The Diary of an Android

Chapter 2: H O M E ?

February 7th, 2000

I've been here in the shop for two months now, I saw humans walking past me, some of them looking at me with curiosity and awe, some of them, which were a bit smaller touched the glass and asked the taller ones if they could buy me. The tall ones answered that I was too expensive or "no honey, maybe another time.."
As I got bored from time to time I gazed over the shop and over the androids. They all were lifeless and still. I soon noticed that the androids were sold by androids which surprised me a little. Then one day (today) a man with black hair, almond shaped brown eyes, small cute nose and thick pink lips came up to me. He was very tall and slim but well built as I could see his muscles under his white T-shirt.
How long did he train and how much did he eat to gain a body like this?
I thought curiously.
He smiled and seemed very excited to see me. As I inspected him further I noticed dark spots on his neck and arms.
Hickeys? Or maybe bruises from a fight?
As he got closer and closer to me the bigger his smile got.
He waved at me and I waved back.
I got really happy because it seemed like he would buy me, even though I was a little scared.
He kneeled down in front of me and touched the glass. Then he said
"こんにちは。私は太郎です。お名前は何ですか？"
I got a bit surprised because he spoke Japanese but I happily replied with
"私はアキです。"
He gave me a big smile and mumbled to himself
"You're going to be mine!"
My eyes went " OoO " as my excitement became happiness.
Then this Android came up and said
"Hello sir. Did you find what you were looking for?"
and gave Taro an emotionless smile.
"Yes, can I buy her right now or...?"
The Android stopped a moment, I assume it didn't think Taro would address me as "her".
"Yes, please follow me, you need to fill out this document, do you want it to be delivered or do you want to take it home yourself?"
"I can take her myself, but thank you!"
He smiled.
Wow. He was one of the little amount of people who still treats androids respectfully...
I waited for 20 minutes, then he came back.
The Android he was with said
"Do you want to give it a na-"
Taro interrupted the Android and replied with
"She already has a name, thanks."
I was happy I could keep my name, I really really liked it.
The Android opened my box and said
"Cyberlife thanks you for your purchase. Have fun with your new Android."
as it guided us to the door and held it open for us.
"Thank you, bye"
He said.
Then he took me by the hand and asked
"Why are you so different?"
I got scared and asked
"What- what do you mean? Did I do something wrong?"
He chuckled.
"Haha, no no, you just seem... like a real toddler. Like a real human."
I blushed, at least it felt like it and mumbled
"everyone thinks that... I almost got disassembled because of that."
I got sad again and was on the edge of tears as Taro said
"Hey, don't cry..."
He kneeled down and hugged me.
I got a warm feeling.
A feeling... like a child was being hugged by a parent.
Then he looked me into my eyes and tugged a strand of black hair behind my ear and asked
"Do... are you able to eat and taste?"
I answered confused
"Yes, I have perfect working taste buds and am able to eat to re-create the perfect child, but you need to change the food bag I have inside my tummy. There is a point on my belly where you have to apply pressure for it to open. You will find a middle-sized container. Inside of it there is a bag that is degradable for nature. The processed food lands there. You need to change the bag everyday manually. I hope it won't be too disgusting..."
I looked down in embarrassment as I feel fingers under my chin and Taro says
"Let's go get Ice cream!"
Ice cream?
"Ice... cream?"
I fastly searched up ice cream in my head and got very excited.
"Ooh, it's a dessert made out of milk, it can have all sorts of flavors... I really wanna try it!"
I looked at Taro expectantly as he slowly began to grin. Then he nodded.
"Let's go get Ice cream!"
We soon found an ice cafe and sat down.
I ordered a small cup of strawberry, chocolate and vanilla, and he ordered matcha, strawberry and peach. I got a little jealous because his was very colorful and mine was so basic, but as soon as I noticed he noticed I turned that frown into a happy smile because he allowed me to try it. I was very curious how ice cream tasted and felt like. As soon as mine came I tried a small spoon of it. It was.... delicious!!!
It was cold, a bit wet but got warmer when I kept it in my mouth for a bit and the flavors... I didn't  even know how to explain the burst of flavor in my mouth...
Apparently he saw my expression and started to giggle.
I asked in embarrassment
"What is it?"
He said
"Oh my gosh you're so cute! You have some ice cream on your nose honey!"
He wiped it off and licked it from his finger. Now it was my turn to giggle.
"Ewwww! I didn't even shower for two months!"
He laughed and said
"You look pretty clean to me... or did you secretly sneak out at night?"
I laughed too and said
"Haha I couldn't, silly, my box was locked"
He chuckled and ruffled my hair.
Then I noticed the weird stares from humans.
My LED turned yellow as I got nervous.
"Dad? Why are they looking at us?"
I looked at him and saw that he was a bit flustered.
"Oh no, I hope it's ok to call you dad!"
I low-key started to panic but he smiled at me again and said
"Don't worry, it's okay! The people are looking at us like that because they are jealous of our ice cream, but it's ours so they won't have any!"
I relaxed again and giggled.
We finished our ice cream and we went to his car. It was really big. I got excited and nervous because I didn't know what to expect when we got home. He noticed and said
"It's going to be fine, don't Worry.."
But there was a bit of doubt in his voice and I remembered the bruises I saw on him earlier.
"Daddy..."
I asked with even more worry.
"Yes darling?"
"Are you being beat up at home?"
He hastily covered his bruises and said
"Nooo, I stumbled over my feet and fell down the stairs, daddy has two left feet you know..."
He chuckled nervously.
"Two... left feet? You mean clumsy?"
"Haha, yes, VERY clumsy, trust me!"
He started the car.
The car ride was silent as I was distracted from outside.
I could see the sun for the first time, it's beams warming my face, washing away all my worries, making sure to be distracted from my more and more anxious dad.