1

*Canary: an android created before the Surge. A domestic model intended to sing children to sleep. 

Production of humanoid models began in 271 Golden but was halted soon after once their purpose was deemed

irrelevant to the progress of the Nation. Almost all humanoid models were scrapped

and those that remained were either thrown out or forgotten once the Capital fell.

Their rise and fall in popularity became known as the death of the songbird*.

A little boy stood still in a field of untamed wildflowers, like a photograph taken during a time long forgotten. He didn’t move as the wind danced around him, he didn’t even flinch when it tossed his hair with its wistful nature. The boy, almost oblivious to the wonders he was surrounded by, was too busy watching perfect white clouds drift across the pristine blue sky. He reached his hand up towards them, sunlight peered through his tiny fingers and his brown irises blossomed into breathtaking marigolds. As his eyelids fluttered shut, he began to hum an age old tune while he basked in the warmth of a summer sun. The calmed song made him more restless. He doesn't know why but react.

            is anyone there?

Jeongguk watched the boy from a distance with a smile, content to revel in his infectious youthful glow. Some of his best memories happened in that field, just the other day he stood beside the boy and taught him how to fish. The sense of pride that surged through his chest was immeasurable, almost overwhelming. He had never experienced anything like it. How that boy looked up at him as if he had pulled a chest of gold from the murky pond, that was his definition of the happiness.

            is anyone there?

He didn’t know the boy’s name, or he couldn’t remember it, one of the two. Thinking back, he should’ve found that strange. They’d been together for years, they should know each other’s name. When Jeongguk opened his mouth to ask—no sound came out. Confused, he pressed his fingers gingerly to his throat, wondering what could’ve possibly caused his voice to evade him. It felt—hollow. Empty. How could that—how could that be? Is that even possible? Jeongguk could hardly remember his own voice and yet that was almost normal.

            is anyone th-th-there?

The boy looked up at him then, a concerned expression tainting his childish features. Jeongguk watched his mouth move, watched words spill from his lips but for some reason they didn’t reach his ears. He tried to shake his thoughts loose—it felt like there was something preventing him from experiencing the moment fully, like his head was full of cotton. Words ran from his tongue as if his voice was poison, perhaps they knew more than he did, maybe death awaited them at the back of his throat. He wouldn’t know.

            is a-anyone th-th-th-there?

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***