Damian Violet was forgetful. There was no doubt about that. He had forgotten his own
birthday more than once.
He regularly forgot his wallet, his keys, his pants, and his destination.
Of course this didn't mean he wasn't smart. Damian was brilliant. He had a mind for science and often put it to use. As long as his notes were handy.
Being forgetful as he was, is was only logical to hire an assistant. Someone to keep track of things for him. To remind him of things.
The one problem with this idea was that Damian did not get along well with any of the assistants he tried to hire. It's not that Damian was unkind or unpleasant. He was generally rather pleasant to be around. But being so short on memory while also so involved in things scientific and mathematic, he was a difficult boss to keep up with.
So Damian decided that there was only one thing to be done. He would create an assistant incapable of forgetting who could think quickly and stay constantly by his side. It would be difficult and it would take time, but he could do it. All he needed was patience.
Which brings us to now. The year is 2019 and a now 23 year old Damian Violet is walking on his way to ...
"Lilly, where was I headed?" Damian asks this for perhaps the third time. Who truly knows? Certainly not him.
"Our current destination is the local library. You wanted to do some research in a more peaceful setting." The response comes from what appears to be a little girl. She blinks up at him with wide, crystal blue eyes smiling fondly.
Damian designed her to look how he imagined a sibling of his might, had he ever had one. She may have been an android assistant, but to anyone who saw her she would appear to be an ordinary human child. This suited both of them just fine.
Lilly, while extremely clever, was every bit what one would expect a little sister to be like. She enjoyed finger painting, fairytales, and dress up. She would ask Damian to put her long black hair in to all sorts of braids and buns whenever she saw a hairstyle she liked.
And Damian was perfectly happy to fill the role of big brother. Not only was his life easier to navigate with Lilly around, but it also held more meaning.
The two of them arrived on the steps of the local library in what Lilly assured was "no time at all", and he immediately sought out a quiet corner.
Of course he could always do his research online from just about anywhere, but he preferred to do it here. Nowhere is quite as peaceful and quiet as a library. Sometimes he thought libraries might be the last peaceful place on earth. Compared to here his lab felt like a Chuck E. Cheese's.
Besides, Lilly enjoyed these trips. As soon as Damian had settled at a table, prepared to take notes, she would bound off in search of books about princesses, dragons, curses, and the like.
These visits were always peaceful, uneventful undertakings. That is until he met a particularly clumsy librarian.
He hadn't seen the impending disaster coming. He really hadn't been conscious of anything around him until it was already happening. It being the cascade of books raining down on his head. He barely had time to release a startled noise before the impact.
In mere moments he was being unearthed by a trembling young woman stuttering out apologies.
"...What?" Was the first thing he eloquently uttered. Apparently his mind had yet to catch up with events.
The woman peering down at him in concern appeared to be in her twenties. She had dyed her hair in vibrant shades of pink and blue. This detail stood out more than anything else as the rest of her appearance was rather reserved. She wore dark framed glasses through which peered a pair of warm brown eyes.
"I am so, so sorry sir. Are-are you okay?"
Damian recovered his senses enough to formulate a response.
"Yes. Yes I'm fine. What exactly happened?"
The woman looked at him oddly for a few fleeting seconds before turning her gaze to the rolling ladder she had been apparently using.
"I lost my gri-grip on the books a-and dropped them ... on you. I'm so sorry." The beginnings of tears began to form in her eyes and Damien internally panicked.
"Woah, hey! It's all right. I'm completely fine. No harm done, okay?" He hoped his words would calm her before things could escalate in any way.
It was at this moment that Lilly chose to reappear.
"Dami, did you make this lady cry?" She looked and sounded so disappointed in him that he rushed to defend himself.
"What? No! ...kind of?" His gaze darted back to the distressed woman. He searched her face for any indication of anger. There was none but this did not put him at ease.
"I'm sorry. I think we've gotten off on the wrong foot." He stood. "My name is Damian, and this is my sister Lilly. It's nice to meet you." He held out his hand and smiled warmly.
The woman stared at him for a moment, baffled, before choking out a perplexed laugh.
"I dropped books on your head."
"Did you? I have some trouble with short term memory, so it seems I've already forgotten." Damian looked sheepish.
The woman merely laughed, finally relaxing. She took the offered hand.
"I'm Delia. It's nice to meet you too."
Comments (0)
See all