Elizabeth and the Metal Boy: A Short Love Story

 I was sitting down underneath the apple tree, taking in the view of my village from the small hill overlooking it. I loved the outfit that Mummy picked out for me today. It was a pale green, knee length dress with puffy sleeves and a ribbon around the center. It also had white stockings and black Mary Jane's. I also loved the hairstyle that she choose as well, a half-up half-down do with a pale green bow that matched the dress and my blonde hair perfectly. I was reading The Wonderful Wizard of OZ by L. Frank Baum and sipping on my morning cup of tea. It was a funny book, with a tin man and a cowardly lion, but I could relate to such strangeness. I am the only one in my village born without an arm. It isn't a pleasurable attribute to have, but I have a prosthetic so I can't really complain. I was content for a while until my stomach started to groan. I wanted to go home and have Mummy fix me a meal, but she and Daddy were off in town at the moment. I would have made some food for myself, but since I was ten-years-old I wasn't allowed to use the kitchen unless there was an adult around. I pondered on what I could eat for a while until the realization hit me like a basketball in the head. I could eat the apples from the apple tree. I reached up for the lowest branch, but it soon became apparent that my arm was too short to reach the branch. I was miserable, hungry, and tired...but I didn't lose hope. I reached again, standing on the very tips of my toes, but it was still no use. Just as I was giving up, I heard something, or someone approaching. It was a strange sound, almost like metal rubbing up against itself. "Do you need some help?" asked the figure. I couldn't see the kind stranger since he had come through the woods and was now behind the trunk of the tree. Even though I couldn't see stranger, I could guess at least one thing. It sounded like a twelve-year-old male. "Y-yes please, if you don't mind." I could hear the creaking sound again has he reached up for the tree. I could see the branches stir a bit while he picked the apple, and a few of the red autumn leaves came tumbling downward. "Got it!" exclaimed the boy, as he reached out his hand. I could see his arm when he gave the apple to me, his face and body still obscured by the tree trunk...but I was shocked, nonetheless. His arm was made entirely of scrap metals, mainly copper and steel, as well as gears and spidery fingers. I reached out, I'll be it cautiously, and grabbed the apple with my prosthetic arm because no harm could come to it if something were to go wrong. Nothing went wrong though, I just grabbed the apple with no trouble and then started to eat it. Even as I was eating it though, I couldn't help but feel fascinated by this kind stranger. "Woah, your arm almost looks like mine!" It didn't really, my arm was made with silicone and a brace. "My name is Elizabeth Barracks, whom might you be?" I wanted to know more about this young boy, "I don't really have a name miss." He answered. How absurd! How could one not have a name? "But wouldn't your parents have named you at birth?" I was a bit curious, though I'd hate to admit it. "I do have this number on my arm though, I don't know what it means, but it could be my name." He added. I looked at the number on his wrist. 15AAC. I'm surprised that I didn't notice it before, since it was in a metallic silver ink. "That looks a lot like Isaac, maybe that could be your name." I said trying to bring a bit of joy back into the boys tone, but I didn't want to call him that unless he was ok with it. The boy jumped out from behind the tree and gave me a hug, the jump making my eyes close out of instinct. I was thrilled that the boy finally came out from behind the tree, but as much as I wanted it to be, this was no ordinary hug. Hugs are supposed to be warm and cuddly, but this hug was cold and almost unwelcoming despite the intention. I opened my eyes only to see what lye before me. It wasn't just the boys arm that was metal, it was his entire body. He reminded me of the Tin Man, but he was more like the Scrap Metal Boy. I looked up at his face. His face was also made of scrap metal, but his eyes were made of glass. His looked like the glass eyes soldiers used to replace theirs if it was lost combat. His hair seemed to be made of brushed out yarn, in a gray so dark that I mistook it as black. "Thank you miss, it fells so nice to finally have a name!" The boys remarks snapped me back into this complicated reality. "So, you like it?" I asked, a little more awkwardly than I would have like. "Yes! I love it!" he exclaimed. A few drops of oil came out of his eyes, I took that as his equivalent of crying. "So, Isaac it is then." That was a bit obvious, but I wanted to say it anyways. "So, what do you like to do Isaac?" I was still a bit frightened of him, but a part of me was happy that there was someone stranger than me. "I don't really know; I was just completed a few weeks ago and just now convinced Pa to let me out of the toolshed with the promise I wouldn't talk to anyone" He replied and then chuckled a bit. At first, I was horrified; his Daddy was keeping him in a toolshed...But then I remembered that he was a machine with some form of consciousness. I thought about things that we could do. We couldn't go swimming because he would rust, we couldn't go on a picnic because he couldn't eat, and we couldn't go to either of our houses because both of our guardians would be concerned. I contemplated for a while until I had a good idea. "Do you want me to read you the story that I was reading, it is wonderful!" This was the only things that I could think of, even though it might be a bit boring. "Sure, let's hear it!" Isaac replied. And so, I started at the beginning. Isaac was awestruck the entire time and was especially interested when the Tin Man was introduced. We ended up getting all 122 pages done before sundown. "Thank you miss that was wonderful!" he cried out. I was glad that he enjoyed it. "I best be heading back to the shed now before Pa starts to worry." He started walking away, but I wanted to give him something as a gift. I looked around, but I already knew what I wanted to give him. "Hey Isaac, wait a second!" I ran over to him, "I want to give you my book, maybe your Pa can teach you how to read with it!" I shoved the book into his arms before he could refuse it. "Miss, are you sure? Don't you want it?" he tried to seem humble, but I could see a gleam in his brown glass eyes. "It will be fine; Mummy and Daddy can just buy me another one." I wasn't sure they would though, being that we were a bit tight on money currently. "Are you sure?" he asked. I nodded to reassure him "Thank you!" he started to cry oil again. "Now I must go back to the shed, goodbye!" Isaac started to walk away, and now I had no excuse to stop him the time. I watched Issac walk away and could only wonder if I would ever see the mysterious metal boy again.