Is that original art @jadams2k18 - you have personified them so well, its just so cute! It has to be, it captures your characters so perfectly <3

To say you have me instantly in love with your story would be an understatement, you have approached this from the other side and in a world where tech moves so quickly, the story of the left behind is one easy to relate to.

This story is peppered with amazing bits of description that roll off the tongue and give this story a whole other level of beauty.

Suddenly a big smile was drawn on his withered face, further wrinkling the skin of his face; making visible the lack of a few molars

This really is just one example of how very well you paint the scenes, language that is a pleasure to read. The way you space the story, telling this over the passage of years adds so much to this, it feels very much like a natural progression.

I really enjoy the way Anna keeps the AI to herself, and as you point out, not through shame, but through love, they become her treasured friends, and a link to her grandfather. The way they are part of her life, becoming like people, observing small changes in her, they may know what she gets up to, check in with the other smart tech she passes in her day to day life, yet they strike a wonderful balance between protective and giving her her own freedom. I love that they vet her husband, and then how you end this, they aren't teach, they are her friends, part of her life, and now, part of her child's life.

This is a beautiful story, and although it is happy and sweet on the surface, it casts a shadow of a world where AI comparable to people are thrown in the bin, where the other kids are only interested in the latest tech. In a way, given how her grandfather scavenges in bins, how excited she is about getting toys and her grandfathers inability not to let her have them, and her parent's not being around, Anna should seem like she is living in poverty, but she doesn't at all, not does she evoke pity. She may not have the latest tech the other kids have, but she values what she has for what it is, not paying attention to what its not, and gets so much more back from it. She in an inspiring character instead of one I felt sorry for.

This feels like an oasis of personal connection in a world of advancement and consumption, a story it is impossible not to love.

~ Calluna <3

_{PS - Voting is open! Head over to the round up post and let me know which entry was your favourite for an extra chance to win!}