In the tiny apartment she lived alone, except for her little white cat, Snow Ball. She could vaguely hear him softly padding toward her. She slightly raised her head from the soft pillow as he walked up to her bed. She would shut him out, like most pet owners do, but he was new to New York City and to her little apartment.
Tessa then heard the soft sound of Snow Ball jumping onto her bed as her head dropped back down to the pillow. He slept with her every night. She once again strained her neck forward to see him. He had settle down and made a little 'nest' in the crook of her bent legs.
She rose, careful not to move her legs and disturb him, and began to pet his soft head. He started to purr.
After a little while, she plopped her head back down on the pillow and closed her eyes once again. She was aware of the seconds that could be used for fulfilling sleep ticking by. Finally, she slipped into sleep....
*****
"Good...morning...Tessa."
Tessa awoke to the blurry triple figure of a young lady's face hovering above hers. She gasped in surprise and scooted backward. Then, the lady's face solidified and Tessa realized that it was not a lady in front of her but a.... Cyborg?
She gasped. Who was this? And what was she, correction--it, doing in her house?
"Are...you...in...need...of...anything?" the cyborg asked Tessa in halting, robotic English.
"I...I...." Tessa stammered, still in shock.
"Chloe...surprise Tessa?" the cyborg, who was named Chloe, asked.
This time, Tessa gave no reply whatsoever.
"Chloe surprise Tessa!" Chloe cheered. Then, Chloe saw the look of confusion and fear on Tessa's face. "Mm....Chloe is.....New personal robot of Tessa's! Tessa...confused? Chloe surprise Tessa!"
"Oh?" Tessa gasped in surprise. "I get a personal cyborg?"
"Personal robot," Chloe corrected in a robotic, emotionless tone. "Word cyborg is....mm...offensive to robots."
"Oh, um, sorry." Then Tessa turned to look around her house. Her jaw dropped as she saw that everything was slightly suspended off of the floor. There were floating shelves at her bedside--literally! They weren't touching the wall or the ground by two or maybe even three inches.
Her bed was the only thing that stood on solid ground. She saw that out of the window, people and cyborgs--er, robots, were walking on the sun-warmed sidewalks just like always, except for the robot part. Cars hovered off of the ground at different levels, the lowest was three feet off of the ground!
Tessa turned away from the window, now believing her eyes. Personal robots? Floating cars? Something was wrong.
"Is there anything that I could write down on your calender?" Chloe asked, holding a calender.
Tessa awoke to the blurry triple figure of a young lady's face hovering above hers. She gasped in surprise and scooted backward. Then, the lady's face solidified and Tessa realized that it was not a lady in front of her but a.... Cyborg?
She gasped. Who was this? And what was she, correction--it, doing in her house?
"Are...you...in...need...of...anything?" the cyborg asked Tessa in halting, robotic English.
"I...I...." Tessa stammered, still in shock.
"Chloe...surprise Tessa?" the cyborg, who was named Chloe, asked.
This time, Tessa gave no reply whatsoever.
"Chloe surprise Tessa!" Chloe cheered. Then, Chloe saw the look of confusion and fear on Tessa's face. "Mm....Chloe is.....New personal robot of Tessa's! Tessa...confused? Chloe surprise Tessa!"
"Oh?" Tessa gasped in surprise. "I get a personal cyborg?"
"Personal robot," Chloe corrected in a robotic, emotionless tone. "Word cyborg is....mm...offensive to robots."
"Oh, um, sorry." Then Tessa turned to look around her house. Her jaw dropped as she saw that everything was slightly suspended off of the floor. There were floating shelves at her bedside--literally! They weren't touching the wall or the ground by two or maybe even three inches.
Her bed was the only thing that stood on solid ground. She saw that out of the window, people and cyborgs--er, robots, were walking on the sun-warmed sidewalks just like always, except for the robot part. Cars hovered off of the ground at different levels, the lowest was three feet off of the ground!
Tessa turned away from the window, now believing her eyes. Personal robots? Floating cars? Something was wrong.
"Is there anything that I could write down on your calender?" Chloe asked, holding a calender.
"No--" Tessa cut herself off, her jaw fell. The calender read: 3052!! She had fallen asleep in 2012. Was this a dream?
"What bother Tessa?" Chloe, who seemed to be progressing in the art of speaking in English in every passing second, asked.
"Is this a dream?" Tessa wondered aloud.
"No, not dream," Chloe said with a smile. "You slept for a long time. Your parents call long-sleep...mm...Coma!"
Tessa gasped. "Coma?"
"Coma," Chloe nodded.
Still in shock, Tessa reached for the comfort of Snow Ball's soft white fur. There was an empty, cold spot where Snow Ball always slept. She looked around her room. Where was he? Realization flooded over her in a painful force. She felt her eyes burn and a knife tear her heart. Of course Snow Ball wasn't here. He wasn't in her apartment, or anywhere else where she could feel his soft fur. She had slept for over 100 years. Snow Ball wasn't with her any more.
Tears stung her cheeks. She wouldn't believe it. Snow Ball was here. Snow Ball was here. She repeated the words in her head over and over again, trying to make herself believe the lie. All of those wasted years with the sweet white kitten....
"Um, is something of the matter?" Chloe asked.
"Yes! Something is the matter! Go! Go away!" Tessa yelled, baring her face in her pillow to hide her tears.
"Okay. Chloe go away. Okay." And with that, Chloe went away.
After two hours of crying until she couldn't cry anymore, Tessa opened the door and went into her still-tiny apartment. She felt kind of bad that sweet Chloe had been the victim of her tsunami pain and rage.
"Hi, Chloe," Tessa said, eyes still red from crying.
"Tessa no yell at Chloe?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah. Tessa no yell at Chloe. Really."
"Okay!" Chloe's face instantly brightened. "Tessa's....mm...surprise is on counter!"
On the counter sat a beautiful plate with a delicious looking cake. The cake was small, like a muffin, but definitely a cake. It was frosted and topped with fresh cherries. Beside it was a glass of orange juice with a slice of fresh orange on the side.
"Tessa like surprise? Tessa like?" Chloe questioned.
"Yes, I do. I like the surprise." Tessa tried for a smile.
"Good! Is good! Chloe love happy Tessa much better than sad Tessa!" Chloe exclaimed happily.
"Yeah. Yeah, me to."
-KittyLover8
© 2012
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