Vanilla Dusk ✓

Half Part 4

'What're you doing here?' snarled Emir, stomping towards the android with clenched fists. He snatched the piece of cloth from him and draped it over the painting.

'You're a brilliant painter, Emir,' commented the android.

'I told you to leave this room alone,' growled Emir. 'Out, get out!'

'The boy in the portrait,' said the android calmly. 'Is that me?'

'It's not you,' cried Emir.

He shoved the android so hard that he tumbled backwards and fell on the ground.

'You can never be him, so stop mimicking him!'

Emir trod out of the storage room and locked himself in the study. He nodded off at some point and was awakened by a knock at dusk. Dinner was fried rice with prawns and vegetable soup. Emir sighed at the dish. However hard he tried not to relate to the food, Shane's image lingered in his head. Even the portions of chopped onions, green sprouts and soy sauce were exactly the same.

'Is there a problem?' asked the android, seeing that Emir hadn't picked up his chopsticks.

'No.' Emir shook his head and started eating. It was awkward to eat alone, but he wolfed down everything on the plate.

'I apologise for barging into your storage room this afternoon,' said the android. 'I have forgotten that it's not to be entered. I was just cleaning the place.'

Emir doubted it. Androids wouldn't mix up any commands unless of course, Shane 2.0's curiosity had propelled him to defy Emir's order or he simply had developed his own mind.

'Don't worry about it,' said Emir. 'I sort of overreacted.'

'Are you a painter?'

'I was.'

'I collected a letter from the mailbox this afternoon.'

Shane 2.0 handed Emir an envelope. Emir skimmed the front cover but did not open it. It was a letter from the Fine Art Studio, probably inviting him to submit a collection of his recent works or to participate in a local contest.

'Dump it,' ordered Emir. 'And if you see any other letters from this organisation, throw them all to the bin.'

The android nodded and tossed the still sealed envelope into the bin.

'May I know why though?'

'You ask too many questions,' said Emir, guzzling down the soup. 'I don't paint anymore.'

'I've been told that painting is a human pastime,' said Shane 2.0. 'We androids aren't allowed to engage in any recreational activities associated with arts and music. They say we can't paint or sing or act because we have no feelings. And I so admire those who paint well.'

'Then do you know why I can't paint anymore?'

The android didn't respond.

'I don't feel anymore,' said Emir, tapping the left side of his chest. 'It's numb here.'

Emir went back to the storage room and uncovered the portrait. Shane's brown orbs stared back at him lifelessly. He traced the outline of his jaw with his fingers and the vague sketches of his dark curls. He was wearing a frilly white shirt in the portrait, sitting upright with a faded smile, looking just as deadly exquisite as Dorian Gray. Behind him was an explosion of vivid colours. Paints were sprayed, splashed and sprinkled in various ways to those coiling dotted sparks. They dribbled down the canvas in a spiral manner, zooming and bursting behind that gorgeous face. The fireworks were half-finished. The right side was partially empty and there was a random streak of scarlet. Emir bit his bottom lip and ran his index finger through the blood stain, shutting his eyes temporarily to feel the essence of the boy inside the portrait as his wheezes and coughs resonated in his ears. He opened his eyes again and the smile remained. He lifted the canvas off the stand and held it close to his chest. He stayed like this for a few more minutes before he repositioned the canvas on the stand, brushed away some dust and re-veiled the portrait.

When he was back to his bedroom, Shane 2.0 was standing at the door with a cup of hot chocolate.

'I've been told that you can't sleep without it.'

Emir took the cup from the android.

'Thanks.'

'Night, Emir,' whispered the android as he stepped forward and pecked at Emir's forehead.

Emir stiffened, swallowing his urge to stroke the android's hair as his voice stirred a ting of warmth in his heart. He missed the tenderness of those lips.

He couldn't sleep that night.

His mind was full of Shane – everything about him.