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He’s lying in his bed staring at the ceiling. Kay is snoring by his side, filling the silence with not very soft noises. He would have liked Mia.
He watched the news on the tv.
It was almost midnight when Ed came back for work.
The house was empty, lifeless. He didn’t have time or the will to decorate, and it’s not like he had anyone to impress. He wasn’t on his own though, he took a stray dog home, the one he used to feed before going to work; at least, someone waits for him at the end of the day.
If Mia were there things would be different.
He dreams of turning back time and stop himself from betraying her. They could have been good together, they could have worked and travelled and lived and everything in between. Why he didn’t follow his heart for once? Why he was so afraid of change? Why he had to listen to his friend’s words?
I was desperate and had no choice, he says to comfort himself. Mia was a machine, a walking computer, a program that happened to be in love with him. Was it love? Was it a simulation of love? Did she feel it for real?
If he could only have accepted her…
Seeing Mia on the screen was refreshing. He felt relief that she was still alive, and couldn’t help but wonder what she did all this time. He find himself thinking about the synth day by day; maybe it was guilt, maybe his feelings were raising again… The thing was he needed to see her face to face.
After that he won’t deny he deserved that punch, and that making love with her felt right. How could he give up that? How he could fix it? What were his chances? Because since the moment Mia put her hand around his throat, he knew she would never forgive him.
But he had to try.
After the funeral, the people made an altar in front of the Dryden Commission. Ed saw the photos on the internet and he was there a week later. There were only plastic flowers, a photo of Mia and letters and children's drawings. He didn’t say anything because he wasn’t sure there was a way Mia could hear him, did conscious synths have souls or a spirit?
An old lady greeted him as she arrived.
“I didn’t like synthetics, for a woman of my age it was hard to accept a machine could take care of me instead of my own family, but I learnt to live with my Rose. They took her away when she woke up. And this one…” She sighed, looking at Mia’s picture. “I saw her on the TV, it was awful, but she taught us a great lesson.”
“She was very brave. She deserved better.”
“Indeed, son, indeed.”
“Did you love her? Rose?”
“With time, yes. She was like a daughter.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“It’s the cycle of life. I’ll meet her soon.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“It makes life more bearable.”
There he was, alone in his room, imagining that Mia was by his side, maybe cuddling because she liked proximity. He should have stayed in the city, giving her support, being there just in case, even if he was out of her life.
He hits the pillow with his head because things could have been different.