The Chipped 2030 - by Ezekiel Olayemi

Chipped. 2030. A lot happened to me this year. The memories still feel like an open wound, the pain still fresh and throbbing. I almost lost my entire family in a car accident - my husband and my son. We had decided to go on a short trip. I wanted to follow them, but I had a crucial Zoom meeting with my clients. So, I told them to go without me. We would meet later, probably in three hours. We could go on another trip soon, just the three of us. I still remember my husband's face and my son's. The warmth of my husband's peck on my cheek, the tightness of my son's hug. They were so happy when they left, the sound of their laughter still echoing in my mind. The call I got thirty minutes later was the most dreadful call I've ever received. My heart sank, and my hands trembled as I held the phone. Both my worlds had been crushed in that car accident. They were rushed to the nearest health center. The smell of antiseptic and blood still lingers in my memory. My husband's last words, which he told my son, which i still fail to hear left great pain in my heart. "Dad... Dad said." These were the last words he muttered in his sleep after his successful surgery. All these thoughts distracted me as I watched Zeck walking. He's probably done with the household chores he's programmed for, but not for the reason I bought him. "Zeck, please come," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. His walking style seems almost amazing. He walked towards me but still kept a distance. "Come closer, I want to ask you a question." He came closer, stood before me, and I looked directly at his face. "Tell me what my son, Tola, is up to," I said, my eyes searching for answers. He paused for a bit before giving a reply. "Bimpe, I can't seem to know what your son is thinking at the moment," he said, his eyes flashing. "You don't know, or you don't want to tell me?" I asked, trying to smile and appear friendly. But I forgot that Zeck is just a machine. "You got me, Bimpe," he said, smiling back at me. "He wouldn't like it if I bothered his thoughts," he said as he walked back to doing his chores. I was pissed. "Very useless," I thought, my anger simmering just below the surface. Should I get another one and get chipped? Maybe a companion for Zeck? I could get Zeck talking with that. No, I must be crazy. What was that thought? I am not a fan of these metals. Am not lazy. I wouldn't be; I can do my chores myself. I only did all this because of the accident. Tola was paralyzed due to it. I couldn't bear seeing my son unable to do anything. That's why I signed the agreement for a new cure - a chip. Just operated at the back of his ear, and Tola was cured. Like magic. He can walk and talk again. But he only doesn't talk to me. It's like I'm invisible when I come closer to him. I miss his touch, the feel of his small hand in mine. Getting Zeck and connecting to him, just like synchronizing, could do the magic and make him talk to me, know his thoughts. That's what I was told. But this metal, aside from doing chores, seems useless for that.

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