Michael 2.0

Part 18

And she would never forget him.

Something else that Charlie would never forget was the following day, when she went to work. She noticed something was not right the minute she got there. Everyone looked down, thoughtful and reserved. It took Charlie three minutes to find Dr. Gregory.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Charlie, you must come with me,” he said, cautiously. “There is something you must see.”

She followed her work partner, wondering what could be so serious that everyone had the same gloomy expression. Suddenly, she realized they were taking the way to Michael’s room.

“Michael?” she sighed, horrified. “What happened?”

Dr. Gregory didn’t answer; he didn’t even have the courage to look at her. That felt like a horrible news. Charlie walked faster, curious and terrified.

Michael’s room was full of people from her team, standing around something on the floor. Charlie made her way through them, and for her horror, she found Michael lying there, his eyes closed as if he was asleep. There was a horrible hole in his chest, revealing the burnt machinery inside, completely ruined.

“We found him a few hours ago,” Dr. Gregory explained. “It’s over.”

“No,” Charlie muttered. “No… It can be fixed, can’t it? Please tell me it can be fixed…”

“I’m sorry, Charlie,” he replied. “It cannot.”

“Why not? I’m sure it can! He must be repaired!”

Dr. Gregory took a small plastic bag from his pocket; it was Charlotte’s necklace. “I found this in Michael. Apparently, he inserted it inside his chest for some reason. The diamond is too resistant, so it ruined all the system within a couple hours mostly. It’s gone, Charlie, he’s gone.”

“No,” Charlotte’s knees gave in, and she’d have fallen if Dr. Gregory hadn’t held her. “No… It cannot be!”

But it was; Michael had done what she asked, and he had kept her gift safe and close to his heart. But that had cost his own existence.

“Oh, Michael,” she kneeled beside him, touching his peaceful face, trying to print in her memory every single feature of him. It was hard to think that his eyes would never glow to her every time she taught him something new; that he would never again smile at her, his innocent, genuine smile at simple things. That never again she’d hear his sweet voice saying he loved her…

Her shaky hands reached for his, hoping to feel a grip that never happened. Instead, Charlie found something Michael was holding. She quickly managed to open his strong hold and found a piece of paper perfectly folded in one last origami: a heart, made with the piece of scrapped paper with Tarzan’s image.

Closing her eyes as the tears streamed down her face, Charlie pressed his hand against her lips. Michael was a miracle; he came into her life and showed her true love, so unexpectedly, so purely she could barely believe it was not a dream. She remembered his last words to her, “I love you, do not forget me”. She knew she’d hear those words until her last day, in her dreams, at every breath she’d take. How could she ever forget him?

Without minding about the ten people in the room looking at her, Charlie placed a last kiss on Michael’s lips.

“Goodbye, Michael…”

That was the third time she said goodbye; but that time was the last.