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“Kyle—please open your door.”
Luna was met with complete silence as she stood outside the boy’s door. As soon as she had been introduced to him he had yelled at Doctor Klim and went straight to his room to hide. She’d immediately gone to go see if she was capable of coaxing him out to no response so far. It seemed a tad rash to outright reject her simply because she was a GAULEM. At first Kyle even looked excited to see her standing next to the Doctor, but his face fell as soon as her three digit serial number was announced. Was she not what he had wanted? A mother to care for him? Apparently not, since he still refused to open the door despite her much knocking and asking.
After a while, she stopped knocking and calling out to him, simply standing outside the door and waiting. Hours passed, and she continued to stand and wait. He never emerged. Soon it became time for dinner, and she left to get his meal, only smiling when the Doctor asked how Kyle was doing. How could she tell him that she failed to speak to Kyle at all in these past few hours? Carrying the tray of food back to Kyle’s room, she balanced it on one hand and knocked.
“Kyle, please come eat dinner.”
There was no response. Giving a sad sigh, Luna placed the tray on the floor. “Kyle, I’ve set the food on the floor. Please come and get it when you feel the need to eat.” She then walked away from the door, knowing he wouldn’t emerge if she continued to stand there. As she left, she heard the door open and then shut again. There was no need for her to go back, and there was no use for her if Kyle wouldn’t accept her. What was she to do? Would the Doctor deactivate her since she was incapable of performing her created duty?
Her face drooping in sadness, she made her way back to the laboratory where Doctor Klim was working. Or at least should have been. When she arrived, his head was laid on the desk and his shoulders rose and fell as he slept. Should she wake him? Better if she didn’t, he would not get much sleep due to work and what little sleep he did get was needed. Instead, she stood near him and watched over him, waiting until he woke up to explain that she had failed.
It was not long before she heard a noise behind her. Footsteps. Small, metallic footsteps. Turning around, she was faced with Kyle, tray in hand.
“K-Kyle! The Doctor is sleeping right now, but if all you need is to return the tray I may take care of it.”
He didn’t say anything and just reached his arms out to hand her the tray. Luna accepted the tray and watched Kyle’s puffy eyes stare at the Doctor before he turned and rushed out of the room. Her eyes fell and she headed to the pantry to leave the tray there. When she headed back to the laboratory, Doctor Klim was standing and shuffling his notes together, looking as though he was preparing to head back to his own quarters. She just stood by the door silently watching, and when he turned to look at her, she remained silent but averted her gaze to the floor.
“Why are you not with Kyle?”
“He…insists on staying by himself. He does not wish to interact with me at all.” Her voice was sad as she responded, eyes fixed on the ground. He didn’t respond and simply walked past her to leave, telling her to try again tomorrow before exiting entirely.
And that is exactly what she did. All night she stood outside of Kyle’s door, waiting for him to emerge. When he did, he held an expression of surprise to see her out there, and moved to shut the door again, but Luna quickly took hold of it to stop him from doing so.
“Kyle, please, just—“
“Go away!” he said, his face torn between anger and sadness. “You’re not real! You’re nowhere near being human or caring for someone!”
“Kyle—“
“You’re just a bunch of metal!”
Luna’s hold on the door dropped and Kyle slammed the door shut. Her face fell and whatever was a substitute of a heart that she had fell as well. It was true, she was just a bunch of metal posing as a human to carry out orders given to her, and if she was incapable of completing those orders she was to be dismantled. Her voice dropped to a whisper as she spoke a final time.
“I—… G-goodbye Kyle, I’m sorry I was not what you wanted.”
She turned to step away from the door, making her way to the laboratory, where she knew that as soon as he heard she had failed, Doctor Klim would dismantle her. Her feet were heavy as she moved, eyes never leaving the floor. This was the fate she was destined for from the start, after all. There was no way to change Kyle’s mind.
It was only natural for her to be disposed of.