#like the 90s which was obviously before Akina was just holidays in Europe by car with one of my parents driving and the other one with maps

[oediex]

"What if we call it Akina?"

My parents bought a robotic vacuum cleaner. They're getting on in age, so it's a good addition to the household. It and I met last week, so I asked what its name was. Turned out they'd just named it after our family name. Boring. "It needs a name," I said.

Today my dad says unprompted, "I think we need to give it a different name. Our last name is a bit stupid." My mum says it's fine, but I agree. I'm drawing a blank, though, until my dad suggests the perfect name.

"What if we call it Akina?"

I like to think he's been pondering on this for two weeks.

In the early 2000s, my parents bought a GPS system for the car. I dubbed her 'Akina'. She was named for an AI system in a space ship in the Yoko Tsuno comic album series that I'm still obsessed with twenty years later.

It stuck. When my parents were going anywhere new, we'd say, "Don't forget Akina." "Akina will guide you." "Where is Akina?" I was sad when new cars with built-in GPS systems replaced the old ones. I always kind of felt like she was my baby.

I've missed Akina. I'm glad she's back.