Chapter 3
Liam probably thought I was still causing him trouble, even in death. His expression was full of annoyance. “Eleanor Vance is dead. Just throw the package wherever.”
The delivery driver looked awkward, speaking with difficulty. “Sir, are you her family? Would you mind signing for it? It’s something very valuable.”
Leo, hearing the commotion at the door, peeked out curiously. “Dad, what is it? I wanna see!”
Liam finally signed for the package. It was a large box, about five feet tall, and surprisingly heavy. Leo eagerly urged Liam to open it, impatient to see what was inside.
Once opened, it revealed a sleek, silver-gray robot.
“Dad, isn’t this one of those broken scraps of metal Mom used to work on? She never let me touch them.” Leo poked around curiously.
Even Liam looked bewildered, likely wondering who sent it.
“Dad, I wanna play! How do you turn this robot on?”
Leo’s voice snapped Liam back to reality. He looked at the instruction manual and powered on the robot.
“Please enter the operating password,” a cold, mechanical voice announced.
“Dad, why does this robot need a password? I wanna play, I wanna play! Come on, think of the password!”
Liam’s face darkened, but he continued to try. “March 13, 1992.” That was my birthday. It was surprising he even remembered. But the expected “password correct” didn’t sound.
Next, he tried Leo’s birthday, his own birthday, and our wedding anniversary. All were wrong.
Liam’s face was grim. He kicked the robot to the side. Leo, startled, began to cry. Liam, however, wasn’t in the mood to comfort him.
He called Mrs. Miller, the junk collector. When Mrs. Miller arrived, he had already gathered my old belongings, ready for them to be taken away.
She first carried off my clothes, then my books, then my miscellaneous items. Every trace of my existence was slowly being erased.
As she left, she glanced at the robot lying on the floor, but Liam called out, telling her to take that too.
After Mrs. Miller left, Leo picked up a small notebook from the floor and handed it to Liam. “Dad, you dropped a notebook.” Liam was about to take it and throw it away, but for some reason, he hesitated, a strange impulse making him open it.
[July 14: Today I’m getting married. We’re broke, but I believe in him, and I believe in myself. We’ll have a good life.]
[December 22: Research is going well. New breakthrough. If all goes as planned, it’ll be in production within five years. One step closer to my dream.]