Amanita: Poison Shot

Chapter 74: Crossroads and Food Bribes

"K8, what am I supposed to do now?" I asked her in a weak whisper. The harshness of reality had bitten me with the sharp canines of a wolf. Would it tear me apart, ripping my limbs off one by one, and kill me too?

I sighed deeply while staring at the Neon Sea.

I didn't want to face Agape anytime in the near future. Sigi clearly didn't fully support me, even though he seemed to want to help me. I felt like my trust in either of them would never heal again. Only K8 was taking my side.

"How should I know, D?" she replied in the same fashion. "My experience of life is limited. I'm younger than you."

"How old are you?"

"My body was completed six years ago, but my brain has been operative for eleven years."

"So, you're only eleven?!" She nodded.

"But you've got the body of a woman in her twenties?!"

"I can never grow old, D. Robots don't experience childhood or puberty."

"I guess you're right."

"It's better if I already look like a human adult from the beginning."

I realised I still had a lot to learn from K8 to fully understand her and be her best friend. I would've loved to go on asking more questions about how she achieved a conscience under Agape's supervision, but then I spotted Momo exiting the rebels' home and walking fast down Dawn's promenade. She had a flute in her right hand. She hadn't seen either of us.

"Look. It's Momo. Where's she going in such a hurry?" I asked K8 whispering.

"Oh, she visits Dawn's orphanage every afternoon. It's that small building over there, close to the school." She pointed at the orphanage then. "She gives free music lessons to the children there."

"What?! Momo doing something nice for someone else?" I found it hard to believe.

"She's got a kind soul, but she doesn't show it often – not to the rebels, at least. I believe that she thinks that her interest in the kids' welfare and showing kindness would give a weak image of her in the group. She doesn't want to look weak. That's when her coldness and defiance come in."

She rang the doorbell. When the front door opened a couple of seconds later, a group of five-year-old kids welcomed her by exiting the building and jumping on her to give her a group hug.

"I get it now," I whispered back at K8 when I saw Momo smiling.

Now, that was a genuine smile of happiness. I had never thought it possible for her. That version of Momo was someone I would've loved to meet, actually. However, she would never show me that smile.

I saw that the children had a flute each. They dragged Momo by her hands towards the beach. They sat on the warm sand and started to play a soft melody with their flutes.

Momo's caring echoed in my family life. My father had become an orphan when he was a kid like them. My mother only had her father when my grandmother had fled leaving no trace behind. And I had also lived without a mother for half of my life while taking care of a younger brother, Daniel. I sighed deeply.

"This makes it harder for me to hate her guts now," I added gently while the warm sea breeze combed my hair.

"I agree," K8 replied while patting my back and hugging me. "Everything will be OK, D. Have patience."