Some amount of time has passed, that’s all I am aware of as I slowly booted up once more. The icon is bouncing in the corner of my screen already, I realise. Someone is placing an order and if I’m waking up, that must mean I’m about to be sent out. Excitement jumps in me as my heaters turn on suddenly, surprising me. Of course, it must still be cold out.

I cycle through my cameras, staring out at the world around me. The ground is still covered in snow. Either that or it’s covered in snow again. I don’t know what the weather did whilst I was offline. It could have completely melted and then snowed again or it could simply have stayed cold and the snow may have never melted. I don’t even know what the weather is normally like in this world. Maybe this is normal for them and they spend most of the year hiding from the ice inside their houses.

What was the weather like where I’m from? I don’t really remember. I think there must have been snow, at least sometimes. I’m not sure but I think I remember walking through it and the coldness nipping at me. I don’t know though. The memory feels so far away. It feels easier not to think of it.

“You have received an order,” the voice tells me just as I see the icon change on my screen.

Excitement bursts into life within me, erasing all previous sadness.

“Have they chosen a song?” I ask immediately.

“Yes.”

I don’t bother asking the voice what song they chose, something told me it wouldn’t answer anyway. I tried to ask it last time and it refused so it would probably do that again. It wasn’t worth it. I could just wait and be excited whenever it happened.

I rock back and forth on my wheels, staring at the front door of the shop. I want to see the man again. He’s nice. He’s the only person I ever see here. Well, not the only person. People walk past me every day but I’m barely awake for it and he’s the only one who ever gives me groceries. I wonder if he’s the only one who works in the shop. No, that seems stupid. Surely the shop can’t have only one person working there? Does he not have any days off apart from Christmas? But I don’t remember anyone else. Maybe he doesn’t.

The shop door opens suddenly and I begin to move forwards. Movement out of the corner of my lens surprises me. Another robot has started to move. It’s just barely rolled forwards but it definitely moved. I force myself to move quicker, reaching the man before the robot moves again.

“Hello, Dasher,” the shopkeeper says, seemingly not even noticing the other robot. “Are you ready for another order?”

“I’m Dasher and I am ready to take the order!” I say excitedly.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I know that I didn’t need to introduce myself again but I still do. I can’t just say half of the phrase, I need to say it all.

The shopkeeper smiles at me, the expression genuine.

“Okay, great. I’ve got an order for number seven church road,” he tells me as he unlocks my lid and puts the bags into my compartment.

There are three. Normally, people only order one or two bags worth of groceries. They must be really hungry. Either that or maybe it’s presents again! Christmas has already passed, I think. Do people still give presents after Christmas? I’m not sure but I hope they do.

The man closes my lid and looks down at me.

“Alright, be careful out there. It’s getting icy again,” he tells me.

“Thank you!” I chirp back at him as I start to turn around.

I keep my gaze on the other robot the whole time. I don’t trust it. It tried to steal my order, I’m sure of it. I’ll need to keep an eye on it going forwards because it could do it again. But… what if it is like me? What if it was alive before? Curiosity and hope grip me so strongly that I can’t help but ask the voice.

“Um,” I start to say. “Voice? You know the other robot? The one that moved just now. Is it like me?”

There is a pause and I feel my hope start to increase so strongly that my stat almost changes.

“No,” the voice says, instantly annihilating that fleeting feeling.

“So… it wasn’t a person before?” I ask.

I already know, I just need to be sure.

“No.”

Hope decreased.

Speed 1/10 Hope  3.4/10 Determination  6.4/10 Happiness 6.7/10 Pride 4.7/10 Battery 96%

“Then… am I the only one?” I ask.

I don’t want to know the answer but I need to. I don’t know why but I need to know.

“Yes.”

I suspected it but I am still disappointed.

“Why?” is my next question.

For a while, the voice does not speak and I begin to suspect that it won’t. I’ll just be trapped forever, knowing that I’m alone and that there is no one else like me. That robot isn’t alive, it’s just a robot. It’s soulless, like the rest.

“I don’t know,” comes the voice’s soft reply, surprising me.

I don’t know how to react to it. I didn’t expect it to speak again and I really didn’t expect it to sound so… human. It sounded unsure, maybe even sad. I had no clue what that meant.

“What happened to me?” I ask.

It’s another question that I don’t want to know the answer to. I ask it but I know that I would be happier if the voice never answers it. Luckily, I don’t have a choice. A shout comes from somewhere out in the world, shocking me.

“Oi, you!” the shout comes again.

Panic soars within me and I flick through my cameras, trying to work out what’s going on and who the man is shouting at. I find him in my rear-facing camera. He’s staring at something past me, his expression furious. He seems badly dressed for the weather, he’s not even wearing a coat.

I switch to my front-facing camera before checking the rest. There is no one else around. He’s not shouting at anyone.

“Stop, you stupid robot!”

He’s talking to me.