“Six look at me,” One made me face him. “It’s your eyes. You have a vision sharper than any other creature in this planet. That’s the way they made you,” he rests his forehead against mine. “You and I are the only ones left. We have to survive this. We have to stay strong, okay? When this is all over, I swear I’ll find a way for us to escape this place together. I promise you that.”
On the 19th night, we undergo the last phase of the experiment. A full blast of chemical surged through our veins. It boils hot while mixing with our own blood. I screamed, I know I did. But I endured all of it while desperately searching One’s face inside my head.
I held onto One’s promise longer than I’ve ever imagined. I didn’t realize it that time, but maybe this is what they called love. A fleeting feeling in your chest that only one person, capable enough to do everything for your sake, can give you.
On the 30th night, he kissed me when Dr. Scott wasn’t looking. A soft and fluttery kiss that left me looking like a dumb statue for a moment of happiness. It just lasted for seconds but it left a buzzing noise inside my heart.
Months went by faster than I expected. They transported us to the war zone. I can hear the gunshots and bombings not far away from where we are now. A man in a military uniform gave us orders. They gave us weapons and everything to defend ourselves. We have studied all sorts of things to survive this war. They even taught us how to fire a gun and use bombs, missiles, etc. for these past few months. We even underwent different simulations to make our senses sharper.
On the 101st night, he told me he’ll marry me in front of the other soldiers. The other soldiers teased us and I’m just sitting there at the corner, blushing like a tomato. He even made an effort to make a ring out of molten metal and a small piece of emerald that we found when we made a hideout in a cave.
Just as what they have intended us to do, we went to war. We killed people. We destroyed their lives. And eventually, we became murderers. I know that what we’re doing is wrong but we don’t have any other choices either. The others started calling us ‘The Century’s Strongest Pair of Soldiers’. Before we even realized it, years had passed and we won several wars. We gained awards, medals, and compliments from other people. But we want nothing of that.
We want our freedom. We thirst for it.
On the 1220th night, One brought me a cake and said it was both our birthday since it was the same date when he barged inside my room. I really laughed too hard with what he did. Honestly, I can’t grasp the way his mind works.
Not long after that, the President declared that the time of war had ended. We won. Finally, we are free from the chains of being weapons of war. We’re free from this hateful fate. We can live our lives the way we want now.
On the 1246th night, we danced under the starlit sky. We danced.. and danced.. and danced until midnight. But unlike Cinderella, I don’t have to run away from him to go back home. My home is wherever we are together. I love him. He loves me. That’s all that matters.
One fulfilled his promise. We successfully escaped from the hell that imprisoned us for a very long time. We’re free. We made it… or so I thought we did.
On the 1262th night, One bought my wedding dress. Everyone loved my dress, and commented on how they had never seen anything like it. It has the color of the purest white and a waist that’s wrapped with a red ribbon complimenting my scarlet eyes. It was amazing. I can’t wait to wear that dress on my wedding.
There are only a few people who knew that me and One are artificial humans, and somehow I’m grateful for that. One and I got married like any other normal couples do and it was one of the happiest day of my entire existence.
On the 1280th night, we slept in our new home. One held me like I’m a fragile being. Every kiss and every touch made me love him more.
We also changed our names and became a family of two. I am now Vielle de la Vega, wife of Ciel de la Vega. We casted aside our differences and tried to live a normal life. Until..
“No! No.. No, please..Ciel! Don’t you dare joke about this!” I found him lying on the floor. He’s paler than usual and his lips turned to bluish-white. The gold tint in his eyes turned gray. His skin was dead cold. My eyes, clouded with tears, began to ache when I saw the slow and faint heartbeats in his chest.
“I’m sorry. I..forgot to tell you,” he whispered and clutched his chest like he’s having trouble breathing.
“Forgot what?! What? Oh God, please..”
“Unlike you..Vielle, I have a limit. This body won’t last long. The drugs in the Lab are keeping my body stable. I even brought some with me when we escaped, but I ran out. I know that this body will give out soon, but I never thought it’ll come sooner than I had expected. I’m sorry.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? If you have told me this sooner then we shouldn’t have left that place.” I heard my own voice cracked. “Why..Why did you—?”
“Because I want you to get away from there. Unlike me you have a bigger chance of living a normal life. I want to give you that. I want you to keep living. We may be artificial but we are living beings too. We laugh like the others. We breathe. We cry. We love. We even got married like the others, don’t we? We got a normal house. I even got myself a lovely wife, I can’t possibly ask for more, can I?” His breathing was ragged and I can feel my hands shaking while holding him in my arms.
“My time with you was pure bliss,” he continued. “I never regretted a single second with you. Keep living, Vielle. Please keep on living for me,” his last words left a big wound in my chest. How am I possibly able to continue living when the only one who’s keeping me alive was gone?
I never thought that losing someone can hurt this much. The wound keeps bleeding and he isn’t here to mend it. A great part of my whole being was taken away from me and I can’t even voice out the pain.
They say some wounds are invincible. Yes, it’s true. Wounds of the heart is hard for others to see while it breaks us apart, killing our emotions and leaving us with scars. And we’re not sure whether it’ll heal or not.
Accepting that he’s gone is too impossible. I am completely hopeless, broken— far wrecked than I can imagine. I was beyond repair. It came to a point where I found myself on the verge of giving up, ready to cross the line between life and death when a miracle happened in front of my very eyes.
“Mom, what was Dad like?” Seth asked me while looking at our wedding portrait.
I went back to the Lab after Ciel’s funeral. Dr. Scott welcomed me like I am his daughter. He immediately ran some tests on me and found out that there was something interesting going on inside my body.
“How can this be? I know that we made you exactly like a human being— a perfect artificial human. But this is way beyond our expectations. Books and other researches cannot explain something like this!” Dr. Scott, holding a very thick and large book, said with amusement.
Everyone in the Lab could not believe it at first. Who would, anyway? An artificial human being bearing a child is too impossible—very much impossible. But when they checked it again for like twenty more times, they didn’t argue anymore.
The miracle was beyond their logical thinking; I am truly and undeniably pregnant with Ciel’s child.
“He’s just like you,” I answered Seth as I ruffled his silver hair and stared deeply into his scarlet eyes. “Kind, a bit stubborn, but a very loving man. Now go to sleep. Tomorrow, I’m going to teach you how to dance with Cinderella.”
This is me.
This is my story.
I was once called Six but I am now Vielle de la Vega: an artificial human being, a soldier, a wife, a mother.
On the 2500th night, I kissed my husband’s portrait, hummed his favorite song to our son, Seth, and went to bed with a happy image of him as he held me while I danced like Cinderella under the moonlit sky.
********************** FIN ***********************
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