Little Devon's wish
Since he lives with his dad— his sole parent now, Little Devon's
The sky was already bright when Devon opened his sleepy eyes. He was looking in a daze because his mind was truly flying elsewhere.
He muttered, "I think it will take at least a year or two for me to have a healthy body to go outside." Beside the table, Devon carefully grabbed the diary and looked at it one last time.
"But, seriously, it will depend on my enthusiasm." He covered it with a white cloth before storing it in its original place and sticking a "Do Not Touch" sticker on the cabinet. He placed this warning for his future self, who might want to look at it again.
Devon slowly stood from his spot and stretched his rusty joints. He yawningly said, "If I don't procrastinate, maybe I could do it within half a year."
Thinking about the future, he clasped his hands and solemnly prayed for good luck to his future self, who has to endure hardship.
"It wasn't me, but the future me." Dragging his feet towards the window, he performed his usual routine of dazing outside and staring at nothing, placing his hands on the edges of the balcony.
Forget about wearing shades, it just darkens the color of the surroundings.
Devon was already contented. He was living his life to, what he believed, the fullest. He eats what he likes, does what he wants, and stays with who he loves.
But for Little Devon's sake, he should aim for something bigger.
After staring for a minute, he finally managed to break from his trance and greeted the sun with a lovely, "Good morning."
"Sunny. It's such a nice name." Devin continued his inner monologue while washing his face. "If I were to have a kid, I would name it Sunny." His face looked funny, as he mentally patted himself on the back for his ingenious idea.
His unhurried stomps echoed while walking downstairs. "Dad? Where are you?"
He clumsily opened the refrigerator and took the milk with the help of the robot beside him. "Don't hide from me. I need your fluffy omelet, please." He jokingly shouted, knowing his father could hear him from wherever he was.
However, he received no response from the man after a few minutes. Devon gestured a knowing look at Lime, urging Lime to send his dad a message, which immediately followed.
Without even a minute, the two were startled by a sound upstairs. A door opening was heard somewhere. His dad steadily walked down the stairs, and dotingly responded, "Yes. Yes."
Pane patted his son's head, as his hands grabbed the milk from the kid. "Let me heat this first. Cold foods are not good for you yet." He transferred the milk to a--.
Daddy Pane embarrassingly turned to their omniscient robot, "Lime, how do you heat milk again?"
Devon was flabbergasted and laughed at his dad enthusiastically, aware that he wouldn't blame him for it. Pane has a bizarre talent. Even though his cooking skills had already advanced, there were days when his skills would suddenly degrade to a blank slate.
Anything unrelated to science will be automatically deleted by his brain after some time. So he would learn things all over again.
"I'm thankful I was not forgotten, Dad."
Pane lovingly reprimanded his kid by softly chopping his small forehead, "Of course, you brat."
After a small, serious discussion with Lime, he served him sweet hot milk with a spongy omelet, which Devon delightfully accepted with both hands, "Thank you, Dad."
Pane helped his son relax on the white curved corner sofa in the living room and eat the other snacks prepared by Lime. Both spend their time talking about planet 204D, pampering Devon, who's obsessed with it.
Devon sipped the last bit of milk, as he mustered courage to tell his dad about his plan. "Dad, care to listen for a while." He softly requested, unaware of his white beard made from milk.
The funny sight caused Pane's heart to tingle with joy and a hint of sadness. He casually grabbed a tissue paper handed it to the kid, and jokingly replied, "No problem, sir."
Devon's face appeared confused by his words, making him more comical, until he saw himself in front of the mirror that his father handed to him. Gazing at the person in front of him, his mouth, about to playfully confront his father, paused in astonishment.
Pane thought he was embarrassed, so he helped wipe the milk beard off his face. "Let me help you, sir."
However, Devon's mind wasn't occupied by this issue. His visage made him speechless.
"… So this is how I looked." He intoxicatedly whispered, while performing multiple expressions, as though trying to assure that the person in front was truly him. He had never seen this version of Devon.
A hand suddenly playfully pinched his face, "Yes, this is your face."
He had every chance to look at himself but never did, for fear of seeing nothing but darkness, the real him. It seems he has yet to fully recover from the trauma. However, his anxiety vanished in just one look at himself, as though it never existed in the first place.
He saw everything, eyes, nose, mouth, but darkness. Seeing the kid's emotional, reaction, Pane gave the kid a warm back hug, while he was preoccupied with the mirror.
Startled, Devon immediately looked at his dad to see if he had any suspicion. But he only saw himself in his crystal-clear eyes, telling him he was the only one in his eyes. Suppressing the guilt in his chest, he hugged the innocent man tightly.
While his face was burrowed in his neck, Devon asked, "Dad, is my grandad still alive?"
He wanted to be enlightened about his family's structure. But he regretted his words after feeling his dad paused, unready for the question.
No one responded for a moment and only their soft breaths were heard until his father broke the deafening silence. Pane hesitantly replied, "He's now gone…out there, together with your mom, and other relatives."
Pane softly reached his face and fondly caressed his nose with his own. "But you still have me, Devon."
"… Okay, dad. I won't ask again about them." Devon quietly comforted his dad and tried to change the topic. He escaped from his arms and looked at him straight, "Dad, can you help me gain weight?"
Pane was confused by the sudden change of mood. He took a moment to process Devon's words."... Why are you suddenly thinking about it? I thought you could not control your body." Pane teasingly quoted his child's words.
Devon's ears instantly reddened. He tried to hide his embarrassment and retorted without looking at him, "People change, you know."
He rashly gnawed his food and hurriedly ran away. He had already relayed his intention to his dad, so he escaped from the awkwardness.
Pane was left alone in the living room, intently looking at the back of his escaping son. His hands were gripping his burning-hot mug tightly. However, his mind was thinking about another matter. He was torn between telling everything to his son or not.
"He just woke up." He broke his gaze and looked at the windows where the blazing sun was. "He's not yet ready."
After a moment of hesitation, Pane slowly designed a plan for his child. It comprised a nutrition and exercise program. He also included combat skills training, strategic education, and technological familiarization, preparing Devon for the obscure future.
The sun had already cascaded away somewhere unseen by the naked eye before he could finish his tasks. Using the core, he searched for someone from the contacts list and typed a long message, describing something, which required that person's assistance.
A long segment of hesitation occurred until he finally clicked on the send button and instantaneously received a reply from this person.
Pane let out a sigh, hoping for the best.
He stood up from his seat to prepare the dinner he promised for Devon, throwing his worries at the back of his mind.