George
forced on a brighter expression. "It was exciting." When he
was not in fear of his life.
Papa
picked up the damaged coat that George had worn during his adventure
from the hook next to the entrance. He held it up. Most of the front
had been shot off. The sleeves had holes on them. "Hah, looks
like you had a good taste of fun too. Better not show this to..."-
he turned the coat around and saw the logo at the back -"My
coat!"
George
glanced up at his father. Why was Papa upset about an old coat?
"My
precious coat," Papa whispered.
"Sorry,"
George said, "Found it in storage. Didn't think you still needed
it."
"If
Mama sees this..." Papa rolled up the coat and glanced back at
the entrance. "I've got to get rid of this." He turned back
to his son. "You've work tomorrow. Get some sleep." Then he
spun on a foot towards the door.
"Okay.
Almost got this." George returned to his work. More than likely
Papa was going to ask lots of questions about his adventure the next
day. Maybe he would find out more about the coat.
Papa
grunted and left.
A little
later, George had the motor working with power supplied from the
transformer. The door of the box slid open. His first guess at the
correct amount of power had been right. Maybe he would get lucky with
the content too.
He took
out the only item in the box. It was a strange symbol smaller than
his palm. It was made of a blue glossy opaque stone, a material he
was not familiar with. He was not familiar with the shape. It did not
look like any creature or object he knew of. It did not appear to be
randomly designed either. Maybe it was a symbol in some long
forgotten language.
He held
the symbol up to Tillie. "What do you think?"
Tillie
merely stared at the object with its single camera-eye. It had not
been programmed to offer opinions either. But it definitely did not
identify the symbol as a tool to be returned.
Still,
the symbol looked pretty and mysterious, a reminder of the hidden
secrets of the wastes.
George
packed the transformer. "Put that back," he told the robot.
Tillie
picked up the boxy object with both arms. It rode a rail down the
side of the workbench and went to replace the piece of equipment in
the cupboard.
George
cut a length of black cord and looped it through one of the holes at
the edge of the blue stone. He tied the stone around his neck. Then
he examined his reflection on a small mirror. The accessory looked
good on him. Yes, it was the perfect reminder of his first trip to
the wastes.
After
checking that Tillie had returned all the tools, George left the
little robot in its recharge socket. Then he shut off the lights and
went to bed.
He
should probably get a proper chain for his new necklace later.
The
night's dream would be filled with thoughts of his adventure,
reliving again the excitement and savoring the experience. Perhaps he
would visit the wasteland again some day.
***
No comments:
Post a Comment