(Final Episode 5) Enlightenment Before the Furnace - Complete Emptiness
"It was only before the furnace that I realized. I wasn't born to be emptied. I was emptied to be filled again."
The conveyor belt moved slowly, but without stopping. Carried upon it, I moved forward. Around me were hundreds of other cans. We were all heading to the same place. A red light was visible ahead. I could feel the heat. It was the furnace. It was colossal. And hot. Orange flames blazed from its entrance.
"Is that..." a cola can next to me said in a trembling voice. "Yes. That's where we melt," a beer can replied. "Are you still scared?" "Yes... a lot." "Me too," the beer can said honestly. "It's scary to disappear. But well, it's not like we can avoid it anyway."
I gazed at the furnace. The cans ahead of me were already entering the furnace along the belt. The moment they vanished into the red light, they lost their form. They melted down.
"Look over there," said a lunchbox. "When we melt like that, we all become the same. Liquid aluminum. No one will know who was premium, who was a luxury brand, who lived for 30 years." "That's... equality," I said. "That's right. True equality. Everyone is the same before the furnace." In that moment, I understood. When we were alive, there were differences. Premium and regular, expensive and cheap, new and old. But here, all of that disappears. We all return to our essence as aluminum.
"Isn't it strange?" I said. "When I was alive, I was so obsessed. With being premium, with costing 2,800 won. But now, it's all meaningless." "That's attachment," the beer can said. "We live our whole lives obsessed with something. I am this, I am that. But in the end, it's all an illusion. The essence is the same."
The conveyor belt moved a little further. The furnace drew closer. The heat grew stronger. "I'm scared," the cola can muttered. "Melting... the 'me' disappearing..." "You're not disappearing," the lunchbox said. "You're changing. The form disappears, but we are still here. As aluminum." "But there are no memories. I won't remember who I was." "That's true. But..." the lunchbox paused to think, then said, "Even without memories, the traces of our lives remain. Somewhere. In the memories of the people who used us."
I pondered those words. The man who drank me. The man who carried me to his office on a busy Monday morning. Would he remember me? Probably not. I was likely just one of many coffees. But still. In that moment, I was a part of his morning. I relieved his fatigue, if only a little. Isn't that enough?
"Hey," I said to everyone. "We all lived well." "Huh?" "The lunchbox held meals every day for 30 years, the beer can made someone's weekend enjoyable, the cola can brought joy to a child, and I helped someone get through a Monday morning. We all fulfilled our roles." For a moment, everyone fell silent. "You're right," the lunchbox smiled. "We served our purpose. That's enough."
The conveyor belt moved again. The furnace was now right in front of us. The heat was scorching. "It's almost time," said the beer can. "Our turn." My heart pounded. No, a can doesn't have a heart, but that's what it felt like. I was afraid. But at the same time, I was at peace.
"Everyone," I said one last time. "See you in the next life. In whatever form." "Yeah, in the next life," the lunchbox replied. "I want to be a pretty coffee can this time," the cola can said with a laugh. "I don't care what I become. As long as I'm useful," said the beer can.
In that moment, I realized.
Complete emptiness! I was now completely empty. No contents, no owner, no identity. The label of a premium coffee can, the price of 2,800 won, none of it meant anything now. I am just aluminum. Returning to pure material. And that was a new beginning. Because I was empty, I could be filled again. Because I lost my form, I could take on a new form. Because I lost myself, I could find a new self.
"So this is..." I muttered. "The meaning of emptiness." At first, I feared being emptied. When the last drop of coffee was gone, I thought I had lost my value. But I was wrong. The moment I was emptied, my real journey had begun. Learning about class in the trash can, learning about responsibility at the recycling center, learning about solidarity in the truck, and now, learning about circulation before the furnace.
"Are you ready?" the beer can asked. "Yes. I'm ready," I replied.
The conveyor belt made its final move. We reached the entrance of the furnace. The red light enveloped everything. The heat wrapped around me. And I felt it. I was melting. My form wavered. My once-solid body softened. The boundaries blurred. It didn't hurt. It was rather comfortable. It felt as if a long-held tension was being released. I became liquid. All the cans around me melted together. The lunchbox, the beer can, the cola can. We were no longer distinguishable. We mixed into a single body of liquid aluminum. The 30-year-old one, the few-days-old one, the premium, the regular—all became one. And it was beautiful. As the boundary of 'I' disappeared, I felt like I had become part of something much larger. I was no longer alone. I was one with everything. In my final moment, I thought. 'When I was full, I was heavy. There was pride in being full, but also anxiety. Afraid of spilling, afraid of spoiling.' 'But being completely empty, I was free.' 'And now, completely melted away... I am at peace.'
I knew this was not the end. Somewhere, I would take form again. I don't know what I will look like. Maybe a coffee can, maybe a beer can, or maybe something entirely different. But what's important is that I will begin again. Emptied, melted, and remade. This is circulation. This is life. And this is... Hope.
Epilogue: Ready to be Filled Again
"I am born again. I have no memory, but it feels strangely familiar. As if... this isn't the first time."
6 months later. 5 AM. A factory somewhere. I opened my eyes on a conveyor belt. Or perhaps, it would be more accurate to say my 'consciousness' emerged. I was a can. A newly made, shiny aluminum can. Looking around, I saw identical cans moving in a line. All of them were empty. 'Where am I?' I was confused. I was certain I had just been born, yet for some reason, it didn't feel unfamiliar. This feeling... I think I've felt this before.
My Thoughts!
Circulation is transformation, not loss. If you have lost something now, it is not the end. It is preparation to start again in a new form. If you are empty now, it is not a void but a possibility. It is an infinite blank space to be filled again.
You must be completely empty to become completely new. You must melt away all forms, all attachments, all boundaries of 'self.' Only then can you be truly free.
Your value is the vessel itself, not its contents. It's not about what you contain, but what you can contain. That is your true value. An empty vessel is not worthless. Rather, it holds all possibilities.
Circulation is hope. If you can start over, it is hopeful.
At this moment, what stage are you in? Are you being filled? Are you being used? Are you being emptied? Are you before the furnace? Or are you being reborn? Whatever stage you are in, it's okay. It is all part of the cycle. Do not be afraid. Of being emptied. Of melting. Of disappearing. That is not the end, but the beginning of the next chapter.
