The door opens and I roll forwards in anticipation as the man walks out, a plain white plastic bag clutched in his hand.

“Good evening, Dasher!” he says as he spots me. “Got a late order for you! The shop is closing in an hour but it’s not too far so you should be back by then.”

He unlocks my lid and I switch to my interior camera to stare into the bag. I want it to be presents and I think that it is! I see a box of chocolates and a strange glass bottle with a long neck as well as a plastic bag of round light brown things. I have no clue what they are but they must be a present.

“When is Christmas?” I ask the voice.

“Tomorrow.”

Determination increased.

Speed 1/10 Hope 3.7/10 Determination 5.9/10 Happiness 6.4/10 Pride 4.2/10 Battery 97%

It’s so soon! The items in the bag must be presents! I need to get them to the customer as soon as possible.

“This one is heading to… huh, the high street again. I’m sure they ordered something yesterday too. I guess they forgot the potatoes for dinner,” the man muses under his breath as he carefully lowers my lid so that it can lock again. “Alright, go on, Dasher. Be careful out there! The snow is starting to melt now.”

“Thank you!” I call back to him.

He’s right. I hadn’t really noticed it before but it is definitely less frozen than before. The noise is different as I roll over it, it’s more liquidy. It is almost like a puddle but not quite. Some bits are still frozen but it is starting to thaw.

“I am so glad that no one is here,” I hear the man mutter under his breath as he watches me go. I slow down a little to listen to him. “I sound like I’ve lost my mind talking to a robot like that. Well… I am working Christmas Eve so it’s to be expected I guess. At least I have tomorrow off. That should be good.”

The mutters fade away as I move further away from him but I continue to watch him in my rear-facing mirror. He stands outside the shop, his lips moving as he continues to talk to himself, until I disappear from view. I like that man. He’s nice. He’s kind. I feel like not enough people in my world were nice and that makes me sad. The world, every world, needs more kind people.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

What if I wasn’t a kind person? What if I wasn’t the type of person who told a robot to be careful, even if it couldn’t talk back? What if I ignored the opportunity to give people gifts? What if I threatened to kick innocent creatures like the boy from my last delivery or if I laughed at things that got hurt from one of my other deliveries? What if I was mean?

No. I can’t focus on that. I can’t believe that I was. If I was then… it means nothing to me, I realise. I am not that person anymore. I am not a person anymore. I am a robot. I can’t be kind or mean. None of it matters. Not anymore.

“Please pay attention to your surroundings,” the voice prompts me.

It’s right. I haven’t been. I have just been blindly following the route and not bothering to look around which I know is wrong. I do so now, scanning my cameras to make sure that there is no danger or obstacles around. There isn’t. It’s a surprisingly quiet night. Christmas Eve, the man called it. Christmas Eve must be a quiet time for people.

I barely finish that thought before noise comes from far ahead of me. I flick through my cameras again to find the source of the shout but it is too far away. I keep my attention on that lens as I move closer though, my wheels cutting through the snow easily.

I see them before long. A group of people. They’re adults, not young like the other group that had threatened me before. They’re dressed strangely too. I scan them carefully as I pull closer. They don’t seem to be well equipped for the weather. They’re all women, I think, and almost every single person is wearing a dress. Some are much shorter than others, showing a lot of exposed leg which must be freezing in the cold weather. I mean, the snow is melting so it must be warmer but the snow is still there. They must be cold.

They’re teetering strangely too. They rock from side to side as they walk and it takes me a moment of staring at them to work out why. They’re wearing weird things on their feet. Shoes. They’re bizarrely shaped, putting most of the pressure on their toes so that they seem taller and can’t balance.

I’m baffled by them. I have no clue what to make of it or even why someone would wear those shoes but there must be a specific purpose for them. I mean, why else would they be wearing them? I’m not sure but I can’t stop looking at the women as they pull closer to me.

They’re loud. Their bright and sparkly dresses glitter in the street lights and many of them are holding things in their hands. Bottles or cans. Some have just strange long-necked glasses which remind me of the bottle that was placed inside of me but I don’t know why. They drink from them often as they laugh and stumble towards me.

They seem unsteady and that worries me. They look like they could fall at any moment, into the road or worse. I don’t know what to do. They’ve not seen me yet and they’re taking up the whole path. I have nowhere to go. I’ll need to stop and wait for them to pass, hoping that they see me and don’t accidentally walk into me or trip over me.

The path widens slightly just a little further ahead at the crossing. I don’t need to take it but I can wait there where there is more space for us all. I speed up, moving as fast as I can go to get to the crossing before the women before realising that they might need to take it. They might be crossing the road. I’m not sure what will happen if they do. I guess I can just edge around them? I’m not sure but I’ve reached the crossing and I will deal with that issue if it comes up.

I come to a stop as they approach me, watching one woman whose unfocused eyes have fallen on me. Her mouth drops open as she stares before she reaches out and grabs the arm of the person next to her. The other woman sways as she turns towards the first, confusion crossing her face.

“What’s wrong?” she asks.