Page 25
My expression tightened. “Teach me? I’m already perfect.”
When the girl closed the distance between us, I flinched from the sudden intrusion into my space.
“Nothing is perfect. That would be so boring. You’re boring, too, if you’re always judging people like that. Being a robot isn’t as great as I thought, I guess.”
She pivoted with a little pout, and I only stared. Judging? Me?
“I’ll do it. The butterfly or whatever. But I need time.”
Her scowl vanished, she gave a slow nod. “Just… Promise me.”
“I promise.”
Her face lit up, her smile widening until her eyes crinkled. Before I could process, her arms were around me.
I froze. Not knowing what to do, my hands hung in the air. I knew the importance of hugging in human relationships, but I’d never encountered such a situation before. When the others heard that I was a robot, they looked at me with fear and avoided contact. What was wrong with this girl? Why was she acting so comfortably, like I were just another friend? Even as I stood stiff in her arms, she only clung to me more tightly, burying her face in the crook of my shoulder. When she finally pulled away, her hands rose to cradle my face.
“You’re so beautiful. I didn’t know robots could be so beautiful.”
“I was created to be friends with children like you, so I’m very realistic.” Another memorized sentence.
“You’re friends with other children too?” I tried to process the sudden dip in her voice.
“No, I’m only friends with you. As I said, we’re matched. I don’t take orders from anyone else.”
“Not even my father?”
“Not even your father.”
“So you’ll only protect me?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll only do what I say?”
“Of course.”
“That’s wonderful! You’re not that mean, at all!” she hugged me again. Despite feeling awkward about this unfamiliar intimacy, I couldn’t push her away. Servants should never have disobeyed their masters.
“Wonderful…” she murmured to herself, but I could hear it. “You’ll stay with me forever, wonderful…”
What? I’d never imagined a child could wish for something so horrifying.
“Eternity is not something I can control.”
Her bright face fell immediately. She pulled her arms away. Then something utterly absurd happened.
She threw me to the ground.
I found myself lying on the artificial grass. Rotted to the spot, too shocked to move. Raising my eyes to meet hers, I managed to swallow.
“Why did you give me hope, then?” The anger in her voice stirred something beneath my features. “So cruel! You’re really so rude! If you’re not going to stay with me forever, then you’re useless to me. I’ll tell my father to send you back.”
She walked away, and I pressed my palm against my chest, trying to quiet the frantic hammering of my heart.
You’re useless to me.
Having spent my entire life trying to prove my worth, hearing ‘useless’ for the first time had a strange effect on me. A tremor ruled my hands. It wasn’t born of anger, it was adrenaline.
