"Don't let go of my hand, 'kay?"

My mother's warm hand is grasping my hand tightly. We are walking in an alley I have never been to, but I know this scenery. Children are sobbing. Adults are either lying on the ground or laughing for no reason. We are pretty much still at home. Still, I don't know where Mom is taking me today.

Bright light shines in my eyes. I cover the light with my other hand. Slowly regaining my vision, I can see the light source is not from the sun. It's from the multiple lamps that I never seen before. They emit light other than yellow and white color and have various shapes, some even shaped like words.

"Whoa... Mom, where are we?"

"The city, Curt. You always want to know what I do, don't you? I thought it would be a good idea to help me with my work too."

"You work here? Really?"

"Of course! What could you get from that place anyway?"

"I like the scrapyards, it has many things that I've never seen!"

"Well, the scrapyards can't feed us. Come on, we have to go."

While we walk at quite a fast pace, I please my eyes with whatever thing I stumbled upon. From people walking with clothes that have no holes in them, cars with no tires, and TVs without the box. This place is so interesting! Why can't our home be like this too?

"That's not possible, Curt."

"What?"

"Your inner thoughts are leaking, you know? Where is this bad habit come from, huh."

"Hehe, I just like it here, Mom! You should've brought me sooner!"

She doesn't reply. Her brows turn a little into frowns, but that quickly changes as we walk again.

"I wouldn't have to-"

Her words are cut off by coughs. She takes a small handkerchief from her pocket and rubs it to her mouth.

"Are you okay?"

"It's nothing. Anyway, we are here."

"But, we are in the middle of the street."

"Exactly. My job is to sell these flowers to whoever passes by. Here, you also help me."

She handed me some of the flowers from her bamboo woven bag. We have a little garden where mother plants these. The flowers smell nice, not like the smell of the slum. Why did Mom never let me near the garden, though? Mom is stingy!

"Because you probably would pick the flowers. Again, I can hear you."

"Ugh! Sorry..."

"Watch me, Curt. Then, try to do it yourself. Don't go too far, alright?"

My mom started to try to sell her flowers to whoever people that pass by. 'Hello, would you like a flower?' This line is repeated with a smile on her face. Few buy the flowers, while most just ignore her. However, she doesn't stop and keep trying.

Trying to remember what my mom did, I pick one of the flowers and say the line with the best smile I can give.

"Hello! Would you like some flowers?"

We did this for some hours. Almost all the flowers sold out.

"Good job. Here, drink." Said Mother while pressing a cold bottle of water to my face.

"Thank you!"

"This finishes way more quickly than it should be. Maybe I should take you tomorrow too?"

"Really?! You promised?!"

My mother let out a gentle chuckle.

"Of course-"

"Looks like someone is having fun! Who knows ya got a boy?"

A huge man showed up. He is probably two times taller than me. Different from the other I met in the city, this man dressed like any man I could find in our home.

Mom yanks my hand and hides me behind her.

"Why are you here? I told you. I don't have the money yet."

"'Ah, of course. Understandable, perhaps next time.' Is that the line are you hoping for? What do you think are we, your personal ATM?! Look, woman, I don't care how to, but you have to pay me, now."

The man's eyes and mine met. His stare makes my breath heavier than usual. I could feel some sweat beads start forming around my forehead.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Maybe... we can take that kid. He would catch a good price, you know?"

"You sick, stay away from my son!"

She threw unsold flowers at him. Some of the flowers' thorns stuck in his face.

Mother grabbed my hand tightly and dragged me as she ran away from that man. We dash around the city only to find ourselves in a dead-end alley. The bulky man showed up not too long after that, blocking our only exit.

"Trapped yourself, huh? Good, now we can continue!"

"Help!"

Mom shouted as hard as she could. So loud, I almost reacted to cover my ears.

Her shout is very loud, but nobody is taking a look at us, even though there are so many people walking past behind that man.

Why? Why nobody cares?

I can't process my thoughts. My body is shaking and tears are falling slowly.

Then, in this blurry vision, I saw something probably as big as the huge man following us. The skin reflects light and it has this weird mechanical sound when walking. I wiped my tears and saw a that had a body quite similar to us, but had silver skin.

"Detecting the cry for help source."

"What the"

"Help me!" Mom shouts quickly after she sees that thing.

"Source detected. Looking for the threat."

"This tin... always gives me a headache!"

The man pulls out a thing that I always see in the comics which I found in the scraps, a gun. He pointed that gun to the silver-skinned man-like creature. A loud bang echoes through the alley as he pulls the trigger. The bullet hits the target! But it flies differently after it touches that silver skin!

My jaw dropped. I am still shaking, but I don't think it's because of fear.

The silver man then punches the bad guy, his body thrown into the side wall of the alley. Before even regaining his balance, the silver man grabs his neck and tries to choke him. The bulky man struggles and proceeds to kick the silver man's leg and throw him to the ground. Quickly he grabs the silver-man soldier and pulls it apart.

"The silver man loses his arm but there is no blood?"

"Yes, because it's not a man."

"What do you mean Mom?"

"That thing... is a robot!"

"A robot, wow."

"That man is trying to kidnap my son, please get him!"

"Affirmative."

The robot grabbed the man's arm and swapped its position by rolling its body. Swiftly, the robot claps the bulky man's wrist together by placing his hand on top of it. A handcuff suddenly ejected from that robot's arm. The bulky man is grounded, cannot move, and his hand is cuffed.

Their battle ended. The robot wins!

"That robot is very strong! Oh, but it's arm is... is it hurt?"

"Negative. We don't perceive pain."

"Thank you, robot! I'm sorry, I can't do anything for you."

"Do you want to help the robot, Curt?"

"No assistance is necessary."

"You say that, but this is good for the boy too. Please let him help you."

"What should I do, mom?"

"Grab his arm and bring it to him."

I run and grab the robot's arm. It feels like I have to carry many bags of flowers together at the same time! Still, I try to carry it, even though the finger is dragged on the ground.

"Huff... Done... Huff."

"Great, now you can reattach it."

"Human child, do you know how to?"

"I-I don't. What should I do?"

"Just plug it under my shoulder and rotate it."

I am doing it exactly as instructed. Suddenly, I hear a whirl sound coming from his shoulder. It automatically adjusted the arm itself. The robot is as good as it was before. 

"I thank you for your assistance," Mom said while bowing her head. "Let's go home, Curt."

Mom extends her hand. I grab it. We walk through the city.

"That robot was so cool, right?! He's strong and can protect us!"

"Haha, that was a police robot."

"What?"

"There are other types of robots, a lot."

"Wow! How can I meet them? Tell me, Mom!"

"Maybe one day, types of robot I like are those which can help around the house and-"

Mother coughs again. This time uncontrollably loud.

"Mom, what's wrong?! We are almost home, let's rest there!"

We entered our home. It's just a pile of cartons sticking out together, but I like it here.

I help my mother rest on her old mattress. Her breath is out of control and her face is whiter than normal. This sometimes happens, but I never think about it, because she always returns to normal.

"Are you okay?"

"Don't... worry. I'll be okay, just let me rest. Also, Curt. Take a look inside my bag. I have something for you."

I rummaged through her bag and found a book named 'Robotic for Stupid.' The book is quite thick. It's quite old, but there is no damage to the book.

"I thought you like robots, I want to buy you one. Maybe a robot dog, but I don't think I can. But perhaps you can make it yourself." Mother told me with a smile.

"When did you buy it?"

"When we walked home. Too much daydreaming is not good, Curt."

I placed my mother's hand on my forehead.

"Thank you, mom. I'll make a good robot!"

From that day on, I help my mother sell flowers again. This time, I sell my things too, things I created from learning from that book. I don't think I can call it a robot yet, but it's useful, and someone wants to buy it.

I wish these days could go on.