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Cassie looked at Cole in amusement. He was standing next to the kitchen table looking at her phone. „How is this gonna work?“ he asked. „It's a cell phone, Cole. Surely you have seen one when you were a kid, haven't you?“ Cole looked at her not liking that she seemed to make fun of him. „Yes, a phone with keys to dial. This is just a big screen. How is this supposed to work?“ He asked again.
The doctor got up from her chair to walk over to Cole. Cassie took the phone. „Okay, look. You turn it on here.“ She pressed a button on the edge of the phone for about three seconds and the screen lit up. „Now you wait until it shows a keypad with numbers. You enter the code.“ She entered a number and the phone's background changed, the apps and widgets appeared. „There you go.“ „Woah... What is all this. It works with touch?“ „Yes, it's a touch screen. The keyboard appears when you choose a field you can enter text in. It appears automatically. See?“ Cole moved in a bit closer so he could see better, his shoulder touching hers. Cassie opened a messenger app and typed something in. Cole's eyes went big. This was different from the technology he was used to in the future. This might seem odd. But in the future they had older technology, like old key phones, walkie talkies, older personal computers like Jones did. He had seen newer technology but he personally never had seen anything like this. A touch screen must have been fairly new when the plague started.
„Okay, I get that. But what do all these symbols mean?“ he continued to ask as he pointed out the different little pictures on the screen. He wanted to learn this. „These symbols are apps, short for applications like on a normal computer. You can do different things with them like scheduling meetings, take pictures. Look!“ Cole saw her open an app that looked like a camera, much like one that his dad had when he was a kid. Cassie took a step back and held the phone up in the air in his direction. „What are you doing?“ Cole asked again. The doctor smiled. „I'm taking your picture. Smile!“ Cole smiled automatically when he remembered that it was like what his dad did when he took a picture of him on the swing in the backyard. He heard a loud clicking noise. Then his face fell. It was also the same thing the lady did when he was registered at the orphanage.
Cassie looked at the screen to check if the photo was any good. When it came out alright she looked up and saw Cole's smile fade. She went over to the traveler and touched his shoulder with her hand. „What is it? Are you okay?“ Cole looked up trying to smile again. „Yeah, I'm fine.“ He noticed Cassie's hand on his shoulder and felt a warm wave rush through his body. Smiling was easier after that. „So how did the photo turn out?“ Cassie showed him the picture. „What do you think?“ Cole looked at it and frowned. „Meh...“ Cassie giggled. „We seem to have the same reaction when we see a photo of ourselves.“ Cole grinned. He felt at ease around her. She made him forget the horrible things that he had done. She didn't judge him for who he was. She was just Cassie. Lovely, beautiful, mesmerizing Cassie who made his heart ache with a feeling he only had with one woman in the past. He loved Cassie. Would he ever be able to tell her? Could there ever be more than this? These little moments between them?
„So, what else do you want to know about this?“ Cole looked up when he heard the doctor's voice. He must have zoned out for a second. „Uhm, how do I call someone?“ „You really want to learn this, don't you?“ Cole replied: „Yes, it might be important in the future.“ „You're right. But don't be frustrated when it doesn't work at first. It took me some time to get used to this, too.“ Cole smiled at that. He remembered a certain motto his dad had and that he adopted for himself. He whispered: 'The only failure is giving up.' Cassie looked up. „What was that?“ Cole repeated it louder this time: „The only failure is giving up.“ The doctor's face lit up. „That is so true! Good, then let's try it.“
The end