Rainbow Shorts ( my LGBT Short Story Collection)

Speechless

Author's Note - Written for Rae Kitano's LGBT Short Story Prompts Number #8 -

Speechless. One of your characters does not, cannot or will not speak. Why? Only you as the writer knows. Share with us the story about your speechless character. Does he or she had a serious reason for not speaking? Is it a pre-existing condition? Are they not talking because someone did something to make this happen? Are they a silent observer? It is a prank? Are they doing it to annoy someone? Why is your character speechless and can their problem be solved? Or are they just that way inclined. Write a story, and let the reader know.

Speechless

On the morning of his eighteenth birthday, Zak woke before dawn, his stomach already churning with a mixture of excitement and dread.  

Today marked the end of his youth, and the start of his new life as an adult in Tiron's House - providing he passed the Test, of course, the ritualised passage into manhood. 

Automatically, his hand reached for Andrey. For a moment he couldn't find him and an icy lump formed in his chest. Was he too late? Had they already taken him away? 

He scrabbled frantically at the bedclothes, sighing in relief when he saw that his companion was lying beside him as usual, his eyes closed, hands folded neatly over his chest.  

"Andrey?" he whispered. 

Andrey looked up at him with wide blue eyes, smiled and opened his arms. Normally he would whisper Zak's name in return, but not this morning. Today he was silent. Zak bit his lip, guiltily aware that it was his fault.  

Silently, they made love under the blanket, fuelled by a desperate need for one final embrace. When it was over, they held each other close.  

Zak fought back tears. He couldn't imagine a life without Andrey. He had been his companion and friend ever since he could remember, and - more recently - his lover. They had shared everything, from the time they woke up to the time they fell asleep. But today was their last day together. When he moved up into the House as an adult, he would leave Andrey behind - a symbol of everything he had outgrown. His childhood. 

He shook his head angrily. Why was he bothering to lie to himself? He wouldn't be 'leaving Andrey behind'. To pass the Test, he would have to kill him. Himself. 

He remembered the horrified disbelief he had felt, only yesterday, when Tiron explained what the manhood ceremony involved. "Tomorrow, you become a man. You must cut your ties to childish things, prove yourself strong and resolute. Worthy of belonging to Tiron's House." 

Tiron had smiled patronizingly at Zak's look of horror. "You'll be fine. After all, it's not as if it's a real person, Zak. It's only an android. You have to terminate it. The House will provide you with all the companionship you need from now on." 

When Zak returned to the youth's dormitory, he discovered they had disabled Andrey's speech function. Supposedly this was to make things easier for him, to remind him that Andrey was at heart a machine, that he could be turned on and off, but Zak couldn't help wondering if the real reason was so that Andrey couldn't plead for his life. Challenge the Test. 

Now he lay in his bed for the last time, holding Andrey tight against his side, his own eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. What was he going to do?