女兒的獲獎短篇小說。

我們這個小城每年都有短篇小說比賽，分兒童組，少年組，青年組，和成年組。對周圍幾個城市的學生和成人開放。前年女兒第一次參賽，得了個兒童組第三名。去年沒參加，今年暑假，學校裏沒作業，開學前有一周閑置時間，她就又寫了一篇，今年得了個少年組優秀獎。雖然是小比賽，因為每次比賽都完全是她自己擬題，自己構思，自己寫的，沒有人幫她修改，每個獎項又隻有一人得獎，所以我們都很高興，也很珍惜。

 

今年她寫完後，我嘮叨幾句，讓她再讀讀改改，隻有三四人最終獲獎，不是很容易。 她卻信心十足，告訴我不用了，一定可以得獎的。還讓我等著瞧。結果好久都沒來電話通知，她失望地說：“看來今年沒戲了。”我還勸她：“外麵有很多好的小作家，別太失望了。下次再努力吧。”沒想到最後還是拿了個獎回來。

 

發獎會就在我們這裏的一個漂亮的書店裏舉行，人不多，不過氣份不錯，還擺了些點心和飲料。她弟弟照舊進門就直奔吃的。每個獲獎者有機會上台講講獲獎感言。讓人印象最深的是成年組第三名的講話：“我知道沒人來這裏聽第三名的獲獎感言。所以我就借這個機會對小作者說幾句話。對一個作家來講，最寶貴的就是你的作品打動了別人。今天你做到了。你的作品至少打動了評委。很多年後，此時此地的情景都會淡掉， 台下的人的麵孔，掌聲，你都會記不清楚了。可最寶貴的是你有了這個經驗，這是許許多多其他作家不曾有的寶貴經驗。。。”

我試著把兩千三百多字的原文翻譯了一下，把我累得半死。

 

這是女兒的作者導言：

 

當我們年幼的時候，我們的腦子裏裝滿了一個問題。 那就是人們通常所指的“假如”問題。假如我會飛呢？假如我是美人魚呢？當我們長大了，我們中的一些人不再為這些荒唐的問題所困擾，我們集中注意力在那些被認為更重要的問題上。

 

我卻從未丟失我的“假如”。這個故事就是在美好的一天，“假如有一個機器人，她看上去，工作起來就像一個真人會怎樣？”我仔細想了好多天，然後我決定把這個“假如”再延伸幾步，從中發展出一個故事來。

 

我最初的“假如”便成了“假如那個機器人被送去自己生活，交朋友呢？假如有人要追殺她哪？”這樣，這個簡單的假如就變成了複雜的故事，僅用了每個孩子最擅長的技術：問假如問題。

 

 

When we were little, we had one question dominating our minds. It was commonly referred to as the “What If” question. What if I could fly? What if I were a mermaid? As we grew up, some of us no longer wondered about these absurd “What Ifs” and we focused on what we thought were more important subjects.

I never lost my “What Ifs” and this story was inspired by a speculation one day, “What if there was a robot who looked and functioned as a human?” I pondered on this for days, and I decided to take this “What If” a couple of steps further and develop a story out of it.

My original “What If” became a “What if the robot was sent to live on her own and made a friend? What if there were people who wanted to hunt her down and kill her?” Thus, this simple what if became a complex story by using the technique every child knows best: asking the “What If” question.

 

評委的評語：

這是對一個重要問題簡短卻有效的探索--什麽是做人的真諦

"A short but effective exploration of an important question - what it means to be human."

 

原文

原文

 

人

 

                            教授調整了一下他的眼鏡，看著走進他辦公室的人。他微笑著，這是他的又一個新創造物。他放低了他的眼鏡。他管她叫伊瓦的創造物蹣跚地走到他跟前。她舉起手裏的玩具熊給他看。沒什麽大問題。隻是熊身體裏的一個螺絲不知怎麽鬆動了。教授擰緊了螺絲，把熊又重新裝好， 遞給他的創造物。他拍拍她的頭，她高興地叫到：“謝謝！謝謝！熊熊，你修好了！”那個玩具熊回答道：“什麽？我壞了？”教授輕聲地笑了。    教授看了她好一會兒，然後又回到工作上。連教授自己都感到吃驚，芸芸眾生中，伊瓦竟然不是人類。對普通人的眼鏡來說，她看上去就是人類。但是作為他的締造者，教授深知，她的心髒隻不過是一部機器，她血管裏流的隻是油。伊瓦隻不過是一個機器人。她是一種新型機器人，一種可以思考，可以以自身意誌行為的機器人。成功地研製一個近似人類的機器人是艱難的。即使伊瓦也有她自己的問題。教授他了一口氣。他的好心情被破壞了。當教授創造了第一個人工人時，沒有人支持他。有些人堅信人類是不應被製造的，但是教授拒絕毀掉伊瓦。就這樣雙方爭鬥著，教授卻一直將伊瓦安全的保護在塵世之外。

            時間過得飛快，伊瓦很快就10歲了，12歲了，教授不經意間，她已經18歲了。不幸的事，伊瓦似乎無緣為她19歲慶生了。教授無法在保護她了。

            伊瓦慢慢地睜開她的眼睛，適應著光線。她眨了兩下，清除掉模糊的視線，環視四周。我在哪兒？她困惑著。她希望自己有答案，但她沒有。伊瓦坐起來環視周圍景色。她坐在馬路邊的木製長凳上。長跑和騎自行車的人從旁經過，他們在早上清冷的空氣中吐著哈氣。她低頭看看她的手。她的眉毛皺起來了，她的記憶在搜尋著來到這裏的原因。伊瓦記起來了。那個晚上的記憶像洪水一樣，鮮活地湧來。

            “教授要見你。”一個門童低眉彎腰地站在她的門口。伊瓦有點困惑。教授一般不會叫她。如果她有什麽技術故障， 都是她自己去教授的辦公室。測試檢查都是提前安排好的。她把正在讀的書放下， 從椅子上站起身，向通往教授辦公室的走廊走去。

            “教授你找我嗎？”伊瓦邊問邊輕輕地關上背後的門。教授舉目。“嗯？哦，對。”他微笑道：“伊瓦，你得了解撫養你對我來說是一件很難的任務。”伊瓦點點頭，想，他叫我就為了這個？教授繼續說：“我從未告訴過你這些，但你被製造出來後，有很多關於人造人的爭議。我想要保護你，我成功地保護你活了18年。但是，我再也無法做到了。”伊瓦問:“為什麽？”教授擰緊了雙眉：“上麵終於采取行動了，伊瓦，如果我不再72小時之內毀掉你，他們就會。”教授看著伊瓦。他往伊瓦手裏推著什麽，邊說:“我把你送到一個地方， 一個他們一時找不到你的地方。”

            “嘿，喂。。。”伊瓦收回視線看到一個和她年齡相仿的男孩兒慢慢地在她眼前揮著手。她困惑地看著他，他停了下來。“對不起，”他靦腆地說道：“你在發呆，我不知道你怎麽了？對不起。”他清清喉嚨，試圖打破窘境，並伸出手。“狄龍。”他微笑著，好似期待著伊瓦來握他的手。伊瓦對著那手皺著眉，他還是把手收回到衣兜裏，再次窘迫地清清喉嚨。“對了，你叫什麽名字?” 他問。“伊瓦。”伊瓦輕快的說。“伊瓦，啊，這名字鎮好聽。”他微笑著。伊瓦也對他笑笑，“她站起來，拍拍褲子上的灰，說：“好了，我該走了。”她朝他揮揮手，朝著土路走去。“等等！”狄龍從她後麵叫到。伊瓦轉過身。他取出一張皺紙在上麵塗寫了些字，說：“給我打電話!” 伊瓦展平那張紙，上麵10個數字淩亂地寫在一片油漬邊上。                       

            快到中午了，晨跑的人都散了，取而代之的是遊客，穿著“我愛紐約”的衫子。周圍的高樓大廈讓伊瓦覺得恐懼。好像自己被關在帶柵欄的籠子裏。她提醒著自己：我現在是自由的。她試圖說服自己，她是快樂的，可沒有成功。這是她第一次看到真正的世界，坦白講，給她的印象不怎麽樣。教授曾告訴過她，她有一個尚待修複的缺陷，那就是她有矛盾的感覺。她會覺得餓，但她的係統不能消化食物。她會覺得累，但她的程序不需要睡眠。大概每一周，教授就會給她一種藥讓她的程序重置。她就不再覺得餓，渴，或累，她的人性的一邊和她的機器人的一麵就會同步。藥物的效果現在開始減退。伊瓦開始覺得餓。她按按她的胃，希望那種感覺消失，這時候她記起教授曾叮囑她要一直多帶一瓶藥以防萬一。伊瓦為之一振，她從自己脖子上拿下一瓶藥液，放鬆地歎了一口氣。伊瓦決定留著以後在自己最需要的時候再用。

            伊瓦用她放在內耳裏的電話掛通了狄龍。“嘿，狄龍！”她說。狄龍回到：“嗨，是誰呀？”伊瓦說：“我是伊瓦。”“伊瓦！”狄龍笑了。“我正在想你什麽時候才會打電話給我呢!” 他們之間一陣尷尬的沉默，狄龍最終打破了沉默說：“好啊，你相見麵嗎？”伊瓦不知道要說什麽，她小咕噥說：“嗬，好啊。”狄龍說：“30十分鍾後，在我們第一次見麵的長凳前見麵怎麽樣？”伊瓦同意，掛斷了電話。

            30分鍾後，伊瓦坐在他們初次見麵的長凳上，那是她第一次麵對世界的地方。“伊瓦！”伊瓦微笑著抬頭。是狄龍。他在她旁邊坐下盯著她看。伊瓦想，你是我第一個朋友。你是第一個像正常人一樣對待我的人。她一直聽他講話，聽到街燈亮起來。她沒說什麽自己的情況，但是狄龍好像明白她想保住自己的秘密。他隻是說些不相關的事情來填補寂靜，直到寂靜完全消失。當伊瓦和他在一起的時候，她覺得是個。。。人。那是一種永遠的感覺。

            接下來的幾天，狄龍給她看了紐約。伊瓦不知道他為什麽要和自己交朋友，但是她覺得和他在一起很平常的感覺， 他是她不幸生活中唯一的亮點。他還不知道真實的她。伊瓦知道一旦他知道了真相，狄龍就會退縮了，所以她要嚴守這個秘密。狄龍從沒問起過她住哪兒，從哪裏來等等。他們隻講短暫的友情好像在走鋼絲。如果伊瓦犯一個錯， 她泄漏一點有關自己的真實身份，所有的一切都會崩潰。

            狄龍離開後，伊瓦自己走在空當的街上，街燈照下來，照到的地方都顯得明亮，溫暖，可愛。沒照到的地方，卻留在冰冷，黑暗的夜晚的懷抱裏。一個男人撞上她。沒等伊瓦有機會看到他，他就一言不發地離開了，裝作什麽都沒有發生一樣。但是，神秘的男人留下一個小紙團。伊瓦撿起來想要告訴他他掉東西了，但是他已經消失了。伊瓦好奇地讀著紙上的內容。

伊瓦讀到。

            我們別浪費時間自我介紹了。我知道你是誰，即便你不知道我是誰。想猜猜嗎？如果你還想見到你所謂的“朋友”， 到中央公園的凳子前見我。你一定知道哪個凳子吧？

            伊瓦第一次知道什麽是冷的感覺。她的心髒在胸口猛烈地跳動。伊瓦手裏握緊了那個紙條。她開始狂奔，為自己也為狄龍感到恐懼。

            伊瓦跑到公園絲毫無損，因為她是個機器人。狄龍因為她而受到傷害是不公平的。她想到他可能因為自己而受到的牽連，伊瓦的手攥成了拳頭。她走到他和狄龍初次相會的凳子前。 伊瓦向四周望去，即使在鬼火般的黃色路燈下，也人影皆無。她腦後的感應器終於發覺到有人朝她靠近時已經太晚了。伊瓦感到一隻手按住她的休眠鈕。她開始叫喊但沒等發出聲音就失去了知覺，閉上了眼睛。

        伊瓦再次清醒時，她躺在又硬又冷的地上。感覺像是水泥。她想動一動，但她的手和腳都無法反應，她什麽也看不到，也不能啟動夜視係統。一盞燈閃著亮起來。起初太亮了，伊瓦要從睫毛的縫隙看過去，不久她的眼睛適應了。一個男人的輪廓樹立在伊瓦麵前。她所能分辨的隻有他穿的皮鞋。他跪下來，臉湊近伊瓦的臉。“狄龍在哪裏？”伊瓦脫口而出。那個男人不經意的說：“狄龍？哦，那小子沒事兒。”伊瓦還是無法相信狄龍因為自己而受傷害。“狄龍在哪兒？”她又問， 這次她的聲音裏帶著更多的威脅。那個男人搖搖頭說：“你非想知道麽？”伊瓦想哭，她卻不能。狄龍會不會受折磨？他會不會死掉了？那個男人突然打斷了她的思緒。他將她抬起，讓她坐在燈邊的一把椅子上。

伊瓦又開始發抖。 她覺得好累，控製不住的頭疼。她對任何東西都無法專注，那個講話的男人像是在遙遠的夢裏。都怪我，伊瓦想。 她努力想聽那人講的話。

“當教授18年前創造你時，我感到恥辱。我曾為教授工作，我非常仰慕他。但是創造像你一樣的人工人是錯誤的。我不幹了。我試圖說服他毀掉你，但他聽不進去。他聲稱你是科技的縮影。他認為你是書中新的一頁。那人笑道：“教授知道我想殺了你。他對你保護有加。你是否想過為什麽你從前都沒有看過外麵的世界？我不曾逮到你， 18年了，終於等到了。我隻要把你關閉，一切就都結束了。”

伊瓦還是不知道狄龍在哪兒，她又問一遍。“狄龍在哪兒？”“我在這兒！”有人在她背後叫道。

伊瓦背後的肌肉緊張了。她慢慢轉身， 狄龍就站在她後麵。有一秒鍾，伊瓦不能呼吸。“狄龍，你還好嗎？他們有沒有對你怎樣？”伊瓦的問題向洪水一樣傾瀉而出。狄龍以笑回報。“伊瓦，你真的以為我是你的朋友嗎？說真的，誰會想當你的朋友？你都不是自然的。”狄龍講的每個字都紮在伊瓦的心上， 伊瓦感到困惑。她以為自己可以相信狄龍，她可以依靠他這個朋友。他的出賣是這樣突然，讓人無法防備，伊瓦笑了，那笑聲真可怕，連她自己都被嚇到了。狄龍停下來看她笑。她歇斯底裏地笑著，好像這是個天大的笑話。伊瓦笑到她的胃開始痛，她才慢下來說：“狄龍，你真是個好演員，你知道嗎？這麽長時間我都沒意識到。”伊瓦不再笑了。“但是為什麽你要裝作我的朋友？”狄龍麵帶他曾有的微笑，這次帶著傷感色彩。“我本來是要殺掉你的，但是我不能，伊瓦，我不能。你真的開始成為我的朋友，我不能讓我自己把你消除。所以這個人才介入，取代我。對不起伊瓦，我真的對不起。”狄龍被那個男人的眼色製止住，但他的眼睛在請求伊瓦相信他， 伊瓦想要相信他，她真的想。她想假裝什麽都沒發生過，這些友誼中的問題都不存在， 她伊瓦的臉色凝重了。“我不想聽，狄龍。你出賣我。最終，你不是人類。 最終，我是這裏唯一的人類。”

教授扛著一個女孩兒回到他的實驗室。 一個男孩兒走在他身邊，靜靜地讓他的眼淚流在女孩兒的身上。那個女孩兒顯而易見沒有了生命，她的臉上卻帶著滿足的微笑，好像她終於意識到一件重要的事。

           

               

 

Human

 

                Professor adjusted his glasses and looked at who walked into his office. He smiled. Another one of his creations. He lowered his glasses. His creation, the one he named “Eve” padded up to him. She held up her teddy bear for him to see. “Professor, my teddy bear isn’t working.”Professor gently took the teddy bear from her small hands. It was nothing serious. A screw had somehow loosened itself inside the bear. Professor tightened the screw, put the bear together, and handed it to his creation. He patted her head as she exclaimed: “Thank you! Thank you! Teddy, you’re all fixed up!” The teddy bear responded by saying, “What? I broke?” Professor chuckled softly.

 

            Professor looked at her for a while, and then went back to work. It amazed even him, of all people, that Eve was not human. To a normal eye, she looked human. However, as her creator, Professor knew that her heart was no more than a machine, and the blood flowing in her veins was only oil. Eve was only a robot. She was a new kind of robot, a robot that could think, and act for herself. A successful humanoid robot was hard to achieve. Even Eve had her own problems.  Professor sighed. His good mood was ruined. When Professor created the first artificial human, not everyone agreed with him. Some people believed that it was not right to create humans artificially, but Professor refused to destroy Eve. Therefore, the two sides would bicker and fight with one another, but Professor always managed to keep Eve safe from the world outside.

 

            Time past quickly. Eve was soon a 10 year old, a 12 year old, then before he realized, she was 18. Unfortunately, it seemed as if Eve would never get the chance to celebrate her 19^th birthday. Professor now could no longer protect Eve.

 

            Eve opened her eyes slowly, adjusting to the light. She blinked a couple of times to clear away her foggy vision, and looked around her. Where am I? She thought to herself. It was a good question, one she wished she could answer. Unfortunately, she could not. Eve sat up and surveyed the landscape. She was sitting on a wooden bench by a paved road. Joggers and cyclists whizzed by, their labored breathing visible in the crisp morning air. She looked down to her hands. Her eyebrows creased, her memory searching for a reason to be here. That’s when Eve remembered. The night came flooding back, fresh and new.

 

            “Professor would like to see you.” A butler stood by her door, eyes cast down, bowing. Eve frowned. Professor usually didn’t call for her. If she had any technical glitch, it was she who would go to Professor, in his office. Laboratory tests were always scheduled. She placed the book she was reading face down, got up from her chair, and walked down the hall to Professor’s office.

 

           “Professor, you asked for me?” Eve questioned as she softly closed the door behind her. Professor looked up. “Hmm? Oh Yes.” He smiled. Then he said, “Eve, you have to know that raising you was a very hard task for me.” Eve nodded, thinking, he called me for this? Professor continued. “I’ve never told you this, but after you were created, there was a lot controversy about artificial humans. I wanted to protect you, and managed to keep you alive for 18 years. However, I can do that no longer.” Eve asked: “Why not?” Professor creased his eyebrows together. “The officials finally took action, Eve. If I don’t destroy you within 72 hours, they will.” Professor looked at Eve. He shoved something in her hands, and said, “I’m transporting you to somewhere else, somewhere that can elude them for a while.

            “Hey! Hello…” Eve refocused her eyes to see a boy about her age slowly waving his hands in front of her. He stopped when she looked at him quizzically. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly, “You were spacing out, so I didn’t know if you were all right- yea, sorry.” He cleared his throat, trying to break the awkwardness, and stuck out his hand. “Dillon.” He smiled, as if expecting Eve to shake it. Eve frowned at it until he stuffed his hand back into his pocket, awkwardly clearing his throat again. “Yeah, so what’s your name?” He asked. “Eve.” Eve said in a brisk tone. “Eve. Well, uh, that’s a pretty name.” He smiled. Eve smiled back at him, “She stood up, dusted off her pants, and said “Well, I’m going.” She waved at him, and walked down the dirt path. “Wait!” Dillon called back at her. Eve turned around. He took out a crumpled sheet of paper scribbled something on it, and said, “Call me!” Eve smoothed out the sheet of paper. On it, 10 numbers were hastily written next to a grease stain.

 

                       

           

            It was now around noon. The morning joggers were now gone, replaced by tourists sporting “I love NY” shirts. The skyscrapers around Eve felt tall and intimidating. There were the bars on a cage. She reminded herself: I am free now. She tried to convince herself that she was happy out her, but it didn’t work. It was her first time seeing the real world, and to be honest, it didn’t impress her much. Professor once told her that one of her glitches that he had yet to work out was her contradicting feelings. She would feel hungry, but her system could not digest food. She would feel tired, but she was not programmed to sleep. Every week or so, Professor would give her a drug that reset her programming. She wouldn’t be hungry, thirsty, or tired, and her human side and her robot side would be synchronized. The effects of the drug were starting to wear off now, and Eve was starting to feel hungry. She pressed her stomach, hoping the feeling would go away, when she remembered Professor telling her that she would always have an extra vial with her, just in case. Shaking, Eve removed a vial of translucent liquid from her neck and sighed in relief. Eve decided to save it for later, when she really needed it.

 

            Eve called Dillon from the phone in her inner ear. “Hi, Dillon!” She said. Dillon replied, “Hi, who is this?” Eve answered, “It’s Eve.” “Eve!” Dillon laughed. “I was wondering when you would call!” There was an awkward silence between them, and Dillon finally broke it by saying, “Well, do you want to meet up?” Eve wasn’t sure what to say, so she just muttered, “Ahh…. Okay.” Dillon said, “How about the bench where we first met, in 30 minutes?” Eve agreed, and hung up.

 

            30 minutes later, Eve sat on the bench where she was first exposed to the real world. “Eve!” Eve looked up and smiled. It was Dillon. He sat down next to her and beamed at her. Eve thought, you’re my first friend. You’re the first one to treat me normally. She listened to him talk as the streetlights flickered on. She didn’t say much about herself, but Dillon seemed to understand that she liked to keep her secrets. Instead, he talked about irrelevant things and filled the silence between them until it wasn’t there anymore. When Eve was with him, she felt…human. It was a feeling that she wished she could hold on forever.

 

            The next few days, Dillon showed her around New York. Eve didn’t know why he befriended her, but she felt normal around him, and he was the only bright spot she had in her miserable life. He still didn’t know what she truly was. Eve knew that he would be repulsed if he knew the truth, so she kept it to herself. He never asked where she lived, where she was from, etc. They formed a tentative friendship that seemed to be walking on a tightrope. If Eve made one mistake, one slip about who she really was, and everything would collapse.

 

After Dillon left, Eve walked the empty streets alone. Streetlights lit the way, making everything it shined upon looking bright, warm and loved. The parts it didn’t shine on were left in the cold, dark grasp of the night. A man bumped into her. Eve didn’t get a chance to look at him, because he left without saying a word, pretending like it never happened. However, the mysterious man dropped a small wad of paper. Eve picked it up and was about to tell him he dropped something, but he was already gone. Curious, Eve read the paper’s contents.

 

Eve: it read.

            Let’s not waste any time with introductions. I know who you are, even though you do not know who I am. Any guesses? If you ever want to see your so-called “friend” again, meet me at the bench in Central Park. You know which bench it is, right?

 

            For the first time, Eve knew what it felt like to be cold. Her heart beat ricocheted against her chest and Eve clenched the note in her hand. She took off running, scared for herself and for Dillon.

 

Eve was still in perfect condition when she reached the park because she was a robot. It wasn’t fair that Dillon got hurt because of her. Her hands balled into fists at the thought of how he might be suffering because of her. She marched ahead and reached the bench where Dillon and she first met. Eve looked around, and even under the ghastly yellow light post, nobody was in sight. When the sensors on the back of her head finally detected someone approaching her, it was too late. Eve felt a hand press against her hibernation button. She started screaming, but it was futile as she closed her eyes, unconscious.

 

When Eve regained consciousness, she was laying on the cold, hard ground. It felt like cement. She tried to move, but her hands and ankles were paralyzed, and she couldn’t see a thing and she couldn’t turn on her night vision either. A light flickered on. At first it was so bright Eve had to look through her eyelashes, but soon her eyes adjusted. A silhouette of a man stood in front of Eve. All she could tell about him was that he wore leather shoes. He knelt down, and squatted face to face with her. “Where’s Dillon?” Eve blurted out. The man absently said, “Dillon? Oh, that boy is fine.” Eve couldn’t believe that Dillon was hurting because of her. “Where’s Dillon?” She repeated, with more threat in her voice this time. The man shook his head. “If only you knew.” Eve wanted to cry, but she couldn’t. What if Dillon was being tortured? What if he was dead? The man suddenly interrupted her thoughts. He lifted her up and instructed her to sit in a chair, next to the light.

 

Eve started shaking again. She was tired, and had an uncontrollable headache. She could barely focus on anything, and the man talking to her seemed like a distant dream. It’s all my fault, Eve thought. She tried to focus on the man’s words.

 

 “When the Professor created you 18 years ago, I was mortified. I used to work for Professor, and I admired him greatly, but it was wrong to create an artificial human like you, so I quit. I tried to convince him to destroy you, but he wouldn’t budge. He claimed that you were the epitome of technology. He thought that you were a new page in the book.” The man laughed. “Professor understood that I was out to kill you. He guarded you with such fierce protectiveness. Do you ever wonder why you have never seen the outside world before now? I was never able to get you, but now, 18 years later, here we are. All I need to do is shut you down, and this whole thing will be over.

Eve still didn’t know where Dillon was, so she asked one more time. “Where’s Dillon?” “Here I am!” Someone behind her called.

 

The muscles on Eve are back tensed. She turned around slowly, and Dillon was standing right behind her. For a second Eve couldn’t breathe. “Dillon? Are you okay? What did they do to you?’ The questions rushed out of Eve like a flood. In response, Dillon laughed. “Eve, do you really think I was your friend? Seriously, who would want to be your friend? You’re not even natural.” Each word Dillon said stabbed at Eve’s heart, and Eve felt confusion. She thought that she could trust Dillon, that she could rely on him to be her friend. His betrayal was so sudden, so unprepared that it threw her off. Eve laughed. It was a hollow laugh, a laugh that scared even her. Dillon stopped and watched her laugh. She was laughing hysterically now, like this was just one big stupid joke. Eve laughed until her stomach started cramping and she managed to slow down enough to say, “Dillon, you’re a really good actor, you know? All this time, and I never noticed.” Eve wasn’t laughing anymore. “But, why did you pretend to friend me?” Dillon smiled his same old smile, this time tinged with sadness. “I was supposed to kill you, but I couldn’t, Eve, I couldn’t. You really started to become my friend, and I couldn’t bring myself to shut you down. So, this man had to step in and take my place. I’m sorry, Eve, I’m so sorry.” Dillon was shut up by a glare from the man, but his eyes pleaded Eve to believe him. Eve wanted to believe Dillon. She really did. She wanted to pretend that nothing ever happened, that this was a nonexistent glitch in their friendship, but Eve’s face hardened. “I don’t want to hear it, Dillon. You betrayed me. In the end, you are the inhuman. In the end, Dillon, it turns out I’m the only human here.”

 

            Professor was carrying a girl back to his laboratory. A boy was walking next to him, silently letting his tears fall onto the girl. Even though it was obvious the girl was no longer alive, she still had a content smile on her face, as if she finally realized something important.