R-1138 — Episode 3

She asked for books not just picture books— books I gave her a dictionary Three days later, she corrected my spelling on a whiteboard She writes now Beautiful penmanship Even made her own pen holder from wire scraps Accident today Tracing letters, she poked herself in the right eye Immediately began crying, holding the eye with both hands Refused painkillers But the eye's gone milky Likely permanent blindness I bandaged her She hugged my thumb She now reads English Russian, and Japanese IQ tests estimate her intelligence around 187 Her favorite activities are reading technical manuals and assembling circuits from scrap But her mood has changed More withdrawn Quiet He flew too close to the sun His wings melted, and he fell He lacked speed Escape velocity ensures orbit One simply must fly high enough, fast enough Maybe you're right Fuck She's gone A note on my desk under her favorite pen She wasn't a specimen My friend I hope she finds what she's looking for