said.
When I left that morning she had just finished sending out some mail and was playing music before taking her usual nap. She`d nod off about an hour after I left so that we could play when I got home but something was different. Wrong. I went up and tried to shake her but she didn`t wake up.
`Dell, quit playing. Wake up.` I listened for a faint hum, tried to spot some dim glow in those lights I had known over the past five years but there was nothing anymore. I turned her over looking for some mark, burn or hole; some reason for her not to answer but there was none. `Come on, girl. Get up.` I started shaking her again more frantically, waiting for her little fan to flutter and when it didn`t I lost it.
Pumping on the power button over and over I heard her stiff, cold frame nearly cracking and kept on still. `Not like this girl, you can do it.` Quiet. `Come on, damnit. Boot! You got it just... just... please just one whir. One... one click. One...` Quiet.
I called the tech support at web school but I knew it was too late. They couldn`t talk me through anything I hadn`t tried and so I hung up to be alone with her. I reached over shyly and let down Dell`s lid for the last time.
I know it`s selfish but we just bought the internet together and now I don`t know what I`ll do. If I may, I`d like to ask for a moment to remember Dell. College computer, partner in pirating crimes, editor, travel buddy and one heck of a processor. Enjoy the long sleep mode girl, you earned it.