Nuts and Bolts

     “My life is paused when you’re not here.”

     “Excuse me?”

     Lukas looked over at Marigold in surprise, who was sitting on one of the crates, looking down at the ground. She had arrived at Theater Club half an hour ago, and had done nothing in the time that passed. Cinder had long given up trying to convince the girl to help make the props; Marigold never spoke and she never did anything to help. She always showed up, sat somewhere, and always stared at the ground, contemplating whatever she was always contemplating.

     This was the first time that Lukas—no, anyone had ever heard Marigold speak. Her voice was quiet and lacking emotion, as well as a little scratchy from lack of use. But otherwise, it was smooth like honey, sweet like sugar, and…as solemn as a bittersweet ending.

     “My life is paused when you’re not here.” Marigold repeated, looking Lukas straight in the eye. Stunned blue orbs met emerald green, as Lukas tried to comprehend what was happening.

     “You can speak?” Lukas blurted out, dropping the cardboard figures he had been carrying. “Why haven’t you been doing so earlier? Cinder would burn this place down if she knew you were just mocking her like that!”

     “My life is paused when you’re not here.”

     “How…wait. Do you really mean that?” Lukas stared at Marigold with utter confusion and dismay. 

     “You saw my soul through the nuts and bolts.” Marigold responded quietly. “You’re the friend that can help me see I’m not just a machine.”

     “Wait, wait, wait. What you’re saying makes no sense whatsoever.” Lukas shook his head fiercely, sitting down on one of the crates next to Marigold. “Nuts and bolts? A machine?”

     “You saw my soul through the nuts and bolts.” Marigold repeated. All of a sudden, she grabbed Lukas by the shoulders, a desperate look in her eyes. “You’re the friend that can help me see I’m not just a machine!”

     “You consider me a friend?” Lukas frowned, touching Marigold’s gloved hand on his shoulder. “Don’t you have other friends?”

     “I’m the loneliest of all.” Marigold sighed, letting go of Lukas.

     “Why?” Lukas inquired.

     “I’m the loneliest of all.” 

     Lukas growled in frustration. “This is getting us nowhere. Can you please stop speaking in riddles?” He asked in the calmest voice he could muster up.

     “You were always there for me, when no one else was.” Marigold explained cryptically. An improvement from the nonsense sentences, but still a little indecipherable. 

     “Well…why wasn’t anyone else there for you? Don’t you have friends? Family?” Lukas queried.

     “You were always there for me, when no one else was.” Marigold looked away sorrowfully. “To them, I’m just a machine.”

     “What?” Lukas stared.

     “To them, I’m just a machine.”

     Silence.

     “Wait wait wait. Are you implying that…you’re a robot or something?” Lukas raised an eyebrow, before chuckling. “Nice one, Marigold. Never thought you, of all people, would have a sense of humor!”

     …

     “Wait, for real?!”

     Marigold nodded comfirmingly. “That is correct.”

     Lukas stared dumbfoundedly.

***

     “Did you hear?”

     “Marigold Thyme is a robot, what?!”

     “Who would have ever known she was not human!”

     “Who would have ever known she could talk?”

     “Why does she only speak in riddles?”

     Day after day, people relentlessly gossiped about Marigold, the robot who looked exactly like an ordinary human. After the news had been publicly released on the web, things only grew weirder for Marigold. Lukas couldn’t help but feel sympathetic towards the isolated robot—no, girl.

     Lukas continued to attend Theater Club, and Marigold continued to come as well. She stayed quiet and let all the other members of the club gossip and theorize about herself. Lukas couldn’t help but stand up for Marigold when the rumors got a little too harsh.

     The first fully-functional artificial human. There had been prototypes in the past, but none were as accurate as Marigold was. Everyone placed her on a pedestal, gawking at the miracle of a robot. And that only made Marigold more isolated and distant from everyone else.

     The isolation seemed to put even more pressure onto Marigold. She often said random things to people that approached and addressed her, but to Lukas, the only thing she said was “My life is paused when you’re not here.” The first words that Marigold ever spoke to him.

     One day, after a rather harsh belittling from some rude members of the club, Lukas pulled Marigold aside after their meeting to give her a talk. 

     “Marigold, this has to stop.” He stated firmly. “You can’t let everyone walk over you like that! I can easily tell that you dislike all this isolation as well. Show them that you’re just like any other person, not some machine made of metal and highly advanced technology.”

     Marigold blinked sadly. “The path to isolation is littered with the dreams that lay destroyed.” She murmured, the first sentence that wasn’t the iconic catchphrase that Marigold had uttered in weeks.

     “Exactly! Which is why you’re not taking ‘the path to isolation.’” Lukas said, staring Marigold in the eye. “You told me that I was your first true friend. And I’ve come to accept that. But one of the responsibilities of a friend is to help another friend when they’re in trouble.”

     “The path to isolation is littered with the dreams that lay destroyed.”

     “So take the path to happiness instead.”

     Marigold fumbled with her gloves awkwardly. “I wasn’t ready. You can’t prepare for the unthinkable, for something that’s so unfair. It’s cruel, but that’s how life goes.”

     “Have you ever heard the phrase ‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade?’” Lukas asked. “That’s what you should do now. Take the unthinkable, take the unexpected, and turn it into something you can enjoy.”

     “Sometimes it’s worth it all to risk the fall and fight for every life.”

     “…I’m not sure how that fits in with our current predicament, but you count as one of those lives. And I’m saving you from depression, no matter what the world thinks.”

     “Fight for every life…”

     “Fighting for you.”