I was a robot created by Sophia Brooks.
She had said that I would accompany her for the rest of her life.
But three years ago, Sophia disappeared in a shipwreck.
Today, I finally heard something about her.
"Sophia has been found alive, but..."
But she has forgotten everyone, including me.
She abandoned me.
——
Three years ago today, Sophia disappeared in a shipwreck without a trace since.
Everyone thought she was dead, including me.
I went crazy looking for her for a year.
In the end, I only waited for her in our house. At least there were shared memories of the two of us here.
They all said that I had fallen in love with Sophia, but I didn't know what love was.
I was just a lifeless robot.
There was only one thing in my heart, which was waiting for Sophia, who would never come back.
Or maybe it was heaven's mercy. Today, the police told me that they found Sophia.
But a policeman named James Taylor didn't want me to see her, saying, "Sophia is getting married. She has forgotten about you. Why are you bothering her?"
At that moment, I felt sad.
Sophia had said that life was long, and she wouldn't believe anyone but me.
But now, why did she marry someone else?
I still was running, but for some reason, I curled up with discomfort.
I wanted to see her, even if she had forgotten me.
So, I followed James all the way and felt a little dizzy when I got off the plane.
"Is this the place?" I asked him.
There was a small coffee bar in front of me, which was beautiful in the sunset on the beach.
"Yes," James said, "but she doesn't remember anything from before, including all her achievements and you. Now, she's just an ordinary person."
I listened to James' words, secretly glancing inside.
James took my hand and walked into the coffee bar. As the door opened, the wind blew through the hair of the barkeeper.
I couldn't move my eyes away from her face, wanting to cry even though I had no tears.
She looked the same as before but seemed to have gained a few traces of vicissitudes caused by the three years I've missed.
I was afraid of being abrupt and approached her step by step.
When she raised her eyes and met mine, my heart almost boiled.
I knew she was Sophia, the woman I had been waiting for three years.
"S… Sophia." I trembled and raised my hand stiffly, wanting to touch her face.
But I saw the alienation I had never seen before in her eyes.
"Welcome to Brew Haven. I'm the owner, Cynthia."
Sophia came down from the bar. She treated me like a stranger, like any other customer sitting in the bar.
I was no longer special to her.
James noticed my strangeness, casually ordered two cups of coffee, and pulled me to sit in a corner.
But my eyes fixed on Sophia all the way.
She looked the same when she shook milk as she did when she shook reagents, carefully observing the scale of the measuring cup.
In the past, she wanted to dedicate her whole life to science, so she risked her life to sail for the unexplored secrets.
But she went away for several years and didn't come back. Everyone thought that she was dead.
Perhaps it was her rigor that made the bar always crowded with tourists. It was James' colleague who came on vacation and found her.
When Sophia handed us the coffee on the tray, probably because of familiarity, she sat down.
But I couldn't get as close to her as before.
James held my hand. I knew he was persuading me not to destroy Sophia's current life.
After all, compared to being with a robot, Sophia now had a love that was envied by everyone.
"Cynthia, we're here on a trip. You can call me James, and he is Apollo," James introduced.
I nodded and hesitated to speak for fear that I would ask her a lot.
Sophia looked at me and James with a bright smile, just like before, beautiful and desirable.
James and she talked about life here.
She said she woke up with the salty breeze and made coffee every day, accompanied by the warm sun, and fell asleep in the moonlight.
Perhaps a comfortable life like this was exactly what she wanted.
"Apollo, why aren't you speaking? Is this coffee not to your taste?" Sophia asked.
Only then did I see that James had already finished half of his cup, while I hadn't taken a sip yet.
But I was a robot. How could I drink coffee like a human?
When James was about to explain to me, I shook my head gently.
I took a sip of the coffee. It tasted as bitter as the three years I had lost her.
At that moment, there seemed to be countless circuits in my body getting tangled up, and my face turned pale.
I endured it and forced out a smile.
"It's yummy, Cynthia. Thank you."
James looked at me as being such a fuckup and sighed heavily.
But I only felt warm.
At this moment, a man with bags of groceries rushed in at the door.
"Cynthia, Cynthia! It's heavy."
As soon as the man came in, he threw all the bags aside and ran straight towards Sophia.
He leaned against Sophia's shoulder. Sophia blushed lightly and shyly pushed him away.
"They're here."
The man finally noticed me and James and quickly sat up politely. His hand was still tightly connected with Sophia's.
Looking at their intimacy, I felt very uncomfortable.
Sophia has found her true love. Shouldn't I be happy for her?