Abhedya and Swarnima reached her house. Swarnima took the main door and Abhedya the secret elevator. Swarnima unlocked her door and entered her house. She took off her specs, closed her eyes and sat on the sofa. After several minutes the  elevator dinged indicating Abhedya's arrival. Swarnima opened her eyes and asked Abhedya what took him so long?

"Your fridge is practically empty. No drinks, no chocolates and no ice creams, I just grabbed some. I can't stay like that." Abhedya said stuffing the fridge.

"Hehe! Okay! I will go and change. You want to work, sleep or study?" Swarnima asked him.

"I am going to study. We will fresh start with the project tomorrow. Good night." Abhedya said going to his room.

No lame jokes, no sarcasm. What was wrong with him, Swarnima thought. She saw him going to his room and bang the door shut.
'Did he hear the conversation? Is there something she did that changed his behaviour or is it just his normal attitude?.' The questions were ringing in her mind. She could definitely not ask him. She thought to wait till tomorrow morning, so she went to her room to sleep.

Abhedya entered the room and it was clean. The bed which had all gifts scattered was clear. When did Swarnima clear the bed? Did he take so long to get the stuff that she cleared the bed in the mean time. That's some speed at working. He was impressed.
He opened his bag and changed his clothes. He turned on his laptop and made a flow chart with the questions that were answered, the ones that were dodged, the ones that were twisted and the ones half answered. The events that took place, the mysteries solved and unsolved. It took about an hour or so for Abhedya to draw and analyse. He thus concluded, he will have to put his spy glasses on and be alert all the time. There was definitely a lot that he could see but did not know. Swarnima and his parents were hiding many things. Why? Was he not worthy enough to know the truth? Did they not trust him?
'Relax Abhey! They are family. If they have not told you something there must be a reason. Give them time.' His heart tried to cool him down.
'Abhey! You cannot just relax dude. They are all playing games with you. But, my boy! You are a bigger player. Play along their lines but on your terms.' His brain provoked him.
'They are his family. The ones you love.' His heart argued.
'And you don't keep secrets within the family.' Brain argued further.
'Uhhhhh! Stop! You both!!' Abhedya held his head. He heard a knock at the door and opened his door. "Whattt?" Abhedya shouted.

Swarnima stepped back. She was not used to such tone. "I..I.. got milk for you. Sorry if I disturbed you." She kept the milk on the table and left quickly.

Abhedya went out of his room and entered the elevator. He went to the apartment above, wore the boxing gloves and started boxing the pad. He was confused, angry, frustrated and felt cheated by his own. He wanted to vent out his anger. After a rigorous session he gave up and sat down. He took a chilled water bottle from the fridge and splashed on himself.

On the way back to his room he saw Swarnima's room lights were on. He tried to open the gate but it was locked. He went back to his room and sat with his books to study. He was now fresh. His plan was made and his heart was defeated. His brain was now on active mode.

At around 5 in the morning he decided to sleep. He finished most of the part of his studies. Abhedya heard the the temple bell ring. He checked the time, it showed 5:05 am. She gets up so early? Abhedya came out of his room and saw Swarnima at the little temple in her home doing her prayers. She was wearing a white churidaar suit and looked extremely pretty. The reflection of the sacred diya(lamp) on her face amplified her glow. Abhedya stood rooted and admired the angelic beauty he saw. He remembered the day of her birthday was the same scene, he was admiring her when he saw his father entering and then the showdown happened.
"It is not appropriate to gawk and admire someone while they are offering their prayers." Abhedya turned around at the source of voice and screamed "aaaaaaa"
"what are you"
"who are you?"
"Mommmmm"
Swarnima bow her head and ran to where Abhedya was screaming.
"What happened? Why are you screaming? Are you okay." Swarnima asked him with concern.

Abhedya would have definitely dived into those orbs had it been a different moment but he was scared, a ghost was standing infront of him. He held Swarnima's hand tight and whispered in her ear "there's a ghost/alien/someone like masi/something weird in your house. There see... green eyed, greyish brownish body, black brown haired female."

"GENE??" Swarnima asked.
"Don't be scared. That's a ROBOT. GENESIS... GENE for short.
Swarnbhoomi Technologies's  most ambitious project. It is still under observation and test period. Come, have a seat I will tell you."
Swarnima made Abhedya sit on the sofa and instructed Gene "please get him a glass of water."

Gene offered him a glass of water and he took it without looking at the robot.
"Hey sexy! Do I look that bad? Won't you spare a glance at me?" Genesis, the robot spoke in a sexy voice.

Abhedya spit the water and said, "Sorry. What kind of a robot is this? It is... it is... flirting?"

"Hehehe!" Swarnima giggled.
"You can't blame her. She is the brain child of chachu! Flirting would run in her." Swarnima said casually and realised what she said "uhh!! Sorry! I didn't mean it that way."

Abhedya ignored her and drank water. "Dad never mentioned it to me. Huh! Obviously, he would tell his favourite child, You! about everything."

"Ummm, it is like a domestic help for me. Because, we could not trust with any human to stay with me. A robot is safe. It would not pass on any information and cannot be bribed. everyday a new feature is added to it. Tests are done. It crashed a few days before and was under maintenance therefore, you didn't see it before. Now, Gene please tell about yourself to your programmer, and no flirting." Swarnima supplied with the information.

"Oh! My! God! It is so difficult to not flirt with such an attractive piece of pie." Gene said trailing her finger on Abhedya's face.

"Gene!! Obey my orders else no battery for you." Swarnima scolded the robot like a child.

"So, Abhey! I am GENSIS a andro-humanoid. Over my metallic body, I sport synthetic inorganic skin molded similar to Swarnima's mother Rima. . I am designed with a speed capacity of 1 Terahertz (THz) and a memory capacity of 1 zettabyte.
I have been  programmed with almost all the existing world knowledge managed to put in computable terms in my CPU, thus I am knowledgeable and proficient in all forms of academia, martial arts, communication, creative outlets, athletic skills, and scientific ingenuity. I am resistant to water, acid and to fire, partially though. I am also, partially resistant to severe damage such as gunshots. Severe electrocution can overload short-circuit in me. As long as my CPU head is still functioning, I can repair or fix back my minor parts such as eyes.
I have  X-ray vision and  can also serve as high-definition projectors. However, on downside, the eyes get bleached when exposed to flash light.
So, basically I can do all your tasks physical and non physical. I can expand and contract myself as per the requirement. The petty tasks that your Alexa or google assistant does, can be done by me. I can cook food for you. I can clean. I can  protect you from any danger. I can entertain you by singing, dancing or cracking up jokes. If you feel lonely, I can be your friend. You can share your feelings with me.  All in all, I am no less than a human created by Swarnbhoomi Technologies just that I cannot breathe.
That's about me.. I am sure by now, you have fallen in love with me. But, I cannot cater to your physical needs darling."

"Dad made it?" Abhedya asked in a shocked tone.

"Papa was into robotics, and chachu was in programme development. They were working on it together. If things would have been in our favour... a robot similar to Gene would have been developed and launched years before. It would have been one of a kind. This is unique too. Gene can understand all our feelings unlike other robots. You were saying you didn't know about it? Chachu has secretly got all the  test runs done by you. The solo projects you got in college were these programmes.
Chachu, trusts you the most. He knows how brilliant his son is. He just doesn't say it, every time, because he wants you to excel in all fields and not be content." Swarnima explained Abhedya in her soft voice.

Abhedya looked at Swarnima in astonishment. His father did find him useful and involved him in his work. This was news. A happy news.

"So, darling what would you like for breakfast, French omelette or me?" Gene asked and winked at Abhedya.

"Nim! Please tell her not to talk like that.. I feel.. I feel as if masi is talking. She looks so similar." Abhedya said not looking at the robot Gene.

"Gene!! Do you hear him. We should respect everyone's choices. He is not liking what you are saying so, stop." Swarnima instructed the robot.

"As you say Nim. But, one of my programmes instruct me to annoy Abhey! till the time he says 'oh! For fuck's sake shut up!'" Gene said Abhedya's dialogue in his tone.

'Hahahaha' 'Hahahah' Swarnima burst out laughing and said in between her laughter "You actually can talk like him. Haha haha."

"You find that funny?" Abhedya asked her and she nodded while laughing. Abhedya was getting irritated with her laughter so he pushed her on the sofa and covered her mouth and hovered over her.
Swarnima stopped laughing after a few seconds  and was lost in Abhedya's eyes. They didn't move, or speak. The plan Abhedya made last night seemed to be going in trash. Swarnima's spell was so strong.

"नैनों से नैना टकराए ना जाने क्या ढूँढे अँखियाँ (When our eyes meet don't know what they look for)" Gene sang these lines to break the spell Abhedya and Swarnima were under.

Abhedya removed his hand from her mouth and got up, the feel of her lips was still on his hand. Swarnima got up too, she could however still feel the warmth of Abhedya's hand on her mouth.

"So, yeah what would you like for breakfast?" Swarnima asked trying to hide her nervousness.

"I think I would just sleep. I was studying last night and was about to sleep until I heard the temple bell." Abhedya answered.

"Why don't you eat and then sleep. That way you won't feel hungry and can sleep longer." Swarnima suggested.

"Okay! I'l just freshen up and come. Make whatever you want." Abhedya went in his room.

He came out and sat on dining table. The House was filled with the aroma of freshly made pancakes and waffles.

"Hi! Come sit. I will just join you. Swarnima wiped her hands and came with a plate of French omelette and toast. She sat on the opposite chair and served herself and Abhedya.

"What do you want as the topping to your pancake and waffle?" Swarnima asked him.

"Umm... the regular maple syrup and chocolate." Abhedya answered.

Swarnima spread the syrup and Abhedya kept moaning at every bite.

"I bet, you would rather prefer those moans in bed." Gene commented serving coffee to Abhedya.

Swarnima gulped her food and started coughing. Gene patted her back to soothe her.

"Your bet surely is on the winning ticket, sweetheart." Abhedya replied to Gene's comment.

Swarnima widened her eyes and drank the whole glass of water. She preferred not to say anything. Abhedya was shameless. He flirted with a robot? God!! So shameless.

Abhedya laughed out loud. Swarnima excused
herself. "Chicken!!" Abhedya shouted.
Swarnima turned and abhedya laughed more loudly. She glared at him.
"Make chicken for lunch." Abhedya told her to cover up. He loved the flushed face of Swarnima.

Abhedya finished his breakfast. It was super tasty. He had more than his diet. "I am going to sleep. Please wake me up at 12 if I don't wake up on my own. We have to finish the project." Abhedya told Swarnima.

"Okay!" Swarnima replied without looking at him.

"Are you annoyed? I was just playing along. I don't leave any game or challenge in the middle, you see." Abhedya said with an intention.

"Hmm." Swarnima replied.
"What is it?" Abhedya questioned her.
"I want to tell you something." Swarnima was nervous. She was playing with her fingers. Abhedya did not know what more was to come. He was already drained out. So, he nodded her to proceed and Swarnima in a low and soft voice said...
"I had a reason for giving you the gifts yesterday. It was.. mumma's birthday and you were her favourite. She considered you her first child. So, I thought this will be the best way to celebrate her birthday. Sorry, I didn't tell you before."

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Dear Readers
How do you find 'Genesis the robot'? Cool isn't it. It will be an integral part of the story.
Note: a part of its description has been taken from google.
Swarnima just told Abhedya the reason for choosing the day for giving him gifts.
Abhedya's reaction?
Stay hooked!
Lots of love