"One more try," she whispered to herself as she picked up the phone again. "...One more try."

She hadn't expected this to be so difficult. She had thought that since her robot was of and older, simpler make that it would be easy to find a suitable mechanic. Little did she know...

"I'm sorry, we do not offer any services for models older than..."

"...haven't for years, now..."

"...We do not have the correct parts in stock to properly repair your android..."

"But what we can offer is..."

She listened to every suggestion, every new and improved model that she could buy instead, and politely declined. She couldn't deny; some of those deals did sound rather tempting, but she held strong. It wasn't just a robot she wanted for a companion, it was that robot, that politely anxious mess of wires lying on her couch, and she would have none other, no matter how much effort it would take.

"Thank you." Was all she could say, and with every number she hung up on, she grew a bit less optimistic. That robot was depending on her now. His safety, his comfort, his body and repairs, even whether he survived the night... that was all up to her now. What if she couldn't deliver? What if she couldn't take care of him properly?

No, no she couldn't think like that.

I have to try.

So with that, she pressed the button and initiated another call.

"Hello?"

The voice that responded her was a smooth-spoken, casual, yet pleasant man, who greeted her politely and offered their business' services.

Here goes...

"I am looking for someone who can repair my EDW-450, please. Most of the parts will have to be replaced..."

When she finished her spiel, only silence awaited her on the other end. "Yes... could you hang on a moment? I'll be right back."

With a high-pitched beep, the phone went silent.

She pursed her lips and began to pace. At least its not a no... Usually the shops were able to tell her right away that they would not be able to help her. But that didn't mean it was a "yes", either. She'd have to be realistic about this sort of thing.

As she walked, she kept a sharp eye to the blanketed bundle on her couch. The robot had not moved since last night, and while she was starting to get used to him acting that way, it didn't stop her worrying, especially as the time ticked on by. She had no idea what sort of fuel she would need to keep him ticking, but until she found out it would be nice to have him stick around as long as possible.

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Perhaps if she ordered him to move... just to see if he could... but was it really—?

"You still there, miss?"

She gripped the phone tightly. "Yes?"

"Well, our mechanic makes it a point to never promise any miracles, but she does have experience with EDW models. She'd be happy to set up an appointment. When would be a good time for you?"

———————-

"Yes!"

It was her shout of triumph that startled it out of resting mode. It flinched violently, joints shuddering in the effort to get away...

And then promptly fell, crashing onto the floor with a hideous racket.

Instantly, his mistress came running. Her heart rate was abnormally high.

"Oh no... A-are you alright?!"

"Please do not worry. The fall was less than two feet, Mistress. I am not damaged further than what I already am." It replied.

But she didn't calm down. Instead, it found its head cradled in her arms as she frantically checked.

"Your eyes... what's wrong with your eyes?!"

"There is nothing wrong with my eyes, Mistress. Or my eye, rather." It was always best to use precise language, and there was only one functioning optic at his disposal.

"But it's not turning on!"

"That is because it is closed, Mistress." It explained patiently. "You ordered it so, remember?"

"I...what?"

"Last night, when you..." It let the sentence trail off into nothingness. The less time spent reminiscing on that moment, the better, for both her, and for it. Besides, from the gasp in her voice, it could tell that she had remembered without needing any more prompting.

"So you were just waiting...? Oh, I'm so sorry!"

Results came back showing a mix of shock and guilt. Hatred too... it did not like the sound of that.

"Open your eyes, please!" She cried. "No, wait, then you wouldn't be able to close them... um, could I just... maybe give you back the freedom to move your eyes as you wish?"

"You certainly can, Mistress." It replied. "You have complete authority over me. But do you want to grant me that freedom?"

"Y-yes! Yes I do!"

The first thing it saw was its mistress leaning over it, sighing in relief as a tendril of her hair fell from its normally neat bun and grazed against its face. Her eyes were wild, and her cheeks were flushed.

"I'm sorry." She said as she lifted it up and placed it back on the couch. "I should've been more careful with my words."

Yes, you should try, was not polite enough to get past his censors, so instead it went with: "I accept your apology, though it is not necessary. Please, Mistress, it was an honest oversight for anyone to make, and I did not suffer badly. It is no big matter."

And she stared at it, so long that it wondered if it had sad the wrong thing. Her lips pursed tightly.

"Regardless, I will be more careful. I promise you that."

It wondered how long it would take for her to forget. Humans were like that, or so his programming told.

But for now, it supposed it could simply nod gratefully and settle back down in its spot, waiting the day away. It had gotten very good at that, waiting. Staring blankly into space as the world bustled around it, forgetting that it was there, that it had once been a part of the rushing crowd too. It had places to be, customers to attend to, a purpose to serve. It had been useful.

Or at least, that's what it could assume. That's what it had been programmed to do, after all, and it had very clearly had a life and existence before where his records began. Before it awoke as a pile of scrap it an alley, promising to obey a strange voice who quickly walked away, laughing amongst his friends. Those memories, that before... it had all been wiped, it was sure of it. Whatever was there was no longer meant to be accessed by it, so there was no point in wondering. The data was lost.

And if anything, the situation was more often than not just a blessing in disguise. It was far easier to sit still and wait with an empty head rather than a mind full of memories.

Lie detected. Line of reasoning disrupted. Temporarily muting....