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Often, my memory trails back to when I was under 10 years of age, when I couldn't reach counters, when my shoes didn't have laces, my hair was short and blonde and there were gaps in my gums. My uncle, excited, would visit my home every Saturday, echoes of nagging and cries from him towards my mother, pleading for her permission to take me with him, I would run into my mother's arms and beg at the same time, my cries piercing her ears and peer pressuring her into agreeing. In a matter of hours I'd be holding onto an iron railing, the cloudy sky and cold wind etching into my mind, my uncle was more than a simple fisherman, he'd use nets to catch specific fish for clients, yes, but his biggest profits came from recovering objects underwater. His boat, which he maintained himself, had all kinds of machinery to retrieve objects that had sunk deep under the ocean, he'd often show me how to operate them to the point it felt as natural as breathing, a passion growing in me.
As my uncle grew old, he worked less and less, his body ached, his mind yelled, he wasn't ill in his head, but the sea could make anyone crazy, the swaying of a boat, the push of the strong waves and the never ending fog that seemingly swallowed any boat that dared venture out.
As I grew my hair and age, my love for ships followed, settling to take the exact same job my uncle filled in, following his steps. I started taking small jobs at first, fixing his old ship back to life, catching common fish, taking tourists around and offering scuba divers assistance, opening up for scientific and private explorations online.
Sitting down in my office's chair, I clicked around my screen, reading the e mail I had received, at far as I understood, it was one of those rich clients that wanted a "local expert" to retrieve an object in a location further away than what I was used to, it detailed how they'd be waiting at the port at around midday, promising a big pay for it; I wasn't disclosed what I had to retrieve specifically, just the exact spot. I reluctantly accepted, if this was some kind of trick, at most I'd just find myself wasting some of my time.
I got up at 6 in the morning, slipped into my overalls, well worn boots, combed my long hair back and fashioned it into a ponytail, my uncle's jacket hugging me, keeping my body warm.
The revving of the engine greeted me how a dog would, waiting to play fetch with today's goal as I started my journey. It took a few hours, which I didn't mind, I had a clock next to the boat's console, it meant nothing to me, the waves kept me company, told me stories, the smell of algae and humid air helped me stay awake from the rocking of the ship, acting as a cradle.
My map and compass finally marked the general area, I anchored and ran to the right deck, powering on a crane, the controls, freshly cleaned, smoothly followed my movements as I retrieved what seemed to be a container of sorts, after taking it out of the water and placing it on board, I gauged it'd be about the size of two people in length, covered in seaweed and barnacles, I scraped the ones hanging onto a lock off with a knife, the rust had made the chains weaker, letting the door swing wide open the moment I added any kind of pressure.
Inside was what seemed like a humanoid figure in a fetal position, about the size of an adult, I walked into the decayed container and approached the shape.
I tapped on it, feeling a cold, metallic texture meet my finger tips, confused, I carefully lift it up and carried it all the way into an empty cabin, placing it on the bed. I ran my fingers around it, understanding what it was a bit better, feeling a switch around the side of its... "head"? I pressed it, a whirl and a beep followed.
"Rebooting, 04%"
I sighed.
I turned the engine on and circled back, my mind wandered around my thoughts for a while, nothing unusual, as much as I found the sea exciting, it also helped me have time to think for myself, without the busy sounds from the city or the beach, I wondered about the tin body I had fished out, it gave a... feminine aura, granted, it wasn't some kind of sexual image, no tiny waist, no big hips... I had no interest in such things, I shook my head, asking myself why I was attempting to make those connections...But something about it felt as if it was meant to be a stand in for someone, perhaps a late wife? Friend? I could ask my client, if they didn't send someone to pick that "thing" up, I shrugged.
Thankfully for me, the sea was calm enough that day that my journey back to shore was easier than I could ever hope, I shut the engine off again and walked to the docks, I sat down in a bench nearby, and waited. An hour passed, two, three, four, I got up and walked back to my house, conveniently located right by the docks, I glanced at my precious ship, wondering what I could do with the unclaimed cargo inside, for the moment I had one thing in my mind: rest.
My slumber was interrupted by a harsh noise, as if someone scraped two knifes together, I jolted off bed fearing some dumb kid sneaked into my home, hoping to snag something. I followed the noise to my kitchen, being greeted by the culprit, already familiar to my eyes.
The metallic body I had picked up yesterday stood motionless in front of my fridge, almost as if it was staring into it (not like I could tell, the damn thing didn't have eyes for all I knew) I pushed it slightly with my hand, expecting it to flop over, it took a step back and "stared" back at me, I waved my hand, its head followed the motion, I asked if it wanted anything, all I got in response was an artificial nod.
I evaluated my options, I had a mute silver human in my home, it can't talk yet it could understand me, the client hadn't replied to the text messages I had later sent about not showing up the day before, I stared back into it. I reached for it's switch, hoping I could turn it off, it pressed its frame against my hand, almost like a newborn animal seeking for pets; awkwardly I rubbed my hand up and down the plastic that covered the corners of the screen, a light vibration came from its guts, my facial expression went from confused to slightly concerned, I found it somewhat adorable that something near my own size could act like this and it had been a long time since I had anyone in my home, so, I kept her.
For a few days she just ran around the house inspecting things, picking up books and plants off my shelves and studying them, caressing them, I enjoyed observing her behavior, often bringing me objects and expecting me to explain them to her, read books about sea monsters, some of my diaries about my travels and manuals for the machinery I used, it seemed to learn quite quickly, I'd go out and fetch a book or two from the library in a village nearby the beach, cooking books, classic novels, dictionaries, I'd show her some of my favorite meals (most had shrimp and rice, I am a simple person after all), practice the little I spoke of languages I heard from clients and tourists, I'd even taught her how to play card games, somehow managing to beat me. Most days she'd end up laying her cold head on my lap, expecting me to caress her, it was strange, for sure, it felt as if I had let a microwave become a pet of sorts, but I didn't mind, after all I didn't seem too fond of living creatures, not enough time to chat with someone, money for a helper or energy for an animal.
I ended up letting her hop into the second closest thing to a companion I had, my ship purred like a gentle beast, it felt nice to share it with someone that hadn't offered money for it, she'd run around the front deck, the water splashing against us sliding off her screen, her curious approaches at the rare bird that would rest on board (always failing, of course, the beeps and shifting sounds of metal would scare any animal), I loved observing her, I grew a habit of spending a bit more of my pay than usual every month, poking into shops for dresses and clothes for her, the workers asking me if I had finally met someone, everyone in that forsaken town was nosey and loved gossiping, so I always faked a cheeky smile and said something along the lines of "maybe, perhaps I share my nets with some lucky lady", hiding the pain from my gut turning on itself from the sickening idea of spending one more second talking about hypotheticals.
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Just like any other day, I had shipped off for another retrieval, I had made sure to meet the client this time and got part of the payment beforehand. The location was way further away from land than I was used to, but the pay and the fact that it was an urgent request convinced me, the client was a soft speaking man that told me about a shipwreck around that area, it seemed like he might've lost someone there, wanted to retrieve some luggage, I offered my condolences (though I never directly asked, the heaviness in his words gave me a good idea of what he was going through), assured him that I'd dive in myself and get everything I could.
Getting there, while it took time, was quite easy, my company helped me pass the time, she would keep me company behind the console, tracing her plastic fingertips around the seams of her sundress, sometimes managing to pick some radio signals and playing music off her speakers located on the back of her head. My client's voice resonated in my mind, was he missing his wife? Would he perhaps feel more completed if someone kept him company? I glanced at her, I bit my lip at the thought of someone else knowing about her, I felt some guilt by keeping someone that wasn't mine but... I suppose I couldn't help it, it felt as if she was an extension of my body, as if she was me, copying my movement and my knowledge, a reflection of my own self.
Granted, the term "calm before the storm" has to come from somewhere and, I don't know exactly how, but perhaps it was the rush I took for this job, or my mind being somewhere else, but what once was a clear sky slowly frowned over me, the sun hiding, the waves raging, the shine in my windows disappeared, only for droplets of rain to crash into them, one, two, four, sixteen, a hundred forty, their speed picking up faster than I could even count, I ran outside, my steps stopped dead in their tracks as a wave twice the size of my humble ship rose right in front of my very own eyes, every inch it rose, my heart sank, a shadow, no, a darkness, briefly covered most of the boat as it slammed against my dear water dog, I passed out mere half seconds after feeling the cold, salty saliva of the ocean slap my face.
Perhaps it was hours, or days I drifted in and out of slumber, brief flashes of images were painted by my eyes, the cloudy sky I had last seen, the hallways next to the bedrooms in the cabins, a bed, a grey artificial hand rubbing my chin.
Many days passed as I stayed in bed, the ship had not been moving, mostly floating from what i could tell from the window, I dragged my weak legs out of bed and stumbled around the same hallways I had been dragged around a month before, was it two months? I couldn't tell, my stomach cried and whined for something, but I knew I didn't have any rations, I almost crawled upstairs and into the console room, the water had damaged most of the terminals and radios, my hands scraped against the wet floor, puddles of water damped my knees and sleeves. And then I saw her.
I coughed and cried a faint noise, enough for her to turn around from the railing and to come aid me, her thin arms lifted me up from my armpits, helping me sit on a chair, my weak body sending me stabs of pain for every muscle I tried to move, I gazed out the panels, the blinding sun observed me, like another pitiful creature, through a curtain of clouds, the waves insulted me with mocking comments, the smell of busted machinery and smoke invaded my nostrils, almost suffocating me, the once comforting cradling from the ship had turned into a restless shake, unable to lay to rest, unable to stay awake.
I glanced at her, my eyelids almost closing by themselves, I met my own reflection, a husk of what I once was, I took a deep breath as my lungs complained, my right hand caressed the top of her head. My left hand wandered into my breast pocket, pulling out the same switch blade I used to free her a long time ago.
"You may have never been named, or born with flesh." I whispered, I rolled up my sleeve.
"You may have never breathed in the salty air that surrounds us, or felt a drop of water run down your body" I positioned the blade.
"But you have learned from me, you have been the closest you could be to a human being, to a living being, and perhaps, even a better being than I could ever be." I bit my lip.
"And for this, as my last wish, I wish for you to have my blood, to shower in it, to try and feel it, to be human, to be better than me, my last gift to you is not knowledge or stories, but the gift of being baptised." A groan let out my mouth as her hands gripped my forearm, pleading me to stop.
I let out a quiet shush, smiling as the last image in my mind is that beautiful, bright screen being tainted red, my fingers dragging themselves down the river of my gift, pleased.
