CHAPTER 3: SHOCK
For months, Paulo and Isabella Santonio had a great time with Arlene. They went out quite a lot to show off their new child in the family to the public. Of course, they didn’t reveal her true identity, and they didn’t want to bother about the details either. To them, Arlene was a great kid and a lovely angel, a pride and joy to the Santonio family.
Although Arlene couldn’t eat, she loved sitting at the table watching the Santonios eat. She would be fascinated by the variety of dishes she see at every meal. Sometimes it would be mash potatoes and gravy with grilled chicken, sometimes it would be steamed fish, sometimes it would be pasta or lasagna and other times there would be mushroom soup. Isabella has done a great job of being a housewife.
But somehow, people found out about Arlene. There was one time when Paulo and Isabella were invited to Paulo’s cousin’s wedding, and of course, they brought Arlene along to show her off to their relatives. They dressed her up real nice for this occasion. At the wedding, everyone was marveled by Arlene’s angelic beauty.
“She is so beautiful!”
“I just love her hair. And her eyes, oh! They are so sparklingly pretty!”
“She’s such an angel!”
“Where did you get her? She’s adorable!”
“You wouldn’t mind if I kidnap her now, would you?”
All the grown-ups were impressed at Arlene, and the Santonios were even prouder. But the children were not impressed. They came up to her when the grown-ups were not looking and asked, “Where do you come from?”
“I come from my home, from my Mama,” Arlene replied in an as-a-matter-of-fact way.
“No,” one of the boys said. “I mean which adoption agency did you come from?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Do you have a birthday?” A girl asked.
“No, not that I recall.”
“OK, at the orphanage, when do you celebrate your birthday?” Another boy asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Then what is it that you do know?” Another girl asked exasperatedly. “What is it that you do remember?”
“Well…a bird. Like a peacock or some sort,” Arlene replied, stretching out her arms to show what she meant.
“Does it look something like this?” the first boy asked as he showed her a work pass with the Cybertronics logo on it. Arlene nodded. Suddenly all the kids gasped and backed away from Arlene.
“Mom, she’s not an ordinary girl! She’s a robot! A mecha! She’s from Cybertronics!” the first boy exclaimed as he rushed towards his mother.
“Don’t be silly, boy. She’s a nice little girl just like you kids,” the mother coaxed him. The Santonios were beginning to worry a little. “If she’s a robot, she wouldn’t feel this.”
To prove her point, the mother took a fork and poked Arlene’s hand. Arlene gasped and ran behind Isabella, clutching her sleeve tight, muttering, “Keep me safe, Mama. Keep me safe, Mama. Keep me safe…”
“That’s because she has DAS,” another girl said. “My Daddy works at Cybertronics and he said all mechas are equipped with DAS!”
“Don’t be ridiculous, sweetheart,” her mother said. “Why would they want to equip a little girl with DAS? Ignore them, Isabella. She’s a bit obsessed with mechas lately, no thanks to her father.”
The grown-ups laughed, including the Santonios, who were getting a little nervous. They had to look for an excuse to get out of there before everything got worse.
“Then why doesn’t she eat like the rest of us?” Another boy said as he took a piece of the wedding cake. “If she really is an orga, she can eat this!”
“Oh, kids!” the mother said exasperatedly. “Humour my son, Arlene. Eat the cake. That’ll slow down his imagination.”
Arlene looked at the other kids who were stuffing cake and drinks into their mouths, then at the Santonios and then back at the cake the boy held out for her. She came out from behind Isabella and took the cake.
“Can she eat?” Isabella asked Paulo, worried.
“I don’t know,” Paulo shrugged.
Arlene took a bite from the cake without hesitation. It turned out alright at first, but after she finished the cake, something horrible happened. Her face started to slant on the right side. The skin began to sag until it exposed a little of the metallic mainframe of her face (just like what happened to David). Not only that, the skin of her fingers that touched the cake became loose and was sagging from the mainframe of her hand. Isabella shrieked and rolled up Arlene’s sleeve and was horrified to see the skin of her shoulder peeling off from the metal socket.
The Santonios quickly rushed her out of the house and towards Cybertronics before their relatives become more horrified and start asking them questions.
“Arlene, you’ve been a bad girl. Food is meant for orga, not mechas like you.”
The scientists has opened up Arlene’s stomach and taken out the components, washing away the cream and cake off them. Isabella held Arlene’s hand dearly.
“Will she be alright?” Isabella asked, worried.
“She’ll be perfectly fine. We just have to clean this mess up and fix her arm and face and everything will be a-OK,” one of the scientists grinned as he continued washing the components. “We had a similar case on David, but your Arlene is much serious. Maybe it’s because of the enzymes of the cake that disrupted the cords and functions of her arm, but she’ll be alright. Don’t you worry a thing.”
“Yeah, Isabella. You shouldn’t worry about Arlene. She’s just a mecha, she won’t go wrong…” Paulo tried to coax Isabella but was shot back with an angry glare.
“Just a mecha? Just a mecha? Paulo, she is a child! Our child! Our little girl! You cannot just treat her like some accessory! You brought her in, then you have to have responsibility over her too. She is Arlene, our child!”
“OK, OK. I get the point, Isabella. I will not treat her like an accessory again. I promise,” Paulo held up his hands in surrender.
“It’s OK, Mama,” Arlene said, her aquamarine eyes looking at her. “I don’t feel anything, really.”
“I know, Arlene. I know that,” Isabella smiled at Arlene. Arlene smiled back.
“I love you, Mama.”
“I love you too.”
Isabella rushed to the toilet to puke again. It was the 5th time this morning and she has been doing that for the past 2 months. Arlene was worried. As Isabella had her head buried in the toilet bowl, Arlene responded by going up to her and thumped her back.
“I’m alright, Arlene. There’s nothing to worry about,” Isabella said weakly.
“Shall I call a doctor, Mama?” Arlene was still worried.
“No, thanks, Arlene,” Isabella replied after puking for a few moments. She then looked up, caught her breath and said, “Arlene, do Mama a favour and get that rectangular box in Mama’s dresser. The one with red and blue stripes.”
“OK, Mama,” Arlene replied and dashed towards Isabella’s room. She rummaged through her dresser and found the rectangular box. When she turned around, she saw Kitty standing at the door.
“What happened to Mama?” Kitty asked.
“I don’t know, Kitty, but she asked me to get her this,” Arlene said as she showed Kitty the box. Kitty took the box and had a look. He widened his eyes and passed it back to Arlene with a silent sigh. Arlene noticed it at first but she was too worried about her Mama to ask him questions. She rushed towards Isabella and handed her the box.
“Be a sweetie and go play with Kitty. Mama need some time alone, OK?” Isabella stroked Arlene’s coffee-coloured hair and closed the toilet door behind her. Arlene stood in front of the door for a few moments before walking towards her own room to be with Kitty.
“What do you think happened to Mama?” Arlene asked as she picked the stuffed cat up.
“Something that was thought wouldn’t happen,” Kitty replied, mending his tail that was a little torn.
“And what is that, Kitty?”
“You’ll see.”
Soon Arlene heard Isabella coming out of the toilet. She took a peek and saw that Isabella was all smiles. She dashed to the phone and made a call. From Arlene’s data in her brain, she noticed that she was making a phone call to Paulo.
Later that evening, Paulo came back home again in all smiles as he hugged Isabella happily. Both of them almost cried happy tears as they laughed and thanked God. Arlene was quite ignored throughout their joyous discussion.
“This calls for a celebration!” Paulo exclaimed enthusiastically. “Isabella, Arlene, put on your best dresses! We’re eating out tonight at the most expensive restaurant!”
Isabella giggled as she ushered Arlene upstairs to change. As Isabella looked at Arlene’s cupboard to choose a nice dress for her to wear, Arlene asked, “Mama, why is Paulo so happy? Why is everyone so happy?”
“I’m sorry, Arlene,” Isabella laughed apologetically and took Arlene’s hands. “I got so excited that I forgot to tell you this news.”
“Tell me what news, Mama?”
“Well, first I want you to remember that no matter what happens, you are still my little girl.”
“Yes, Mama. I know that,” Arlene replied with her sparkling eyes staring back at her.
“You know about Mama being lonely before you came here?”
“Yes, Mama.”
“From now on, Mama will never be alone again. I will be entertained every single day by you and the new baby.”
Kitty muttered an ‘Uh-oh’ and climbed behind Arlene’s bed.
“New baby? Mama…?”
“Yes, Arlene, Mama’s pregnant. You’re gonna have a new brother or sister.”
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