> initiate neural connection
NETWORK ESTABLISHED: HELENRK–ALICEMLK
> emulate dad
FETCHING DATA FROM FILE:\\CORE\LEWIS_LEE
RECREATING ENVIRONMENT (46%)_
RECREATING SCENARIO (99%)_
COMMENCING MANUAL LOG_
I glance at my phone. At this point I just want it to light up so I have a reason to get distracted. I look at the Tylenol bottles that are arranged on my bedside table. There is a piece of holo paper pinned underneath them. I did not notice it before. I pull the paper and read the contents. It is a medical leave. It is granted to me by a doctor. It states that due to health concerns, I am to be excused from school for one week to improve my wellbeing. This lifts my mood.
My phone buzzes beside me. A miracle. The screen displays a new text from an unknown number. When tapped, the notification opens to a text. More texts from the same number closely follow. The first text reads: "Hey Jabberwock, guess who". Only one person has called me with that name. It is Dad. I make this guess and I am correct. It is Dad. He goes on to say how he misses me and what he has been up to since the last time he contacted me. He then asks me how I have been. I tell him, but avoid from mentioning the Tylenol. He requests for a videocall. I quickly swat the bottles off of the bedside table and into the bin beside it. I accept his request. A face fills the screen. It looks exhausted. It is really Dad. We wave at each other and talk for a while. He tells me that he has heard of my medical leave from Mum and asks if I would like to spend the week with him. I nod my head and smile. He smiles.
END OF LOG EMULATION
OVERWRITE COMPLETE
> resume assimilation
ASSIMILATION RESUMED
> verify
END OF ASSIMILATION. ANDROID CALIBRATION COMPLETED.
WELCOME BACK, Alice Mae Lee-Knight.
YOU ARE READING
TX-2033-LEEKNIGHT-1004-AM
Short StoryA grief-stricken mother relives the final days of her troubled daughter while attempting to preserve and restore data from her memory logs. *** In the midst of her divorce proceedings with her estranged husband, Helen raises their troubled daughter...
