A Flesh and Bone Robot / Month of June ,The Ink Well Contest

Hello friends, I hope you are well, today I want to share with you my participation in the monthly contest for the month of June presented by The Ink Well.

In a very distant village, at the end of a hill, lived Professor Luther, a widower man, who was rejected by the villagers, because of a huge hump on his back, after his wife died, his only company in that huge castle, was a dog named Lobo, because he never had any children.

Using his knowledge in mechanics and electronics, he had spent days and nights building a robot to keep him company, and there was his creation, resting on the table of his laboratory.

-I will no longer be alone," he said, speaking to the robot, "you will accompany me, my son.
-What name shall I give you? - he wondered.
-Tomorrow I will program you," he said.

That soliloquy was interrupted by a loud noise, gusts of wind whipped the window, opening it wide, letting see how lightning in the sky illuminated the place once or twice, that gale caused the electricity to fail.

The Professor went to look for some candles, at that moment, the electrical storm took more force, the lightning fell repeatedly on the castle, they fell with such force, that they knocked down a part of the ceiling of the laboratory, leaving everything illuminated, the man took refuge behind a shelf, from there he felt how that place was illuminated completely, one lightning after another, they fell on the robot, as if they wanted to attack it.

Suddenly the lightning stopped, the storm ceased and Professor Luther came out of his hiding place, he immediately went to see the condition of his robot, which was no longer on the table, he felt footsteps, he sharpened his senses and stood very still.

A shiver ran down the man's back, he turned his eyes towards the place where the footsteps came from; he was astonished to see that the robot was walking.

-How can this be possible," he wondered, "yes, I haven't programmed you yet.
-Hello daddy," said the robot, looking tenderly at its creator.
The professor was really surprised, he didn't know what to do or say.
-What's up daddy," said the robot, "you don't love me anymore.
The professor frowned, his thick eyebrows almost came together and he bit his thin lips slightly; his head was a whirlpool of thoughts, no matter how hard he tried, he could not manage to calm his mind, to subdue it.
-I'm sorry for scaring you," said the robot, gently.
The Professor came back to himself, touched the robot's face and said: "Sorry for my reaction, son, of course I love you, I am very excited to see you walk and talk.
The man said this to reassure the robot, but still, he could not explain how one of those rays could give life to the robot.
-I must give you a name," said the professor, looking at the robot.
-My name is Leandro," answered the robot.
-Do you like that name," asked the Professor.
-That has always been my name, daddy," said the robot.
-I don't understand, I just finished assembling you yesterday, I haven't given you a name yet," commented the Professor.
-My name was given to me where I come from," answered the robot.
-Where do you come from?" said the Professor, astonished, "You are my creation.
-You created my body, but not my soul," said Leandro.

Leandro explained to him that somewhere in the firmament, there was a paradise, where many souls lived, that little by little were assigned to human or animal bodies, but this time the rules were broken and seeing the desire that the Professor had to be a father, he was assigned a soul for the robot that he had built with so much love.

The professor jumped with emotion, tears flowed from his eyes, he lifted Leandro and hugged him tightly.

-At last I have a son!" he shouted exalted.

Leandro reciprocated the embrace, which lasted a few minutes.

That day was one of the happiest for the professor, always rejected by people, only his wife could see beyond his physical aspect, but her company was only for a short time.
Leandro quickly became familiar with the chores of the castle and helped his father in everything, but what pleased the professor the most was the company that his son offered him, they were very happy father and son, the only thing missing was that Leandro was flesh and blood.

One day, the sky blackened suddenly, thunder could be heard and lightning could be seen falling. The professor and Leandro were in the laboratory, when a lightning bolt blew part of the roof, scared they ran to take refuge in a safer place, but a lightning bolt hit Leandro.

-Noooooo!" shouted the professor, thinking the worst.

Leandro fell to the ground, but a few seconds later he got up.

The professor ran to hug him, he was no longer a robot, now he was a boy of flesh and blood.

The two melted in a tender embrace and from that moment on, they were happy forever.

The cover image was made by modifying an image from Nathaniel Stensen on pixabay

The translation of the text was done with DeepL Traductor

You have such a wonderful imagination, @clemenp. This story is part fantasy, part science fiction, and the storyline is very clever.

Be sure to check out our article on How to Write Dialogue in Fiction to learn the correct formatting for dialogue.

For example, you are using a dash at the beginning of each thing a character says. However, you should use quotation marks, like you have at the end.

Instead of writing it like this:

-Hello daddy," said the robot, looking tenderly at its creator.

You should write it like this:

"Hello daddy," said the robot, looking tenderly at its creator.

Also, please remember to engage with other community members. We expect everyone who posts in The Ink Well to read and comment on at least two other stories for each one published in the community. Thank you!