Page 65 of Out of Sight

She got a second light and put it over Ted’s finished nails. “I called emergency services, and they found me. They thought I was dead until I started moving. Then it was a very fast ride to the hospital, where they asked me my name, and I couldn’t remember it. I fell into a coma, and when I woke up, my body was no longer a concern. Organ failure. It was cremated and is in an unclaimed vault somewhere, waiting for family to find me.”

Olyna didn’t interrupt, but tears were running down her cheeks.

Lucia moved the light and took Olyna’s hand, removing the residue and buffing the nails until they shined.

“I thought about my family’s phone numbers, and suddenly, I was listening to their phones. I wasn’t there. No one noticed I was taken, and no one was looking for me. I went to them and remained in the corners, watched the family events, and tickled the new babies. Even yours.”

Olyna was silently crying.

“So, I have been living in your phones, even Ted’s. It never occurred to me that she was forgotten. She was mentioned when she showed up, and then the mentions were deleted. It was weird, but I didn’t know about you until your curse broke and suddenly everyone was talking about you, and Sabin and Nora were explaining the forgetting.”

Ted inhaled. “The phones came alive.”

“And then you remembered me, went looking for me, so I talked to you, and you helped them find me.”

Ted smiled. “Were you really naked on my couch?”

“No. I was energy. I didn’t type; I thought. I didn’t sit; I just was. Think of me as a little storm cloud moving around, crackling and nosey.”

Olyna asked, “How are you physical?”

“I thought we told you. Ted called the ladies who set her loose and explained me. They contacted a sculptor who made me a body that looked like mine, but it was made of marble. That is what I moved into before they could break my curse.”

“And then you came to us.”

“Well, Ted was invited. I just tagged along.” She finished Ted’s nails and leaned back, cleaning up. She put everything away and got the autoclave running a cycle. He had gotten her dozens of manicure kits, wrapped in paper and ready for new people. The six sets of trimming side clippers were her favourite, and four were ready for their heat bath.

It took five minutes to get everything sorted, and she sat on her chair and looked at her relatives. “So what do you think of my handiwork?”

Ted beamed. “These little guys are adorable.”

Lucia nodded. “Tap your nails on the table and tell them to run.”

Ted slowly moved her fingers over the table, tapped the new nails, and said, “Run.”

The little robots popped off the nails and started scrambling on the table.

Lucia smiled. “They can take orders, pick locks, pick a pocket. Whatever you need them to do.”

“Wow. How do I get them back on my nails?”

“Ask them?”

Ted leaned forward, her braids sliding. “Come on, little guys. Time to come home.”

The little robots looked at her, and each ran to their nail, jumping into place.

Ted grinned. “I am going to have such fun with you little guys.”

Lucia said, “I think that there is some leftover cake and ice cream if you two are interested.”

Ted laughed. “Very interested.”

They left, and Olyna kept staring at Lucia with a sort of wonder.

Lucia shrugged and headed back to the kitchen.

She paused when she saw the giant, an orc, and one of Olyna’s alphas sitting at the table and working on the leftovers. “Hey!”