this finally spurred him on , and so he leaned down and kissed meeta passionately , and in the warmth of that kiss , the thick rusted layers of apathy , bitterness and cynicism that had deposited themselves on his heart over the years , began to melt away , so much so that intermingled with the trickles of water that flowed down from his face to hers while they kissed , were a few of his tears , signaling that life in him had finally broken the shackles of numbness that had been confining it for so long , and was now breathing in him , its first sighs of freedom .