CML - Custom Made Lover [Slow Updates]

CML - Custom Made Lover, Chapter 3

A thin ray of sunlight shone through the small gap between the heavy curtains of Caleb's bedroom. He didn't notice it at first having grown accustomed to sleeping on his side, facing the bedroom door instead of the window on the side opposite. During his career he had done a few studies on the effect light had on the workings of the human brain; test subjects awoke faster if light was slowly introduced as their brains perceived the increasing brightness as the start of a new day. Thousands of years of using artificial light sources in and around the home had done nothing to change that.

He cracked an eye open and immediately noticed the line of sun light on the wall in front of him; force of professional habit made him note he had awoken due to the darkness in his room receding. When his brain had woken up more fully he was reminded of the day's upcoming events. Excitedly he propped himself up on an elbow to check his clock; he saw that he still had a solid hour before the Rejuvenation treatment. Happy that time had not stopped progressing steadily in his mental absence he stretched and yawned lazily before tossing the sheets back and sitting up. Feet automatically sought, found and donned the pair of warm slippers that sat beside the bed. Getting up with a sigh Caleb made his way in to the bathroom.

The shower in his apartment was a recent model; it had been replaced only six months earlier, as had all the showers in Living Unit B. Where it used to only offer warm water splashing down on the user from above it now had an extra option which was the Light treatment. The Light treatment, as the repairman had explained upon installing the unit, literally showered the person in light for a period of about ten seconds. This was no ordinary light, oh no; it killed germs and removed dirt and grime, making it the perfect quick shower option for people who couldn't spend the ten to fifteen minutes taking a regular shower. Caleb had been very curious in this advancement in bathing and so had tried it out the following morning; it had been the one and only time he had used this new feature. Even though he was certain his body was absolutely clean it just didn't feel right. He had spent that entire day feeling itchy and dry.

A few weeks after the installation a notice had been spread to all inhabitants of the Living Unit advising them to apply a moisturizing cream after the Light Shower's use. It didn't say anything about how they had come up with this suggestion but Caleb figured people who had used it and had a similar experience as himself had complained enough for the company to put out the missive.

Today, like all days since then, he would use the normal, old fashioned water option to clean himself with. The water ran nice and hot and Caleb felt the need to do some extra vigorous scrubbing, just in case this improved his skin during and after the treatment. He wondered if he ought to apply some cream afterward thinking that the different chemicals in said cream might mess with the proceedings. He decided to look it up before heading out and holding off on any urges to rub anything on his skin until he was absolutely certain it couldn't hurt.

Stepping out of the shower cabin he grabbed a soft towel and dried himself off thoroughly. As per usual he headed over to the water basin to brush his teeth and comb his hair. He reached for his toothbrush, caught sight of his hand's reflection in the mirror, then looked up to study himself; he had seen this face many times. It had gotten gradually older with time and it had alarmed him exactly how gradually that had happened. It didn't seem like such a long time ago when he had looked in this exact same mirror and seen a strapping young lad in his mid twenties; where had he gone?

He certainly didn't feel as old as he looked right now. For a brief moment he wondered about all of the old people he had known when he was young; they were all gone now, but had they felt the same way when they had been his age? He thought about all the people whom he had known growing up and since then; some of the older ones were still around such as his mother. Most others, including his father, had long since fallen by the wayside. They either couldn't afford the Rejuvenation treatment or didn't care to use it. Was Caleb vain or selfish in wanting to be young again and actually going ahead and making this happen? Was he postponing the inevitable and possibly torturing himself in making himself go through aging and losing his youth a second time?