女儿的获奖短篇小说。

我们这个小城每年都有短篇小说比赛，分儿童组，少年组，青年组，和成年组。对周围几个城市的学生和成人开放。前年女儿第一次参赛，得了个儿童组第三名。去年没参加，今年暑假，学校里没作业，开学前有一周闲置时间，她就又写了一篇，今年得了个少年组优秀奖。虽然是小比赛，因为每次比赛都完全是她自己拟题，自己构思，自己写的，没有人帮她修改，每个奖项又只有一人得奖，所以我们都很高兴，也很珍惜。

 

今年她写完后，我唠叨几句，让她再读读改改，只有三四人最终获奖，不是很容易。 她却信心十足，告诉我不用了，一定可以得奖的。还让我等着瞧。结果好久都没来电话通知，她失望地说：“看来今年没戏了。”我还劝她：“外面有很多好的小作家，别太失望了。下次再努力吧。”没想到最后还是拿了个奖回来。

 

发奖会就在我们这里的一个漂亮的书店里举行，人不多，不过气份不错，还摆了些点心和饮料。她弟弟照旧进门就直奔吃的。每个获奖者有机会上台讲讲获奖感言。让人印象最深的是成年组第三名的讲话：“我知道没人来这里听第三名的获奖感言。所以我就借这个机会对小作者说几句话。对一个作家来讲，最宝贵的就是你的作品打动了别人。今天你做到了。你的作品至少打动了评委。很多年后，此时此地的情景都会淡掉， 台下的人的面孔，掌声，你都会记不清楚了。可最宝贵的是你有了这个经验，这是许许多多其他作家不曾有的宝贵经验。。。”

我试着把两千三百多字的原文翻译了一下，把我累得半死。

 

这是女儿的作者导言：

 

当我们年幼的时候，我们的脑子里装满了一个问题。 那就是人们通常所指的“假如”问题。假如我会飞呢？假如我是美人鱼呢？当我们长大了，我们中的一些人不再为这些荒唐的问题所困扰，我们集中注意力在那些被认为更重要的问题上。

 

我却从未丢失我的“假如”。这个故事就是在美好的一天，“假如有一个机器人，她看上去，工作起来就像一个真人会怎样？”我仔细想了好多天，然后我决定把这个“假如”再延伸几步，从中发展出一个故事来。

 

我最初的“假如”便成了“假如那个机器人被送去自己生活，交朋友呢？假如有人要追杀她哪？”这样，这个简单的假如就变成了复杂的故事，仅用了每个孩子最擅长的技术：问假如问题。

 

 

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.

 

评委的评语：

这是对一个重要问题简短却有效的探索--什么是做人的真谛

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

 

原文

原文

 

人

 

                            教授调整了一下他的眼镜，看着走进他办公室的人。他微笑着，这是他的又一个新创造物。他放低了他的眼镜。他管她叫伊瓦的创造物蹒跚地走到他跟前。她举起手里的玩具熊给他看。没什么大问题。只是熊身体里的一个螺丝不知怎么松动了。教授拧紧了螺丝，把熊又重新装好， 递给他的创造物。他拍拍她的头，她高兴地叫到：“谢谢！谢谢！熊熊，你修好了！”那个玩具熊回答道：“什么？我坏了？”教授轻声地笑了。    教授看了她好一会儿，然后又回到工作上。连教授自己都感到吃惊，芸芸众生中，伊瓦竟然不是人类。对普通人的眼镜来说，她看上去就是人类。但是作为他的缔造者，教授深知，她的心脏只不过是一部机器，她血管里流的只是油。伊瓦只不过是一个机器人。她是一种新型机器人，一种可以思考，可以以自身意志行为的机器人。成功地研制一个近似人类的机器人是艰难的。即使伊瓦也有她自己的问题。教授他了一口气。他的好心情被破坏了。当教授创造了第一个人工人时，没有人支持他。有些人坚信人类是不应被制造的，但是教授拒绝毁掉伊瓦。就这样双方争斗着，教授却一直将伊瓦安全的保护在尘世之外。

            时间过得飞快，伊瓦很快就10岁了，12岁了，教授不经意间，她已经18岁了。不幸的事，伊瓦似乎无缘为她19岁庆生了。教授无法在保护她了。

            伊瓦慢慢地睁开她的眼睛，适应着光线。她眨了两下，清除掉模糊的视线，环视四周。我在哪儿？她困惑着。她希望自己有答案，但她没有。伊瓦坐起来环视周围景色。她坐在马路边的木制长凳上。长跑和骑自行车的人从旁经过，他们在早上清冷的空气中吐着哈气。她低头看看她的手。她的眉毛皱起来了，她的记忆在搜寻着来到这里的原因。伊瓦记起来了。那个晚上的记忆像洪水一样，鲜活地涌来。

            “教授要见你。”一个门童低眉弯腰地站在她的门口。伊瓦有点困惑。教授一般不会叫她。如果她有什么技术故障， 都是她自己去教授的办公室。测试检查都是提前安排好的。她把正在读的书放下， 从椅子上站起身，向通往教授办公室的走廊走去。

            “教授你找我吗？”伊瓦边问边轻轻地关上背后的门。教授举目。“嗯？哦，对。”他微笑道：“伊瓦，你得了解抚养你对我来说是一件很难的任务。”伊瓦点点头，想，他叫我就为了这个？教授继续说：“我从未告诉过你这些，但你被制造出来后，有很多关于人造人的争议。我想要保护你，我成功地保护你活了18年。但是，我再也无法做到了。”伊瓦问:“为什么？”教授拧紧了双眉：“上面终于采取行动了，伊瓦，如果我不再72小时之内毁掉你，他们就会。”教授看着伊瓦。他往伊瓦手里推着什么，边说:“我把你送到一个地方， 一个他们一时找不到你的地方。”

            “嘿，喂。。。”伊瓦收回视线看到一个和她年龄相仿的男孩儿慢慢地在她眼前挥着手。她困惑地看着他，他停了下来。“对不起，”他腼腆地说道：“你在发呆，我不知道你怎么了？对不起。”他清清喉咙，试图打破窘境，并伸出手。“狄龙。”他微笑着，好似期待着伊瓦来握他的手。伊瓦对着那手皱着眉，他还是把手收回到衣兜里，再次窘迫地清清喉咙。“对了，你叫什么名字?” 他问。“伊瓦。”伊瓦轻快的说。“伊瓦，啊，这名字镇好听。”他微笑着。伊瓦也对他笑笑，“她站起来，拍拍裤子上的灰，说：“好了，我该走了。”她朝他挥挥手，朝着土路走去。“等等！”狄龙从她后面叫到。伊瓦转过身。他取出一张皱纸在上面涂写了些字，说：“给我打电话!” 伊瓦展平那张纸，上面10个数字凌乱地写在一片油渍边上。                       

            快到中午了，晨跑的人都散了，取而代之的是游客，穿着“我爱纽约”的衫子。周围的高楼大厦让伊瓦觉得恐惧。好像自己被关在带栅栏的笼子里。她提醒着自己：我现在是自由的。她试图说服自己，她是快乐的，可没有成功。这是她第一次看到真正的世界，坦白讲，给她的印象不怎么样。教授曾告诉过她，她有一个尚待修复的缺陷，那就是她有矛盾的感觉。她会觉得饿，但她的系统不能消化食物。她会觉得累，但她的程序不需要睡眠。大概每一周，教授就会给她一种药让她的程序重置。她就不再觉得饿，渴，或累，她的人性的一边和她的机器人的一面就会同步。药物的效果现在开始减退。伊瓦开始觉得饿。她按按她的胃，希望那种感觉消失，这时候她记起教授曾叮嘱她要一直多带一瓶药以防万一。伊瓦为之一振，她从自己脖子上拿下一瓶药液，放松地叹了一口气。伊瓦决定留着以后在自己最需要的时候再用。

            伊瓦用她放在内耳里的电话挂通了狄龙。“嘿，狄龙！”她说。狄龙回到：“嗨，是谁呀？”伊瓦说：“我是伊瓦。”“伊瓦！”狄龙笑了。“我正在想你什么时候才会打电话给我呢!” 他们之间一阵尴尬的沉默，狄龙最终打破了沉默说：“好啊，你相见面吗？”伊瓦不知道要说什么，她小咕哝说：“呵，好啊。”狄龙说：“30十分钟后，在我们第一次见面的长凳前见面怎么样？”伊瓦同意，挂断了电话。

            30分钟后，伊瓦坐在他们初次见面的长凳上，那是她第一次面对世界的地方。“伊瓦！”伊瓦微笑着抬头。是狄龙。他在她旁边坐下盯着她看。伊瓦想，你是我第一个朋友。你是第一个像正常人一样对待我的人。她一直听他讲话，听到街灯亮起来。她没说什么自己的情况，但是狄龙好像明白她想保住自己的秘密。他只是说些不相关的事情来填补寂静，直到寂静完全消失。当伊瓦和他在一起的时候，她觉得是个。。。人。那是一种永远的感觉。

            接下来的几天，狄龙给她看了纽约。伊瓦不知道他为什么要和自己交朋友，但是她觉得和他在一起很平常的感觉， 他是她不幸生活中唯一的亮点。他还不知道真实的她。伊瓦知道一旦他知道了真相，狄龙就会退缩了，所以她要严守这个秘密。狄龙从没问起过她住哪儿，从哪里来等等。他们只讲短暂的友情好像在走钢丝。如果伊瓦犯一个错， 她泄漏一点有关自己的真实身份，所有的一切都会崩溃。

            狄龙离开后，伊瓦自己走在空当的街上，街灯照下来，照到的地方都显得明亮，温暖，可爱。没照到的地方，却留在冰冷，黑暗的夜晚的怀抱里。一个男人撞上她。没等伊瓦有机会看到他，他就一言不发地离开了，装作什么都没有发生一样。但是，神秘的男人留下一个小纸团。伊瓦捡起来想要告诉他他掉东西了，但是他已经消失了。伊瓦好奇地读着纸上的内容。

伊瓦读到。

            我们别浪费时间自我介绍了。我知道你是谁，即便你不知道我是谁。想猜猜吗？如果你还想见到你所谓的“朋友”， 到中央公园的凳子前见我。你一定知道哪个凳子吧？

            伊瓦第一次知道什么是冷的感觉。她的心脏在胸口猛烈地跳动。伊瓦手里握紧了那个纸条。她开始狂奔，为自己也为狄龙感到恐惧。

            伊瓦跑到公园丝毫无损，因为她是个机器人。狄龙因为她而受到伤害是不公平的。她想到他可能因为自己而受到的牵连，伊瓦的手攥成了拳头。她走到他和狄龙初次相会的凳子前。 伊瓦向四周望去，即使在鬼火般的黄色路灯下，也人影皆无。她脑后的感应器终于发觉到有人朝她靠近时已经太晚了。伊瓦感到一只手按住她的休眠钮。她开始叫喊但没等发出声音就失去了知觉，闭上了眼睛。

        伊瓦再次清醒时，她躺在又硬又冷的地上。感觉像是水泥。她想动一动，但她的手和脚都无法反应，她什么也看不到，也不能启动夜视系统。一盏灯闪着亮起来。起初太亮了，伊瓦要从睫毛的缝隙看过去，不久她的眼睛适应了。一个男人的轮廓树立在伊瓦面前。她所能分辨的只有他穿的皮鞋。他跪下来，脸凑近伊瓦的脸。“狄龙在哪里？”伊瓦脱口而出。那个男人不经意的说：“狄龙？哦，那小子没事儿。”伊瓦还是无法相信狄龙因为自己而受伤害。“狄龙在哪儿？”她又问， 这次她的声音里带着更多的威胁。那个男人摇摇头说：“你非想知道么？”伊瓦想哭，她却不能。狄龙会不会受折磨？他会不会死掉了？那个男人突然打断了她的思绪。他将她抬起，让她坐在灯边的一把椅子上。

伊瓦又开始发抖。 她觉得好累，控制不住的头疼。她对任何东西都无法专注，那个讲话的男人像是在遥远的梦里。都怪我，伊瓦想。 她努力想听那人讲的话。

“当教授18年前创造你时，我感到耻辱。我曾为教授工作，我非常仰慕他。但是创造像你一样的人工人是错误的。我不干了。我试图说服他毁掉你，但他听不进去。他声称你是科技的缩影。他认为你是书中新的一页。那人笑道：“教授知道我想杀了你。他对你保护有加。你是否想过为什么你从前都没有看过外面的世界？我不曾逮到你， 18年了，终于等到了。我只要把你关闭，一切就都结束了。”

伊瓦还是不知道狄龙在哪儿，她又问一遍。“狄龙在哪儿？”“我在这儿！”有人在她背后叫道。

伊瓦背后的肌肉紧张了。她慢慢转身， 狄龙就站在她后面。有一秒钟，伊瓦不能呼吸。“狄龙，你还好吗？他们有没有对你怎样？”伊瓦的问题向洪水一样倾泻而出。狄龙以笑回报。“伊瓦，你真的以为我是你的朋友吗？说真的，谁会想当你的朋友？你都不是自然的。”狄龙讲的每个字都扎在伊瓦的心上， 伊瓦感到困惑。她以为自己可以相信狄龙，她可以依靠他这个朋友。他的出卖是这样突然，让人无法防备，伊瓦笑了，那笑声真可怕，连她自己都被吓到了。狄龙停下来看她笑。她歇斯底里地笑着，好像这是个天大的笑话。伊瓦笑到她的胃开始痛，她才慢下来说：“狄龙，你真是个好演员，你知道吗？这么长时间我都没意识到。”伊瓦不再笑了。“但是为什么你要装作我的朋友？”狄龙面带他曾有的微笑，这次带着伤感色彩。“我本来是要杀掉你的，但是我不能，伊瓦，我不能。你真的开始成为我的朋友，我不能让我自己把你消除。所以这个人才介入，取代我。对不起伊瓦，我真的对不起。”狄龙被那个男人的眼色制止住，但他的眼睛在请求伊瓦相信他， 伊瓦想要相信他，她真的想。她想假装什么都没发生过，这些友谊中的问题都不存在， 她伊瓦的脸色凝重了。“我不想听，狄龙。你出卖我。最终，你不是人类。 最终，我是这里唯一的人类。”

教授扛着一个女孩儿回到他的实验室。 一个男孩儿走在他身边，静静地让他的眼泪流在女孩儿的身上。那个女孩儿显而易见没有了生命，她的脸上却带着满足的微笑，好像她终于意识到一件重要的事。

           

               

 

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.