Sasha froze. His winding, emerald body snaked around her prized rooftop antenna, shuddering as the mag-lev rumbled below. Alone Sasha stood, with the wind howling in her ears, staring down the first sprout she’d seen in her life. The plant was strange, almost sickening, and wound around her property. She tried to pry him away, but his fuzzy roots clung to her worn roof, his snaking tendrils gripping each crack with incredible strength. The sky broke, and as each drop of acidic rain hit the skyline, concrete boiled and rubber bubbled. Raindrops stung and pockmarked Sasha’s coat, yet this strange plant clung even tighter to his metal host, lapping up droplets as they fell. His small, leafy canopy drank up the falling rain, leaving a dry circular oasis underneath it.
Sasha grumbled to herself, gritted her teeth, grabbed a spanner and tore the invader away, breaking its faint, earthy aura. Sasha raised her hoodie, coughed, and threw the sprout off her roof. As the dying bud fell to the street, its frail structure was swallowed by the city’s concrete behemoths.
Free from the plant’s stubborn hold, Sasha’s precision satellite extended, pointing upwards towards the cosmos. Seeing her success, she rappelled down into her residence. She plopped down next to her dog, Max, who slept peacefully across her patchwork bed. She held her dog’s head in her lap, stroking its glossy coat.
“C’mon, pooch,” she uttered, a tinge of fear in her voice.
When she was ready, she pressed a small green button under Max’s tail. This woke Max, and beneath its faux fur, Max’s body was spurred to life by a lattice of servos and hydraulics moving his mechanical frame. Sasha held her breath. This had to work. Max had to connect. She crouched down, desperate to see her friend come back to life.
“Please, Max, ol’ buddy.”
Max’s eyes glowed blue, flashed twice, shifted briefly to a sea-green, to finally turn into eyes — eyes that locked in on Sasha’s profile. Recognition flashed in Max’s mind, as a distant server sent memory and love through Sasha’s rooftop antenna into his waiting circuits. Max remembered the times he spent with Sasha, straight from the moment Sasha found him, broken-down, abandoned in an alley. The cheerful pup saw its best friend, and its muzzle curled into a heartfelt smile.
In her alcove of the world, Sasha met Max’s glowing eyes. She had her buddy back. Sasha and Max drifted asleep, with Sasha gripping her buddy, never wanting to let him go. As they rested, a tender vine snaked up Sasha’s highrise, seeking shelter from the chaos, but cold glass kept the bitter world separate from the living.