I Fell in Love with Hope - Lancali

“Hikari, hold my hand.” C huffs out a breath. He braces in the
hydraulic chair much like Neo does when C operates a vehicle.
“Deep breaths, bud,” Hikari teases, abiding by his request.
“Don’t laugh at me,” C warns.
“I’m not laughing.”
“You’re laughing.”
“You’re a funny guy.”
“You ready?” Carl asks.
C squeaks. “No. Can you count down from three?”
“He’s ready!” Sony says, hopping up and down, using Carl’s
shoulders as a pogo stick.
C took his shirt off for the process, bearing the circuitry of his body.
Along the faint memory of muscles, his heart pulses beneath the
branching outlines of his veins. Thunder and lightning arisen from a
gentle organ.
C sighs, throwing his head back. Sony tries to distract him from the
spicy ultrasound with dramatic readings of Neo’s manuscript.
On a particularly grueling passage, audible reactions over the quiet
buzz echo through the room. Unbeknownst, Neo looks around and
realizes the whole shop is listening in, artists too. He swallows down
disbelief, suppressing a smile I never knew could grace him with
such brilliance.
C gets a rendition of Neo’s quote in the same spot as Sony and a
pair of earbuds over the text. Neo goes next, same quote, an open
book crowning the words.