THE LAST BORN

T H I R T E E N

Mother used to say, from the video our father played for us to watch, that there is a thin line between love and hate. I used to think about how could it be possible? I hate sour food while Lev loves them. For me there isn't a line, there is a barrier, a gate, a wall, a barricade between what I love and what I hate. I can never wake up one day and hate sour food so much I'm in love with it.

But now, I agree with my mother.

He behaves like a man in love only with bad intentions. Every time we're in the same room his eyes are always on me, looking, watching, recording. Everywhere I go, I can assure you that he won't be far. He knows where to find me, he knows where will I go next. He pays attention to what I touch, what I eat, who I talk to. For the first time in a long, long time, I don't feel alone, in a wrong way.

As I walk with Jackie around the ship after my shift ends, we stop by a few groups of people to talk to them. All of them always welcome me with a smile and a brief hi. I smile back at them and listen to Jackie talking to them about various things. Most people talk to Jackie about the 'public seeing' and the 'event' tomorrow night. I'm not sure what do they meant by that but their eyes are keeping flickering to me as they talk.

"Just one more and we're free!" Jackie exhales an exaggeration, I know she doesn't mean it, She loves the things she does, I know she will never grow tired of it.

Where.

I hold my card up for her to read.

Jackie gives me an apologetic smile. "You'll see!" She says. By the time we arrived in a small corridor with minimum lighting, I feel a bit suspicious, who are we visiting? What kind of place is this? If I have to guess I'd say we are heading to some storage area. It's very quiet, looking very old and unmaintained, When we arrived in front of a rusty metal door and Jackie then knocks a few times, she doesn't wait for an answer before pushing the door open, and by the look of it, she needs her whole strength to force the old hinges to move.

As soon as we stepped inside, I feel overwhelmed by the number of things inside the tiny space. Racks and racks of what looks like books, mountains of papers, some electronic bits, big bags full of things I have no idea what. The walls are covered with piles of things I cannot see the color of the paint. There are two tables in the middle placed together creating an L shape surface, whatever or whoever is behind the desk is still a mystery for me as multiple screens are placed next to each other creating a barrier that stops me from getting a look.

"We're here," Jackie rounds the L table and sits on the other end.

"Good," His low, cold voice fills the small room and I freeze. Are we...? This is his office? I look around with confusion how is the room only twice the size of my bathroom is the room he chose to be his office?

"So... for tomorrow," Jackie trails. "Are you going to...?"

"Sit down," He says, and I know he is talking to me, because I'm the only one standing, and there isn't anybody else here.

Jackie looks up to me and pushes a chair next to her backward, inviting me to sit. I look at the door and her and decided that I should be fine as long as she is around. So I walk slowly to the other seat with my eyes on my lap.

"Anyway," Jackie starts again, "Are you going to say anything?" She asks him.

"No," He replies, his eyes are glued to the screens in front of him. I cannot see what is on those screens, and I'm not interested to know. But from where I'm sitting, I can see the side profile of him, the human, skin, and flesh part of his face. I trace the rigid line of his forehead, down to his nose, to the curves of his lips, dipping low to his chin.