She spread her blanket out across the slight slope of the field, hoping for a little peace. It had been what seemed like far too short a time since she had escaped, while in actuality, it had been nearly fours years. The events which had occurred filled her mind upon any moment of rest, or quiet contemplation, leaving her in a frequently distraught state of mind. While time had not yet managed to erase the mental scarring that had inevitably taken place, it had made its residence in her nightmares She only hoped that those times would eventually fade away, as all of time is wont to do.
Settling her form on the blanket's fleecy down, she spread herself across it and hooked the loops of her backpack over one arm, more for a sense of security than anything else. Looking up at the blues of the skies, it was hard to believe that in that place, named Aperture, there had been a distinct lack of its namesake pointing towards the skies they reached for. Light cumulus formations, which she had learned some clouds were called, spread themselves across these still unfamiliar skies, lazing about in a manner such as she did on her blanket. Insomnia had proven to be a great creature to face, brought about by the fear of unwanted memories, resurfacing through the opening which unknowing scientists had provided to the mad AI.
Light winds stroked her face and brushed strands of hair from it, as if the earth was trying to beg forgiveness for the atrocities it had harbored and bore witness to, as helpless to stop them as she had felt those many miles below its surface. There were deciduous trees scattered about the edge of this man made clearing, and it struck her as amusing that man could design something of such beauty and yet also be capable of designing the exact opposite.
She had been surprised to see that humans still existed above the surface, and even more so that they had been willing to help a stranger with no apparent past, or even proof of existence. The four years had been hard on her, but had been a welcome relief from her previous hardships. She had managed to find an internship at a small company, and find a place to call her own at last. A stray leaf twirled its way across her line of vision before finding its rest on the opposite side of her blanket. Sighing rather heavily, she shut her eyes and treated herself to the sounds of the still unfamiliar surface. A few moments passed, where nothing seemed to exist but her and the nature she had sought for so long.
"Hello there" a voice drifted across the field towards her. "Nice day, isn't it?" he added, as he made his way closer to her. He'd only recently managed to find his way to this town, and believed that he should get to know all of the people he could, especially in a place where friendliness was so abundant. She considered looking towards the origin of the voice, which sounded familiar, and decided that she preferred to mystery of the unknown, for the first time in a while. "Yes, it is" she replied. "It's nice to get away from everything for a while, and just relax." She heard the person shuffle slightly, as though they were nervous. It made her think of a friend of hers, one she had lost in the close but far away time. "Are you new around here as well? I haven't been here too long, but it feels like these people have known me for years" the man laughed awkwardly. She placed his accent as Britannic, and was even more reminded of that friend. She became more determined not to look at this attractive sounding man, not wanting to see that he somehow looked like her core friend as well. Wouldn't that be something? She chuckled slightly. "A few years, but it seems like much less."
He could scarcely believe that he had found her. After what had seemed like forever, in his random wanderings after the monstrous AI had expelled him from her domain upon doling out her final punishment, he had stumbled bewildered into the wheat fields. He was unused to these things he somehow knew were legs, and found the 'clothing' as it was called, uncomfortable but a necessary evil. Miles had passed, and he found himself stumbling into this town with the clothing of a station that could not possibly – so he thought – belong to one of his intellect. Years of childish name calling had managed to burrow its way into his no longer digitized psyche, slightly undermining the id of his ego, and yet managed to somehow provide a balance in the tumultuous areas of his mind. It had helped him to learn to balance out his emotions, and the people of this strange human town had welcomed him with open arms, seeming to be accustomed to accepting random strangers into their midst. He was treated as someone of value, which was a notion he had not been subjected to since he'd lost his best and perhaps only friend. And yet here he stood, on his own shaking two legs, connected to still unfamiliar feet on an even more unfamiliar land, across from her again. The one person he thought he would never see, and never deserved to see again, no matter how much he longed for her company and forgiveness. He wrung his hands nervously before rubbing the back of his neck.
"Today feels like a day for new beginnings, wouldn't you agree?" "Yes", he nervously fumbled out in reply. Taking a breath, he did what may have been the bravest or stupidest thing he had yet to do. "Mind having some company?" he asked. She considered this for a moment. It was very odd that she should feel so comfortable around this stranger. Perhaps she was being a fool, but she missed her little ball of excitement of a friend. What had been her first year of anger had simmered down to grudge, and finally an understanding that someone with his programming could not simply withstand the influence of so much power, especially on his own – and what had been a wonderful moment for both of them had once again, in an extended way, been ruined by her and her facility. This man seemed so much like the little core, even without her having seen him. She could imagine the man eyes twitching animatedly to match his expressions while he rattled on about something or other, or being terrified of birds. A smile crept across her face, and she patted the patch of blanket beside her as a welcoming gesture for him to join her.
"Oh, you're inviting me to join you?" he asked, feeling rather clueless. He still hadn't quite gotten the hang of this whole understanding gestures thing. While he had learned to keep better control of himself while in the lonesome reaches of space, there were naturally some things that solitude could not teach. Trying to contain his excitement, he managed to lie down on the blanket beside her, his right arm lying beside hers on its surface, and his left curling under his head for support. His dearest friend chuckled beside him.
"You remind me of someone I knew" she whispered. "I've missed him a lot, and I'm afraid that if I look at you, you'll disappear. Is that silly? Of course it is..." He turned towards her in disbelief. She'd missed him? Did that mean she... forgave him? It still did not mean that he didn't need to apologize, no matter how many words it took for him to say it, even though he was sure that he wouldn't understand half of the ones that he'd need to say to her.
"It's not" he said, a little louder than he'd meant to. Trying to recover the conversation at her expression, he amended "I mean, I've been missing someone too. I treated her horribly, and I really don't deserve her forgiveness... But I still think I should tell her how sorry I am, whether she forgives me or not. She meant too much for me to just run away from her and not even try. No matter how many large, foreign sounding words it will take me, and honestly, I probably won't even know what half of them mean, but I just want her to know that I was rotten, even downright monstrous. Of course, she already knows that. I... I don't deserve her forgiveness. I don't. But I still want her to know." His voice cracked slightly, and he found himself taking the arm that was under his head and maneuvering it to where he could bite his knuckle before he said anything else to make himself seem even more like a moron.
She knew for sure now. This was her little core. Smiling widely, she opened her eyes and to his surprise, turned towards him. She curled the finger of her left hand into his right, and turned the bespectacled face of this new form towards her line of vision. Tears had welled up in his eyes, and her own threatened her as well. "Believe me," she said, "she forgives you. She was angry with you for a long time. Enraged, even." Seeing his confusion at the word, she said "Very mad. But, with time, she realized the reasons behind it. She doesn't hate you anymore. She's missed you, so very much. I'm so happy to see you again, Wheatley." At his name, he couldn't contain himself anymore. He flung his arms around her, babbling incessantly. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry, thank you thank you thank you thank you... I'm so glad to see you again luv, all I could think about when I was up there was you, and how horrible I was to you, I really deserve to still be up there..." She hugged him tightly, and laughed. "I've missed you too, Wheatley. I've never told you my name, have I? It's Chell." Smiling, he pulled her closer towards him, and she curled her face into his chest.
The wind sighed in the trees.