Two months had passed since Robbie's death. I went to class again, and went to work. Everything went normal as it was before. But I knew that it wouldn't last very long…
One morning, I was eating breakfast when I received a phone call.
"Hello, Santonio house?" I said.
"Emily, guess what?" Sarah said from the other side.
"Sarah...what is it?"
"Today. 2 p.m. My place. It's important!" she said franticly.
"Okay, count me in! But what's the big bang?"
"I'll tell you when you're here"
"Fine. See you later" I said, and hung up.
I changed my clothes and went to Sarah's house. I was still wondering what was so important...because otherwise, she would have told me later or when we saw at school...
Sarah opened the door.
"Hey Sarah, what's the big news? Why did you want me to come?" I asked.
"We must go somewhere first"
"Where?"
"Trust me, I'll tell you everything when we arrive" she said, smiling suspiciously. We entered into my car. And she was still smiling...What was going on?
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She took me to the main road, and after a long drive, I saw a big building in front of us...it had a statue, like a peacock, or something like that. I knew where we were...
"Okay, here we are" she said, parking the car and stopping it.
"Cybertronics? What the hell are we doing in here?" I asked as we entered the building.
"You'll see" she answered.
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We went to the 5th floor, and Sarah's mom greeted us. She looked at me with a smile.
"Emily, I'm so happy for you! I'm sure you're gonna love it!" she said.
"Love what?!" I asked surprised.
"Sarah hasn't told you yet?" the woman asked me.
"No...care to tell?"
"Come here, darling" she said, as she took me to an office.
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"Can somebody tell me what's happening here?" I asked, annoyed.
"Dr. Hobby will tell you everything, Emily" Sarah's mom said.
Dr. Hobby came into the office, sit down in his chair and motioned me to sit in mine, which I did.
"Okay...let's see" he said "Emily Santonio, 20 years old, Robotic Sciences student in Harvard University...right?" he asked, and I nodded "You have remarkably good grades, a good lifestyle, and you know a lot about robots...that's why we chose you to test our prototype"
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"The responsibility that our firm is giving you is really hard, but I hope you'll be able to handle it" he said "I'm saying that you're going to have one of our prototypes in your house, and you'll watch its behaviour, qualities and all the things your teacher asked you to check. The robot will live in your house...with your permission, of course"
"Are you saying that...I have to live with a robot?!" I asked, impatiently. And he nodded "I can't do this! I mean, I'm not used to-"
"Don't worry. We know about your scepticism about mechas. And I can assure you that it won't be a trouble with this one. He's as real as a human can be"
"But..."
"Now, if you don't mind, let's see your new companion" Dr. Hobby said, and a door opened.
I saw at the door, and there was this little boy (no more than 11 years old) with short, fine blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. He was wearing a long white sweatshirt and white sweatpants, with matching white shoes. He walked in and reached me. When he was in front of me, he smiled slightly. Dr. Hobby talked to him.
"David, this is Emily. She's going to take you to her house"
"Hello, my name is David. Pleased to meet you" the boy said, still smiling at me.
I was so shocked that I couldn't speak. I couldn't think...I just got up and ran out of the room.
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I sat in a chair in the next room. Sarah opened the door and reached out to me.
"Emily, I know it's hard to accept it" she told me "But I'm sure that you'll warm up to it easily. It happened to me when mom brought Darlene"
"But, as I told you, your family works with Mechas all the time. I do not" I said "And there's no substitute to Robbie, you know that"
"That's not our intention, Emily...we just want you to be happy"
"Happy?! That's the way to make me happy?!" I yelled "I mean...did you see his eyes? He's so real..."
"But he's not"
"I know" I whispered wearily.
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I went back to Dr. Hobby's office and signed all the papers and procedures. Now I owned David.
I took his hand and led him to the car, closing the door and sitting him in the co-pilot seat. He looked at me, his eyes never blinking. And I tried to break the glance so I could drive back home.
That night, during the long drive, he didn't say a word. I was glad for that, because if he did, I wouldn't know what to answer.
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"Okay, here we are" I said, as I opened the door "Here's my house. Come on in, David" I added, and he entered.
As I closed the door, he walked towards the living room and stopped in front of a window, looking through it. There was a beautiful sight. The city was lightened with the lights of the buildings, and there was a sky full of stars.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I asked, and he nodded. I didn't know what else to say.
"Well...eh...come here, David. I'll show you your room" I said, and he followed me to Robbie's bedroom.
"Is this my room?" he asked.
"Yes...my brother Robbie used to sleep here" I answered.
"And where is he?" he asked again. I felt sad...I remembered my little brother and how much I missed him. And now David...
"He's gone" I said slightly sad. I wanted to cry.
"Oh" he said.
"Um…David, would you mind if I leave you alone for a minute? I'll be right back" I said, and I left the room before he could say a word.
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I looked for some clothes that belonged to Robbie, so David would have some clothes to wear. And some toys. Then I went back with David, and took him to the living room.
"David, I'm gonna make dinner...sit down here, okay?" I said, a bit snob-like.
"Okay, Emily" he said, and I went to the kitchen to make something to eat.
I looked in the cabinets for flour to make some pancakes, and when I found it an closed the cabinet, there he was! David, in front of me, smiling as always. He entered so silently that I almost threw the flour, quite taken aback by his sudden arrival.
"David, what are you doing here? You should be in the table" I asked.
"Can I watch you cooking?" he said, with his little-boy smile.
"Well...I guess you can. Just don't make me spill anything, okay?"
"Yes, Emily" he answered.
When I was making the pancakes, he looked at everything I was doing. And when I was eating, he sat next to me, watching me eating. He also tried to help me with the dishes when I finished. He seemed to be obsessed to please me.
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I left David playing with some toys, and I went to the bathroom to take a nice, hot bath. I filled the bathtub with my favourite cinnamon bubble water and got in.
"This is really nice" I said, closing my eyes to relax.
30 minutes passed, when I felt the door opening, and I heard soft steps coming close to the tub.
"What is it? Who's in there?" I asked, slightly nervous, because I was alone in the house. Well, not exactly alone. I had him...
The shadow came closer, and opened the curtain that was in front of the bathtub. And there he was...David...
"Ahhhhh!" I screamed, crossing my arms around my body to cover myself "What the hell are you doing here?!" I asked him, and he just stood there, smiling "Get out of here! And close the fucking door!"
He complied, and closed the door behind him. I sighed. Fortunately, he couldn't see me naked. Why did he do that? Maybe he felt alone. Wait, he's just a robot, robots have no feelings! Anyways, this one was special. He had something special, and I had to find out what.
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When I got out of the bathroom, I saw David looking at some of my pictures. He had one in his hand. There were Robbie and me riding our bicycles.
He must have heard me get out of the bathroom, because he looked at me and smiled.
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"Do I have to sleep now?" David asked.
"Well...yes, it's 10 pm. Is it too early for you?"
"I never go to sleep" he said "But I can be very quiet and not make a sound"
"Okay, here's your pyjama, and...good night" I was going to leave the room, but he stopped me.
"Dress me?" he asked me, handing me his pyjama.
"Oh, well...yes, I guess"
I started undressing him, and as I put him his pyjama on, I could see how real Cybertronics had made him...if I didn't know he was a robot, I would think he was a real kid...
David lied down in the bed, and I covered him with the sheets. He stayed still, his eyes still open. I suddenly remembered how Robbie fell asleep after I read him some stories, and how I always gave him a goodnight kiss. Then I thought, "Why not do the same with David?" So I leaned closer and kissed his forehead. He looked up at me and gave me a sweet, beautiful smile. I smiled back and left the room.
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I lied down in my bed, thinking about David. This cute little boy, with his innocence and sweetness, had tried to please me, and he really did. But how could a robot be so special? To have feelings? I couldn't understand.
"But he's no ordinary Mecha. I've never heard of a robot that could be almost human. And he's so loveable..." I said "Maybe he's different from the other robots I've seen"
Of course he was! His blue eyes were so deep, so innocent, yet they could penetrate my heart and soul. And his smile...I loved the way he smiled. His smile sent me into the purest of joys.
Yes. Maybe he was different from the rest. I had taken my decision...and I hoped not to regret it later...
