Chapter 9 - Hester
1985 Words
JACK
I walked out of her room, I know I can’t insist her to anything, it isn’t right. But it feels worse to say the words out. But it is what she wanted to hear from me. She doesn’t want me to think I still have the chance for us to be together, I let out all the tears, I can’t hold it anymore. I’m not the strong Jack I used to be.
I called Adam, “Hey, How are you?” I ask.
“I’m fine, Mom got a little sick, Sydney is taking care of her,” He replies, “How have you been holding?”“I’m good,” I reply.
I hear him sigh, “Jack, It’s okay if you are tired and give up. If you want to be someone else, Idris wouldn’t mind..” I cut him off.
“Idris is awake,” I say.
He didn’t talk for a few seconds, “Adam, you there?”
“Yeah, I’m... I.. I was..” He stuttered.
“Do you want to come and see her?” I ask.
I hear his breath through the phone, “I was… I was so happy... and excited to see her,” He says, I can imagine how happy he would be to see his sister after all. “Where are you both?
“Here, in our villa…”
“I’m coming in flight right away,” He hung up the phone before I could answer him. Before I could say Idris doesn't remember any of the past, I look at his caller image, It was Adam and Sydney holding their newborn baby. Abigail is two years old now. A lot of things have happened since Idris went into a coma, Adam started to see how much I love her. He realized I’m good for her, I’m the only one who can love and protect Idris. That is the only good thing that has happened in my life since Idris’s accident. Adam and Sydney got married four years ago when they were twenty-three, it took a lot of time to convince Sydney’s parents, but Sydney explained it was her fault that she broke up with him, They were happily married here in front of Idris, they didn’t want the fancy wedding. They hoped it would bring Idris from the coma but it didn’t. Elizabeth was married to a doctor recently who she was in love with for a few years. Everyone is living in LA. My grandfather died three years ago, my father died a few months ago Idris accident made everyone close, father and mother finally understood what we had and they found their love, they found their way back to each other. My mother became sad after she lost my father, Sydney, and Adam taking good care of her since then. Elizabeth is living two streets away from them, she became a famous pediatrician in LA. She studied so hard after grandma died. She thought that was the only way to cope with grandma's death. She got a good GPA, Sat scores with MCAT. She got into her dream med school and graduated. She started to realize that our grandma's death has nothing to do with Idris and me. She felt so guilty for everything. She visited Idris every Christmas and our birthday giving little gifts as she did before. Everyone is expecting Idris to awake and start from where things were right, but nothing can happen now. I don’t know how Adam will react to it and the lie I had said to Idris. I wish I could find him first before he finds Idris.
Adam will be here in the evening before he comes, I have things to do, Idris is sleeping on her bed, I used this time, to get my things from this room to another room, I made a maid change most of my stuff but there are few things I need to change it by myself.
Once I’m done with everything very silently, Idris is still sleeping. I didn’t disturb her sleep, It’s either she is not a light sleeper anymore or I really did everything so quietly. “Idris,” I wake her up.
“Is it already lunchtime?” she says in her sleepy voice.
I nod, “Yeah, Almost. I made juice.”
She groans, “Is it the same one you made yesterday?” She asks, hiding her face in the pillow.
“It’s pomegranate,” I say
She takes it and drinks it as fast as she could, “burp, Sorry,” She says.
I smile at her playful attitude, “I can’t believe I’m thirty-one,” She says
“Then don’t. Age is just a number, It doesn’t define anything. You can always be young, It’s all here,” I point at her head.
She looks sad, “You have a chance to create good memories, Remember that. Everything will be fine.” I say “I made some good food If you wanna..”
“I’m coming,” She says climbing out of the bed. She doesn’t care to make the bed, After I put the pillow back in its place and made the bed. When I came to the kitchen, she is already tasting it from the pot,
I cleared my throat, “Are you sure you’re not a chef?” She asks.
“No, I’m not,” I say, taking the serving plates and bowls.
She thinks, “You are not a chef, meaning you own a restaurant? A five-star hotel?” She asks, tasting everything from the pot.
“No, I don’t own a restaurant or a five-star hotel.” I say, She looks and rolls her eyes at me, the way she did before she went to coma, “Maybe I should try that too. You seem to like my cook very much,” I say
She giggles, “God, Are we eating the same food? You are really a great cook. Don’t think I’m saying because I don’t remember any taste or any f..”
“No, I know I cook very well, But your compliments are just too heavy to bear,” I say, lightening the mood.
She took her plate to the dining room, “You should try some chef competition,” She says.
We ate our food in silence, She helped me load the dishwasher, she wanted to learn the things, she said she remembered the dishwasher but now how to use it or any memory of it. “See, It’s so simple,”
“My memory doesn’t serve me at the moment, It looks quite weird,” SHe says trying to think,
“Don’t stress, A lot has changed. Tech is very advanced now.” I say
She nods, “Wanna watch a movie?” I ask, hoping she would say yes. So, I can watch her some more time,
“Umm…” She is thinking about how to politely refuse it,
“It’s fine if you don’t want to,” I say
She looks sad again, “I just don’t remember any movies, I…” She tries to explain how she feels and how her memory is about everything.
It’s my pleasure to show you the first and best movie then,” I said.
She nods and sat on the couch, “Hester, Switch on the TV and Show the latest fantasy Scifi Movies,”
“Request received, On it,” Within a second, the flat Tv switched on and “Listing the latest fantasy and Scifi Movies,” listed the latest movies
Idris looks blank, “What is it? Who is Hester?” She asks.
“Hi, I’m Hester. You might be wondering what I’m. I’m here to assist Jack,...”
“Hester, Stop,” I say
“I’m sorry, Jack,” Hester replies
I think how can I explain to her, “Who is she? Does she live with you?” She asks looking around.
“No,” I shake my head, “Hester is an AI,” I just named it because it is one of her favorite characters from books she read.
She quirks her eyebrows, “What is an AI?” She asks.
“Ai is an artificial Intelligence, It is intelligence demonstrated by machines, unlike the natural intelligence displayed by humans and animals…
“Hester, Stop. Don’t answer the question which is not asked to you”
“I’m sorry for interrupting, Jack.” She apologized.
Right, how does she know about it? “It’s a computer program, it receives requests and acts on it. You can tell her anything, she can show you and…”
“Hester, Show me my past,” She says looking at the screen.
“Can you please tell me about you? Your voice is not programmed,” Hester replies.
Idris looks at me, “Hester, switch off all the electronic devices, and shut yourself for the next thirty minutes,” I commanded.
“Please confirm, do all electronic devices include the security camera and all the electrical appliances controlled by me?”
“Yes, Hester,” I say
“Requested Received, Thank you, Jack, Have a wonderful noon,” Hester replied before she shuts everything temporarily.
Idris looks at me weirdly, “Why is she controlling everything?” She sneers at me.
“She is just an AI, She is not real,” I say.
Idris looks at me like I’m lying, “She is not a real person like, she isn’t human. She is just a machine,” I try to explain.
“How a machine knows whatever you ask and how is she..” She looks frustrated.
I turn to face her, “Idris, Look at me. It’s not real, It’s a machine I made. We made, we invented it, to assist humans with everything, It’s like... It’s like... A robot.” I don’t know whether she will know about it or not.
“A robot?” She asks, She doesn’t know about it too. “Why does it have to be a woman?” She asks.
I expected some other questions but not this, “It’s not like that. It’s just a machine,” I say. “It’s not male or female, It’s just how we programmed it, we gave her a few voices..” She doesn’t look like she understands and also she doesn’t look convinced, but right now, she is so difficult to read,” I can change it if you want,”
She looks at the TV like her nemesis, “Can you change it now?” She asks.
Of course, I do anything for her, “Yeah” I say.
She waits for me, I took my phone, turning it on manually, “Welcome back, Jack. I welcome your guest too.”
“Go to the main menu,” I sync my phone with her, “Which voice do you want?” I ask, playing the voice one by one, the recorded male voice.
“Doesn’t it have your voice?” She asks.
- Writer
