Written by Mirage
The Unwanted Gift
"She's all yours!" said Sam to James.
"You’re kidding! Why?" asked his best friend since primary school.
"James... you know... that I don't have much to live...Cough... and I want her to be well taken care for... she giving me the best times of my short life..." coughed hard Sam, who was lying in his hospital bed.
"But Sammy, Sandra, she's yours wife!" James explained to Sam.
"Was my wife. I don't need her to where I am going..." Sam responded quickly.
James let out a loud breath of despair and accepted his best friend’s request. Two days later, Sam died. A week later, James decided to get Sandra.
"Hello?" said James, entering Sam's old apartment. He walked in and saw that most of Sam's belongings were already gone, apart from a few boxes that no one from Sam's family wanted. James walked inside the bedroom and gasped.
Lying on the bed with eyes closed, in a sleeping position was Sandra. A note was on the night table beside the bed that she was lying in. James grabbed the note and read it:
"To activate her, press the bump on the back of her neck, You take care of her. Sam." was written on the note. James sat on the bed and looked at Sandra. He then remembered the first time he met her in College.
"Hi, my name is Sandra, Sandra Jones," the beautiful blonde smiled to him.
"Mine's James, James Robertson.. Your first year of college too?" James smiled to her.
"Yes...sadly," she broke a smile, nervously.
"Ah...Don't worry, I'll help you anytime you need it." James smiled back to her.
Her nervousness was gone just like that, "Thank you... James..." she said happily.
After the first class, James and Sandra left together, talking like they have known each other for years. Turning the corner, James bumped into Sam.
"James! Where the hell you were last night?" Sam yelled at James, annoyed, "We played the poker game without you again!" Then Sam saw Sandra and stopped in mid-sentence. "Hi, I'm Sam, James' best friend, and you?" he asked Sandra quickly.
"Hi, my name is Sandra, Sandra Jones." she replied.
James got pissed off, because he knew right away Sam was trying to steal Sandra away from him. Since High school, that bullshit always happened. Every time a female was interested in James, Sam had to steal her away from him. Even that were best friends for many years, James secretly hated Sam for that. Every time James mentioned it to Sam, Sam said he was overreacting for nothing.
But as time passed, Sandra was not interested in Sam, but in James, to his own surprise. They started dating, while becoming best friends also.
In time, Sam became jealous and a rift was created between the two men. James didn't care, he was with Sandra. They loved each other and only that mattered. The college years passed and everyone graduated. Things looked good for James and Sandra. To his surprise, Sam asked to be forgiven for his jealousy and the friendship was rekindled.
They all had become specialist in Robotics in some form. It was the big boom during the time. Androids and gynoids were becoming a norm in everyday life. So, many jobs were there for anyone who studied in it. Sam and James became partners in a small company, while Sandra worked for a software company.
James reached thirty and thought it was time to asked Sandra in marriage. To his surprise, that infuriated Sam, full of jealousy again.
"I know something about her you don't!! She'll never marry you!" Sam yelled to him.
And he was right. The next day, Sandra broke up with James and left him for Sam. Sam and Sandra were married two months later. James, never went to the wedding and left town the next day.
A few years later, James met Sandra by accident on a trip. She was as beautiful as before.
"Sandra, just answer me this... Why did you leave me?" he asked her.
She looked at him and tears were in her eyes, "He made me...." she responded.
James was confused. "How?" he asked back.
She simply said three words and ran out before he could catch her, jumping in a taxi and rode off. "He reprogrammed me," was the three words.
James looked for Sam and Sandra for many months, but did not find them. Until one day, he received an email from Sam.
"Please come see me at the old hospital on campus... Sam," was the only words written. Sam packed his bag and left for his old campus.
Arriving at the hospital, he quickly found Sam's room. Full of anger, he came in the room. Then, his legs became like butter when he saw his old friend in his death bed.
"Sam.... what's wrong?" he asked Sam, who was as pale as his white pillows.
"Cancer... the really bad one," Sam smiled to him.
James sat beside Sam and look at him quickly, all anger turned to pity. He grabbed Sam's pale hands and wept.
"I'm sorry I stole her from you..." Sam said, tears rolled from his eyes, "I loved her so much too.... One night, I arrived at your house and I found her lying on the floor. She had, by accident, electrocuted herself with a faulty plug. She was shaking her head, repeating one word "Error! Error!". I then knew she was secretly a gynoid. I repaired her and reprogrammed her for to leave you and her to become my wife instead," Sam explained, sobbing.
James forgave him and came to see Sam every day until his death. He asked Sam once where was Sandra.
"I deactivated her when I discovered the cancer was lethal." were the only details Sam gave James about Sandra.
That was then, now, this is now.
James was still sitting on the bed, beside the deactivated Sandra.
Suddenly, he started to laugh out loud. Louder and louder, he laughed until he could laugh no more. He got up and reactivate Sandra.
She opened her eyes and gave a blank look, "Is he dead?" she asked James.
"Yes, my creation. You have fulfilled your long purpose," James smile to Sandra.
Sandra smiled back and sat up. "Let's go home?" she asked James.
"Sure, my love... let's go... I have a lot of data to erase from you... especially the way I programmed you to poison him little by little with cancerous matter.... That bastard thought he stole you from me, while I planned it since the day I built you in college... I knew he would do it... I just knew it..." Sam was a real bastard. He got what he deserved. My gift, his death, my revenge.