Pirouette

Pirouette

This story draws inspiration from the characters of the eponymous classic story by Hans Christian Anderson, ‘The Brave-tin Soldier’ and his love, the paper ballerina. Here, the lead, Roy is an android (with a metallic heart or tin heart-a play on the word ‘tin’), who tries to understand the human world and his interaction with Anna (a dancer) who in turn humanizes him as he experiences the magic of love. On a deeper reading, the story also captures the dyad of perfection/ imperfection of the human body and engineering, further problematizing the question of what true inspiration is.

He kept staring at the watch that lay on the table and then at his wrist. It had been gifted to him two years ago by Anna. 

"Look at what all the watch can do!" she had exclaimed, using her voice to activate the watch and asked it metrics to summarize the number of steps she had taken, the calories she had burnt, and the quality of her breathing. She kept thrusting the watch at his face each time, much to his annoyance. But his emotion was short-lived as he looked at the sheer joy in her eyes. There was pure happiness. She flushed with excitement. He saw her this way only when she spoke about her watch or about her childhood in the mountains and of course, her dance. Nothing else seemed to get her attention or interest. His work never interested her, and he didn't seem bothered by that. It was fine, his work was too niche. He specialized in designing devices that captured movement from the physical world and in real time converted the same into machines for making them more energy efficient. But she didn’t know that. She didn’t know that under that perfectly crafted body was an emptiness no human would know.

"Right time?" she had asked, amused. "To change a watch? Is that one of your trademark punchlines?"

He smiled. "No, I will soon," and with that he kissed her on her forehead. Her creases easing as she relaxed into slumber. She slept soundly next to him, his arm tucked under her head. He moved his arm from under her head. These were too many emotions for him to deal with at once.

*****

The memory of the night was fresh in his mind. In fact, he could replay any memory at his wish. She had worn a light blue smock. It was dotted with pink flowers and she had sat across him. A thin silver chain hung from her neck. The locket shaped like a teardrop sparkled against the dim light. In it, was engraved a rose.

“What is that?” he had asked and she had removed the necklace and handed it over to him.

“It’s my mother’s. She was a ballerina, and I hope one day to be able to emulate her in every way especially in dance. Her name was Rose, and this had been gifted to her when my father had proposed to her. Since that day, she always wore it. I wear it in her memory and I think that she is always close to me when I wear this.”

She stopped suddenly, realising that she had spoken more than she had been asked.

“Did I divulge too much?” she asked, hesitatingly.

“Oh no! Not at all.”

“So, you love to dance?”

“Yes, I used to till this happened, obviously!” she tried to fight back her tears, looking down at the wheelchair she was bound to.

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey! It’s alright. I enjoy helping out in the library too. Anyway, enough about me! We didn’t meet to talk about me, this is day is supposed to be about you. So, happy birthday Roy!" she had beamed as she handed him a deep blue felt-box with a silver ribbon across it, wiping away the seriousness of the previous conversation.

"Anna," he muttered awkwardly. "The dinner was enough."

"Oh no! Not at all! Open it!"

He carefully opened the box and saw the watch. He didn't know what to feel. Anna knew that he would never part with the simple analogue watch he wore.

"I know you would not wear it, and that's alright. You don't have to wear it everyday. Just wear it when you miss me."

"Miss you?"

"Yes Roy. Like you know…when…"

“In that case I should wear it every day, every minute of my life” he said blankly, blinking away his embarrassment as he spoke, a little surprised at his own words.

“Oh stop!” Anna turned a bright pink as she whisked the air around her to flick her hand feigning nonchalance.

"No Roy, I can’t let you fall in love with me. I shan’t. I’ll just be a burden for you. And I will irritate you so much because I talk so much and yes, I was always someone who moved around a lot, but yes…”

“Anna you can’t really stop me like that.”

“I know” she said, looking away from his fixed gaze.

“But…”

“If there was something you could ask the universe for, what would it be?”

“I wish I could dance again, Roy!”

“So, you would like your legs back?”

“Hahaha, they way you put it!” she punched his shoulder slightly in jest. He felt his face crack into a smile.

“What if I said you could get it back?”

“What?”

“Just stay with me. What if you could get them back?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just answer the question,” he stated even-tempered.

“Well…yes, I mean, my mobility back you mean? Somehow?”

Roy knew where this conversation was headed. The accident had left her bound to a wheelchair and he knew she could not spend her life bound to a place. They had had enough passionate conversations about her dance-and he didn't need to be reminded how much it meant to her. He could see her perish each day, putrefying as she watched videos of her younger self prancing about various fests, competitions and occasions. The physiotherapy sessions had only helped her overcome the physical pain, but not trauma of losing her limbs. So cruel life had been.

*****

Two years later.

He played around with the watch. "Play Chopin Nocturne in E-minor" he said. He heard the watch project a hologram of a piano as it went over the keys, tracing the music that was too-familiar to him. He closed his eyes to hear the music.

"Only when you are ready, you must come and see me," she had said.

He gulped. He clasped the watch to his wrist. "Take me to Anna," he said. He didn't know what to expect. But the watch brought alive images of her in 3D, dancing. He knew each one of her performances. And he could recollect all of them. She was in front of him in flesh and blood. He watched her, her extensions, her smile, her perfect alignment. It seemed like only yesterday he had regenerated her.

He looked at her in bewilderment, almost in awe. She seemed like an unknown person to her. Ethereal. Out of this world.

"Anna," he whispered.

"Roy! You came!" he heard her. "After so many years! Oh, how I have missed you!"

"I have missed you so much Anna, and I tried to immerse myself in work. Life on earth is rather difficult, and very stressful.”

“Hmmm…”

“These emotions sometimes get the better of me! But I’m learning to handle them. And yes, I enjoy my work sometimes,” he chuckled.

“They don’t understand how I remember everything so clearly!”

“How’s work at the library?”

“At least they don’t remind me to stop talking, unlike how they would admonish you. And yes, I have educated myself about a few more dances since the last time you knew me.”

“That’s great! I cannot thank you enough though. You did too much Roy! You gave me back my life.”

“It’s alright Anna. I had never seen such passion before. I had seen all kinds of emotions but not the kind of submission, happiness, surrender and pure joy all at once when you spoke of dance. And then you gifted me a watch, that too, the one that belonged to your grandfather! I mean, it was just too much. And of course, that locket…your mother…The least I could do was give you back one thing you treasured the most.”

“But it cost you your life, your existence.”

“What life would you have had if you had no passion, Anna?”

“In our case, I can say that I literally owe you my life” she beamed. But Roy did not smile. He just looked away, unable to grapple with the rush of emotions tugging at his now-human heart.

“Can I watch you dance?” he asked, his eyes shining.

"Should I begin with a pirouette?" Anna pulled back further so he could see her form completely, her right eyebrow arched into a perfect semi-circle. She was just as he remembered her, just that she could dance once again, as she had always wanted.

The cavity in his body filled, as she watched her raise her leg in a perfect line, her arms encircling her torso and she shifted her weight onto the toes of her left foot, she spun, in perfection. No device had ever been made to capture the perfection of the human form this way.

Roy sat, his mouth wide open, as he looked at the watch. He had only a few moments left before Anna would vanish. He clasped onto the rose engraved locket, her heart in his body melting as she twirled weightlessly, her legs disintegrating till only the silhouette of her torso remained, with a cavity for her heart.