Robot: From Having No Emotions to Having Love

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.