Nothing I've Ever Dreamed Of

1. Tranquility

"Have a safe trip!" I waved at parents as they boarded the large ship. My mother waved back. "Don't forget to feed Thomas, and make sure you call your Aunt every day!" Yelled my dad. "I will!" I smiled back at them as their small figures entered into the glass door. I looked at them one more time wistfully, then turned around and headed back into the house.

My name is Ria. Short for Victoria. I'm 19. I live alone with my parents. Even though I am an only child, I was never in need of companionship. The robots of today had been programmed to look, act, and speak like humans. So I was never technically alone.

The house beeped a welcome as I walked in. My robot companion, and butler of the house, James, appeared. "I'm ok James," I said as he handed me a box of tissues. "It's only two weeks." He gave me a disapproving look, as much as a robot could. "Honestly." He nodded, then rolled off to the kitchen. James was an older model. Tall and sleek, silver was his main component. He had a rectangular shaped head, with a boxy body that sat on top of one spindly wheel. He was beloved to my parents, as he had been with them since they got married. He had been in a house fire back in the day, and his vocal box had been damaged. Unfortunately, they no longer sold his voice box. My parents still kept him, as he was an invaluable butler. He ran the large house with effortless control and grace.

I followed after him into the kitchen where I plopped down at the kitchen island. James opened the large fridge while holding a notepad. "James,"
I said mischievously. He turned around. "Can I go down to the dock?" James robot eyes widened. "Come on, just for a little bit." He slumped in defeat and nodded. "Thanks!" I exclaimed as I grabbed a coat and rushed outside.

Our house hung off the side of a cliff, below it was a ocean that stretched for hundreds of miles. On the west side of the house, there were glass windows that formed the whole west side. The sunrise came up brilliantly every day, enhanced by the smaller, man-made sun next to it. I loved the ocean. My mother had always told me that even as a baby, I would always stretch out my hands toward the deep sea. I felt connected to it. I went down often, to sketch the billowing waves. It was winter now though, and my parents had banned me from going, as the winter waves were rough and unruly, and could easily pull a person in. James was lenient with me, as he had a soft spot for me. So he would let me go.

As I sat on the cold, frozen ground, lost in my thoughts, my holocall beeped. The name that popped up was a friend of mine, Lenstal, who I affectionately called Len. I sighed. I was afraid that he was starting to have feelings for me, feelings which I didn't return. I opened it up anyway, and put a smile on my face. His genetically perfectly shaped face appeared, along with the platinum blond hair he sported, and crystal blue artificially enhanced eyes. "Hey Ria, what's up?" He smirked. I repressed a groan. "I'm a bit busy," I lied. "Can I call you later? His eyes dropped. "Sure." He said wistfully. I smiled and waved, the clicked off. I sighed again.

I didn't know what it was. Ever since I turned 19, I felt something inside. They said that everybody was born for a special purpose, they had their place in society. I felt like I didn't belong. I belonged to rich parents, it was true. All my friends were high class in society. But.. I just couldn't put my finger on it.

I stared out at the sea again. I had visited the city before. Our house was on the outskirts so we never went. My parents and their friends had told horrible stories about it. Treachery, fraud, crime. The same for over two hundred years. It was at a new level now. People who had no place in society, who were below middle class, and people had no parents lived their lives on the run. My father told me they were nasty, lived in the underground cyber train stations. He told me to never mix with others not of my class. I shivered internally. As I looked at the sky, small snowflakes fell, one into my outstretched hand. I felt a wave of sadness as I saw every snowflake had the same pattern. Years ago, all snowflakes were individual. But science had supposedly "improved" the snowflakes for "maximum fall." The only different snowflakes were now in history books.

I heard a footsteps in the snow behind me and turned to see my friend, baby sitter, and teacher, Lena. She was also a robot, but was incredibly lifelike. The only indication of her being a robot was the unnatural glossiness of her titanium skin. "Dinner's ready, Ria." I nodded and smiled. "Thanks."

I brushed the sand and snow off my legs, and headed up the stairs to the house. As a looked at the sky, the snow started to fall harder, and the wind picked up. "Better hurry," warned Lena. "Looks like a storm." I picked up my pace, all the while staring off into the distance at the twinkling lights of the city with its tall skyscrapers.

I felt strangely attracted to the lights.