The Perfect and the Orphan (Amuto)
Chapter 1: The Perfect's Childhood
It was a sunny day in England. The Hunters, a very influential family in the small town of Birdmire, were out on a morning romp. The people that lived in this small town greeted the couple respectfully as they passed by the center of the town.
"Good morning Mrs. Hunter! How's the company?"
"A good day to you Mr. Hunter. Has your company finished building that new sky ship?"
Everywhere the couple went, they were greeted by friendly faces. Mrs. Hunter was the owner of one of the most famous Toy companies in all of England. Many of her products beat the best robot toys of Japan. Mr. Hunter owned a very famous ship-building company whose sky ships were used even by the richest people and the royals. The couple was also very kind and generous. They lived in a quaint, two-story house in a quiet neighborhood. These two seemed to have it all. They had money, power and influence. But one thing they didn't have was a child.
"Dear, Why can't we get a child? We could provide him/her all the things he/she would need."
"Yes, I was hoping you would ask that. However, there are no Child Stores in Birdmire. We would have to take one of my ships to get to the nearest town with a Child Store."
Mrs. Hunter let out a sad sigh. She always wanted a child. Being the owner of a Toy company, Mrs. Hunter would often see children buying her products. She loved the way they smiled when they bought a new toy. Mr. Hunter looked at his wife, a sympathetic look on his face. He loved his wife very much and it pained him to see her so depressed. Suddenly, a thought came to his mind.
"Darling, do you really want to have a child?"
The petite woman looked at her husband with her sad, blue eyes and nodded heartily. "With all my heart, I want a child." she answered solemnly. Mr. Hunter nodded and let out a defeated sigh. He walked to his wife's side and gently patted her on the back. "Well then, you better start packing. You and I are going to Ravenshire." he said happily, a smile on his clean face. Mrs. Hunter let out a happy giggle and hugged her husband.
"Oh thank you Dear!"
"Well, only for you, my sweet, will I do this.."
A few days later, the couple boarded on one of Mr. Hunter's sky ship and travelled all the way to Ravenshire. On their arrival, the Hunters hurriedly went to the nearest Child Store. As the couple entered the store, a look of awe appeared on their faces. Everywhere they looked, there were things a baby needed. There were bibs, clothes, shoes, hats, socks, toys and everything else one would expect to see in a Child Store. But what caught Mrs. Hunter's eye was a machine that looked like an incubator.
"Dear, look! It's the machine you use to make babies!" she cried, walking towards the machine. Another couple was using the machine as she walked up to it. As she watched the couple, she noticed that there were tons of buttons on the machine's control panel. She was taken aback when the wife pressed one of the buttons, for the child's hair turned into dark brown instead of the original black color it had. Mr. Hunter also had a surprised look on his face, though he was able to hide most of his surprise from view.
"This is the first time I've seen a machine like this in real-life. I've seen them in articles but never up close." Mrs. Hunter commented.
As the Hunters watched the couple make a baby, a short man, about 4'2", walked up to them. "Hello and welcome to Chess' Child Store!" the man greeted as he combed back his blond hair. "I'm Chess, the owner of the store. How may I help you?" Mrs. Hunter dipped her head in greeting and shook the man's hand.
"I'm Mrs. Hunter. Um, I would like to make a child."
The small man's jaw dropped in surprise. "Y-you're Mrs. Hunter? The Mrs. Hunter?" he screamed happily. Chess took a step backward gave her a deep and respectful bow. "I am a huge fan of your products! I think I have everyone of your products in my store!" he said, pointing at a huge aisle full of toys.
"I'm happy that you like my toys, Mr. Chess."
"Oh thank you! So, you want to make a child?"
"Yes, how much does one cost?"
Mr. Hunter took out a wallet and opened it, ready to give the amount needed to make a child. Chess shook his head and motioned for Mr. Hunter to keep the money. "Oh no! You can make one for free." he said merrily. Mr. Hunter shook his head and took out some money. "But Mr. Chess, it would be unfair for us to get a child for free whilst the others have to pay…" he retorted.
"But you've already paid me, sir."
"In what way have we paid you?"
"Why, just by visiting my humble store have you paid me. Think about it this way, if I tell people that the great Hunters came to my little store, more people will come to my store to buy my products!"
Mr. Hunter nodded in agreement. "I see. You are very opportunistic, Mr. Chess." he complimented. The small man let out a hearty chuckle as he walked away. "Well, I have to keep bread on the table.." he said as he motioned for the Hunters to follow him. Chess walked up to one of the incubator-look-alike and then pressed a button. The machine started to make a whirring sound and the buttons lit up.
"So, have you ever used the Child-Maker 2000?"
"No, this is our first time using one, much less seeing one."
Chess nodded and spent the next five minutes explaining the functions of each button. After he was done, he let the couple start making their baby. Mrs. Hunter diligently pressed the buttons, determined to make not a single mistake while she made her child. "Let's see, our child will be a girl, have brown hair, in honor of her father, blue eyes, in honor of my mother and she will have fair skin." Mrs. Hunter told her husband as she pressed the buttons. Chess walked up to the couple, a big grin on his face.
"Are you finished?"
"Yes, we've just finished."
Chess nodded and walked up to the machine. He took out an odd-looking skeleton key and inserted it inside a keyhole found above he buttons. He turned the key counterclockwise and then pulled the key out. The machine whirred louder, slightly shaking. Mist started to shroud the inside of the Child-maker's dome. After a few minutes, the mist died down and the dome opened. On the table of the dome lied a baby girl. Chess nodded at Mrs. Hunter. "Well, go ahead. Pick up your child!" he said, encouraging the lady who had a surprised expression on her face. Mrs. Hunter slowly walked up to the baby and was about to pick it up but Chess stopped her.
"W-what is it?"
"Here."
Chess gave the woman a pink blanket. "It's to wrap your child in." he quickly explained before taking a step back. Mrs. Hunter nodded and carefully wrapped the girl in the blanket. The baby opened her eyes and a surprised gasp came out of the couple. "S-She has honey-gold eyes!" Mr. Hunter exclaimed. Chess raised an eyebrow and walked up to check the baby. After examining the baby closer, he let out an impressed chuckle. "Congratulations! You're the proud parents of a female Perfect!" he said, clapping his hands.
"What is a 'Perfect' Mr. Chess?"
"Well, it's the best kind of child a couple could ever hope to have, Mrs. Hunter."
Chess motioned for the couple to follow him. "I'll explain while we pick out some clothes for her." he said, walking to the clothes section. As Chess looked through the "Think Pink" collection, he explained what a Perfect was. "You see, sometimes the machine will bestow a personality that is considered as perfect." he said while taking out a few dresses. "However, there is no such thing as 'perfect' in this world, so the machine changes the hair or eye color of the child to make it look abnormal, thus making it look imperfect."
Chess reached up and grabbed a pink summer dress and then stared at it, as if he was the one to buy it. He shook his head and then returned it to the hanger. "On rare occasions, the machine changes both the eye and hair color…" he added, rummaging through the rest of the collection. Mrs. Hunter looked at Chess with a confused look on her face. "So, what does a Perfect do?" she inquired, her eyes on the small man.
"Well, let's just say that Perfects have a majority of their personality that would classify them as True Ladies or Gentlemen." Chess answered. After a few minutes of looking through the collection of pink clothes, something caught his eye. "Aha! This will do perfectly!" he cried, grabbing the pink dress. The dress was a short gown that was a little above knee length. It was a pink gown with white frills and a long, red ribbon tied around the chest. There was also a ribbon on each sleeve and one ribbon that lined the collar of the gown.
"Here, A great gown for your child!"
"It's beautiful!"
Chess dipped his head in thanks towards Mrs. Hunter and took out five more of the same dresses. After that, he went to the shoe section and got three pairs of pink, slip on shoes with a red ribbon on each shoe. After a few hours of picking out the things that the child needed, the Hunters and Chess proceeded to the store's counter.
"So, you have everything you need?"
"Yup."
Chess nodded and gave them the bill for the things they were buying. Before they left, Chess took out a big book. "Okay, I would like you to sign this. This is her made certificate. You put her name here, your names and signatures and I'll take care of the rest." He instructed, handing them a pen. After the couple signed it, Chess took out a camera and took a picture of the family. "I'll put this in the Child Book. All stores have to keep track of the kids they sold." he explained.
"Thank you for helping us Mr. Chess.
"No problem Mr. Hunter. Come back anytime!"
The Hunters bade Chess farewell and boarded their sky ship back to Birdmire. Once they reached the port, they were greeted by the whole town. All of the people had heard that the Hunters had made a child and all were anxious to see their newest Birdmire child.
"How was your trip?"
"Where's the child?"
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
The couple was bombarded with questions about their baby, but they were able to answer all of them. The people were pleasantly surprised to know that the Hunters had a Perfect for a child. An old man, named Scott McKinzey suddenly spoke up. "So, what's the name of the wee bairn?" the old Scotsman asked. Mrs. Hunter smiled as she answered. "Her name is Amulet Hunter.." she said gently, giving her child a small squeeze. Scott nodded, looking at the small girl. "Ah, she has a darling wee smile." he commented.
Amu, as she was nicknamed, grew up to be a very exemplary Perfect. She almost never disobeyed her parents and she was always the pride of Birdmire. The young girl had pink hair, which matched the clothes that were bought for her. She would usually spend her days reading novels, playing piano, or studying. Amu was the most beautiful girl in the town and she had many admirers. However, she wasn't interested in love. She was interested in exploring and travelling.
On afternoons, Amu would visit Scott and his friend Russel. The old men treated Amu like their own grandchild. They would tell her of faraway places, which would further intensify her interest in the world. The young Perfect would wander around town and pretend she was exploring a jungle. The townsfolk all knew her love for exploring and would usually share their own travels with her.
"Hey mom, can I come with you and dad to your meeting in New York?"
"No Amu. You know that you have a weak body. You're not healthy enough to come with us."
"But mom, I've been taking food that increases my strength. I'm sure I'm strong enough to…"
"Amu, you are NOT coming with us, understand?"
Amu let out a sad sigh and nodded her head in response. That would be the fifteenth time her request to travel was denied. The young girl silently stalked to her room and sat down on her bed. She took out a book called "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and turned to her bookmarked page. "If only I could be like you Tom Sawyer. Your life is full of adventure and you get to go everywhere." she sighed, closing the book. Amu looked at her wall clock and found that it was almost 7 P.M.
The young girl got up and proceeded to the bathroom for her evening wash. After she was finished, she put on her pink night gown, put on her pink night cap and lied down on her huge, king-sized bed. After an hour of futile attempts of sleeping, Amu decided to stargaze. The girl got up and went onto her bedroom's terrace. She looked up at the starry sky and gasped in delight as she saw a star fall from the sky.
"Wow! It's a shooting star! Quick, I have to make a wish."
Amu closed her eyes and whispered her wish. "Oh dear falling star, please hear my plea. Let me be able to explore and see the world." she whispered. As if in response, another star fell from the sky. "Thanks." she giggled, her honey-gold gaze on the silent sky.
What do you think of my story Myu? Not bad for an 8 year old, huh? Please Rate and Review! The next chapter will be up soon!