I do not own Tron or Tron Legacy.
Shadow Life: a journal on paper
Cycle 4
I liked watching Flynn prepare our meals, but this time, he told me to stay way from what he referred to as, his kitchen. I wondered what he was doing. I even tried peeking, but he caught me, and told me to go to my room.
I sat on my bed, confused by Flynn's attitude. But I trusted him enough to wait. I just have to be patient, I said aloud. Soon, I heard Flynn call to me. I left my bedroom to find the table set with two plates and our utensils. In the middle of the table sat a cake. I recognized it now. Round, 9.68 centimeters tall, and covered in that wonderfully sticky-sweet, chocolate coating Flynn called frosting. There was nothing else on the table, so I surmised we were eating dessert first as he had promised me earlier.
"Quorra, this is for you," he said, smiling at me.
Still, I was confused. "Flynn, you left something burning in the middle of the cake."
"That's a candle, Quorra. This is a birthday cake. Today is your first birthday. It's a human tradition," he tried to explain.
"Tradition for what?" Not all humans are Users, he'd told me. And I'm an ISO besides.
He thought a moment, then said, "When a human child is born, that day becomes important to him or her. Each year on the anniversary of that birth, family and friends celebrate."
"But Flynn, I wasn't born today. And you don't really know when I came into being." I saw at once that he felt maybe he'd done the wrong thing. I didn't want to hurt him, so I went to his side. "Thank you, Flynn. It's wonderful." I was looking at the cake, wanting a piece anyway. But what was I supposed to do with the burning candle? I looked at the cake, then I looked at Flynn.
"Blow out the candle," he encouraged, nodding at the cake.
I leaned over the cake, looked up at him, then blew, extinguishing the flickering flame. Later, he'd told me he programmed the candle to go out with a directed air current. "Now what do we do?" I asked him.
"He shook his head and laughed. "Quorra, now you can cut the cake."
"Oh, yes, I would like that!" I cut a piece for him as I had seen him do, then I cut a piece for myself. Not waiting to even sit, I was about to take a bite, when Flynn handed me a package. "What's this?" I asked, putting down my plate.
"Another tradition. It's called a birthday present. Open it."
He watched as I slowly unwrapped his present to me. Once uncovered, I saw it was another book. "You already gave me a book, Flynn." I looked it over, and opened it. Unlike the book he had given me before, this one already had words on the pages. I closed it, and ran my hand over the cover.
"It's by Jules Verne," he replied. " Journey to the Center of the Earth. I read it when I was a boy. One of my favorites. I think you'll enjoy the characters and description of an otherworldly place."
I held the book to my chest, and smiled at Flynn. "I can't wait to read it. Thank you again."
We sat down at the table and ate our cake. I touched the book's cover, tracing the words with a finger.
"Happy birthday, Quorra," Flynn said.
I smiled as I finished my cake. When I was done, I leaned back in my chair, and asked, "Flynn, when is your birthday?"
A/N: we don't know what Jules Verne book Q had but since this one is my fave, I decided it was Journey to the Center of the Earth. :-)