Modern Day Cain

Stark Gray Clouds in a City Sky

  It looks like it might rain today. Yes! I can go to Gray and get my robo-dog fixed!

I waited for the clouds to build up and rain to start pouring before I went into the city. There's a hole in one of the walls near my treasure hill that's big enough for me to fit through but not enough for all of the old people to get through. It just sucks that it's always smelly and dark there since it leads through some kind of smelly tunnel that I sometimes think has to be filled with poop. But no guards or officers can get me in there. I just can't ever get used to the smell. Anyways, I got through the tunnel and into the city, without any of the police officers seeing me. I already know the fastest way to get to Gray's shop. 

 I love seeing the holo-ads all over the big walls. There are commercials showing the new hover-cars that they're trying to build. I thought people years ago would have already made that. They didn't make anything useful, only us. I passed by the skyscrapers and saw some pretty ladies and one who smiled at me. The wet air made her scent smell even better. They dress really nicely too. One had shoes that light up! Guess they don't get clothes from the treasure dump like me. Maybe when I'm older I'll get nice clothes and marry one of these ladies too. 

 I finally got into the building that Gray worked in. His workshop was on the 6th floor and he was there as usual. I remember going up to the 112th floor and using the stairs to get on the roof before seeing him one time. Marquise King City looks so beautiful from up there. Inside of Gray's shop, I could see him looking at something away from me. It was square and had a small screen so Gray was standing close to it. Was that the television he was working on? I guess he finished it. It was so tiny but big in the back at the same time. Like a black box. I could hear sounds coming from it. Seems like this is where holo-sets come from. I wouldn't like this though. I got next to Gray in the room and saw a family on the other side of the screen. It was hard to see everything because it was so blurry but wherever they were looked so weird. I think I saw couches and a table with chairs around them but even though everything looked old, they all had smiles on their faces. So many people all together was something I never saw before. I don't know if I would've liked that. I like living alone with my own rules. I can't understand how people can be happy when they know they have to worry about so many other people to live with and take care of. All I heard was laughing and chatting. They were speaking English I think but I couldn't clearly hear the words they were saying. The colors on the screen were so crappy. 

"Gray, what is this?" I asked.

"My great-grandmother and her family", he said.

"Oh. Is she alive still?" I asked him.

"Not anymore." Gray said without looking over at me. He was focused on the television screen. I sat quietly watching with him until it finally finished after like 80 years. The clock only showed that 30 minutes passed but it felt like forever. I'm glad Gray taught me numbers and how to read time, it's so easy. Reading and writing is too hard for me though, I gave up right away. We were just watching people eat and talk anyway, I guess he didn't know his great-grandmother and that's why he wanted to see it. I don't know my mother or father or any family either but Gray should have someone left, right? After a minute of silence, Gray finally turned around and spoke.

"Sorry, little man. What's up?" He said. At this point he had already lit up a cigarette and was more than half-way through smoking it down as it hung off the left side of his mouth. I barely ever see him using his hands to breathe in the smoke and remove the cigarette before putting it back on his lips. I guess because he always needs his hands to work, right? I almost forgot he asked me a question but responded as soon as I remembered. 

"I came to see if you could fix this robo-dog I got a few days ago." I said. He laughed a little when I showed him the box I was carrying it in like he always does when I bring something in.

"Let's see", he said as he picked up the box it was in and opening it on his work table. "Although I never had any luck fixing these before."

I watched him open the back of it with some screwdrivers. The whole dog was almost as big as me and I couldn't wait to play with it. Gray started doing some work on a green part on the inside with wires and small golden squares on it that I didn't even know was in there. "What the heck is that?", I thought. He taught me how to use some of his tools and build things like cabinets and wood frames. I never thought it was cool to just be making easy stuff like that but Gray said that's how he started too. I just wanted to be doing the cool repairs and assemblies like him already. 

I got distracted and started looking around the room. On one of the shelves was a small white box with a line going through it, not in the middle which bothered me. I picked it up and it opened by the line. There were two white things sitting inside it. I was able to pull them both out and they looked like a teardrop or something. 

"Gray, what is this?" I asked while holding them out in each hand, with only the case left on the table. He looked over and squinted his eyes.

"AirPods," he said. "People used to put them in their ears and listen to music with them back in the day."

"Gray's smart and knows everything though so I don't even need to ever worry about this stuff", I thought. 

"Hey, how come you were watching that video?" I asked Gray. He continued working without saying a word for a moment, his eyes now squinting at the small green board in the robo-dog. Ash from his new cigarette fell as soon as he opened his mouth to finally speak. 

"My great-grandmother died before I was born and I've never seen her or even my mother. Just like you. But I knew my grandmother. She raised me until I was about 7 or 8 when she died. I don't have any family left." He said quietly. "So I was watching them in that video. It's from 2007. They seldom used VHS tapes at that point but I don't think I come from a wealthy background so that's why I had to look and build my own TV and system that could support it."

"You're just like me!" I said. I was excited that Gray was like me this way. 

"Yeah... I'll just call you my little brother." Gray said with a smile. I felt cool hearing that I'd be called Gray's younger brother.

"Sweet!" I said. Gray continued working on the robo-dog for a few minutes while I watched while paying full attention this time before he stopped and put what he called the "circuit-board" back in the robo-dog's back. 

"Sorry, little man. No luck. These things are too tough even for me to fix up. I'll try to get one for you the next time you come back though, okay?" Gray said.

"Aw, okay." I said while feeling a bit sad. "You can keep the parts if you'd need it for your other projects." 

"Thanks, Adam." Gray said as he put his hand on my head and messed up my hair. "Adam Stark now. Since we've become brothers, after all." 

I didn't hate that last name. I'm okay with that, it's not boring-sounding. I gave Gray a high-five and left back home. The rain was still coming down but not as hard as before so I knew I had to run back home fast. I got home even faster than when I came because I had no box to carry that would slow me down. "I'm so fast! I gotta be the fastest guy on Earth!" I thought. I was proud of my speed. I drank some fresh rain water from my bucket and then napped before ending my day as usual.