Athena

Chapter 9

I lay watching out the window that night, alone in bed. Mona had gone to the living room to watch a TV series, which wasn't like her, but I guess we all had our ways of handling the fact that we were now three people living in this flat.

When Athena, as she was called, had emerged from the box, I wasn't sure what to think about her. I guess it must have shown in my face and once I'd realised it, I'd quickly straightened out and put on my adult face. Mona hadn't been of any help, and I was so used to it, it took me a moment to realise I'd fallen back into old habits. It had been my main way of being, the one in charge, always knowing what to do. Until Mona moved in. Somehow she had coaxed out a part of me I thought I'd lost forever.

But tonight, I'd kept the face on and acted as if nothing was amiss. But I saw Mona wondered as well. The tail. The pointy ears. The turquoise eyes that would light up a dark room. I knew we had ordered an Android without a preset look or personality, but I still hadn't expected this. I thought she would look more human, at least, not something that could have been taken from a sci-fi film. Some years ago, I knew, there had been a fashion of this kind of design, but there was a reason why it had died out.

I sighed. I had wished for a daughter. Although, at times, the fear ran parallel with the longing, and I wasn't sure what I wanted. But it wasn't this. As for Mona, I'm not sure what she'd wanted, really, but I don't think it was this, either.

Were we what Athena had wanted? I didn't know. She must have spent years alone in the warehouse, standing forgotten on a shelf somewhere, no one wanting her. I shook my head. Could that really be true? Had she stood unwanted for years? I pushed the thought aside, I couldn't handle it right now.

Once I'd shown Athena the room, a small office we'd built into a bedroom, I'd asked her if she liked it. I didn't know what else to say. Mona had stood by the window adjusting a curtain that didn't need adjusting, and it was only then that I realised what we'd done. We'd brought in a third person into our home, and I had no idea what that meant. So much for the adventure that Mona always wanted. I wasn't like her, I didn't like the unknown. I shouldn't have agreed to this in the first place.

I wasn't sure that Mona agreed to it either, now when she'd seen her. But it was too late for that now. I wished she had at least stayed here in the bedroom, and we could have talked about it. But she handled things in her own way.

Athena had said that she did like the room, though. At least that was something. In the end, I guess it wasn't easy to come into a new home like this either, with everything new and unknown. I had hoped I would be able to leave her then, let her settle in once I'd shown her the room, but she had held my gaze and something made me stay. So I had, and Mona too. We hadn't talked much, I hadn't known what to say and Mona, of course, couldn't be relied on in these situations.

In the end, though, I couldn't stand it, and I'd excused myself, saying I would get up early. I had to hold myself from not rushing out the room.