Phone
Ren waited for the moment when Maria was away from her phone, something she looked at every five minutes or so. It was midway through an episode of a true crime series that Ren finally realized that they could just ask Maria to use it. They were ‘bonded’, afterall. “Ehm, Maria. Do you mind if I see your phone for a moment?”
Maria didn’t even ask what for. “Sure.” She chucked the device up into the air.
Ren caught it in their chest floof like a football, a tad startled by the abrupt pass. “Thank you.” Holding the phone in their three-fingered paw was awkward, not just because of the dearth of digits but because it felt archaic compared to the mass of data which made Ren’s corporeal form. What was a miracle device that had millions of humans addicted- Jared included -in almost any other realm was but a dull brick of lights that just so happened to be able to connect to a virtually infinite reservoir of people and information.
The first thing Ren went to was Maria’s photo gallery. The previous few weeks were sparsely documented, featuring random things she’d seen that warranted her taking a photo. There were some selfies in between, some featuring Ren, others not. In each one Ren failed to muster a smile, looking stoically into the camera, if at all. Ren kept scrolling, cringing to themself with every photo of their unsmiling visage that would pop up. It wasn’t much further until Ren saw the first Digimon that wasn’t themself. Their eyes widened at the sight of Maria having her photo taken along with Ren, a man they recognized as Dave, and his Digimon. It was a red reptile resembling a Tyrannosaur with two legs and longer arms. Long claws and batwing ears protruded from it while various black markings highlighted a pair of brightly gleaming yellow eyes. It smiled at the camera alongside its proud tamer, much unlike Ren who had set a pattern of looking like a real curmudgeon. Ren had to scoff. I bet I’m super fun to be around.
“What are you looking at?” Maria asked.
“Oh, just this photo of us.” Ren showed her the screen. “With Dave and… and…”
“Guilmon,” Maria said for them.
“Guilmon,” Ren said immediately after.
“Don’t tell me you forgot his name after all those battles you fought together.”
“No, of course not. Just, my code isn’t lining up right today, I think.” The word “code” was supposed to be “brain” and “lining up” should’ve been “firing on all cylinders”.
“Well, if that’s what’s got you in such a good mood, I don’t mind.”
Written by TheGreatJaceyGee on 18 December 2025
The end (for now)