Brought to Life

Chapter 2

Zane walked over to a large bookshelf and stared at the round red circular thing on the very top shelf. He glanced at his father, then back at the red object. He stared at it for about a minute before looking for a way to retrieve it. First, he tried standing on a chair, to make him taller...that didn't work, he was still too short. Then, he grabbed an odd stick with markings and numbers on it. He had seen his father use a smaller one of these on paper, he wondered what the marks and the numbers were for. He couldn't figure that out right now though, he still needed to get the round thing. He tried to knock it over with the weird looking stick, but he missed and knocked down a few books instead. They landed with a loud "thump" on the ground and this made the inventor turn around. He saw the books, the chair, and the yard stick on the floor. He looked up at zane and asked him "What are you doing, exactly?" The robot replied "I was trying to- I wanted that." and he pointed to the ball. The inventor just smiled "The ball?" "Yes" Zane replied when the man got up from his seat. He told his son to place the chair and the yard stick where he found them. He then, dragged a ladder over to the bookshelf, rested it safely against the wall, and started to climb up it with the books under his arm. He placed the books back and threw the ball down to Zane. After he climbed down the ladder, he returned to his work and asked Zane to not bother him for a bit. The robot obeyed and surveyed the object on the ground. First, he poked it. The ball moved slightly, and Zane poked it again. The next time he poked it, it rolled about a foot or two away from him. He chased the ball around the room and continued poking it for the rest of the day. When the evening finally came, the inventor got up out of his chair and turned around to see Zane following the ball as he poked it. The man was surprised and he laughed a little. Zane looked up at his father and smiled, then he continued with his little game. The inventor walked over to Zane "Here-" he motioned for Zane to give him the ball, but at that moment Zane grabbed the ball and held it close to his chest. He shook his head and backed away from the man. His father just laughed "I'll give it back, I just want to show you how to properly use it." But Zane didn't budge, he WAS using the ball properly, how else could you possibly use it? After about two minutes he reluctantly handed over the ball. His father nodded, smiled and put the ball on the ground. "You kick it, see?" and just then, he kicked Zane's ball. Zane looked horrified "You hurt it!" he yelled. "What? Oh no, see-" he retrieved the ball and brought it back to Zane "it can't feel like you and I can, it doesn't get hurt, it's just a ball." the inventor reassured him. Zane took the ball and stared at it. The inventor put his hand on Zane's shoulder "Do you want something to eat?" The robot nodded. His father put on an apron and went into the little kitchen part of the tree and began cutting food. Zane put the ball down on the ground and gave it a little tap with his foot. After recognizing that the ball didn't seem to acquire any damage, he gave the ball a little harder of a kick and smiled. It seemed satisfactory when he kicked it. He continued kicking it all around the floor. His father looked up from the boiling pot and glanced at the sight of a smiling Zane joyfully kicking the ball, when Zane decided to give it an extra hard kick and fell on his back. The inventor turned off the soup and rushed toward his son. "Are you alright?" He asked calmly and he checked for any dents on his creation. "Yes, I'm fine." said the robot as he rubbed his head. "Where did the ball go?" The inventor took one last look to make sure Zane was not damaged and got up to return to his soup. "I'm not sure, but dinner is done, so why don't you come and sit with me?" He asked as he ladled soup into two wooden bowls. "Alright" replied Zane as he scanned the room for the ball. "There it is!" he ran to the only bed in the tree and reached under it for the ball. Once he had it in his hands, he set it down on the ground and sat down to eat. After they ate, the inventor announced it was time for bed and went to sleep. That night, Zane sat in his chair and held the ball in his hands. He didn't want to disturb this father so he just admired the ball and eventually closed his eyes and rested his head on the ball. He fell asleep.