The Country of Lesia

Mary's case

Mary, as usual, went to the shunting yard. She was given the task of prepare wagons for Alfred. The wagons were very heavy. Mary almost began to resent, but then she remembered that this train was not for her to drive, but for Alfred, who is a big and strong engine.
Mary transported one wagon each, so that it would not be too hard. However, it was too long. Having hitched most of the wagons, she got tired of it.
"I want to finish quickly! What can I think of ..." Mary thought aloud. Suddenly she had an idea. "I came up with! I will not pull one wagon, but more!"
However, she miscalculated her strength and one of her six wheels broke.
"Ouch!" Mary said. "No, I'd rather pull one wagon, as before..."
She finished her work.

But she was a little worried about the wheel. In the afternoon, she began to move noisily.
"Still, I damaged something ..." Mary thought aloud. She did not want to go to the repair.
"Damaged what?" someone asked from behind.
"Ah... Nothing," Mary replied as she pulled back onto the turntable to see who was talking to her. It was Kate.
"Are you speaking your thoughts out loud again?"
"Yes... That's my habit," said Mary. "I didn't expect anyone to hear."
She pulled back a little. The wheel made a noise.
"Wait, there shouldn't be such a noise. Has something happened to you?"
"No, everything is okay"
"I think you need to check. If something is broken, it can be dangerous for you and others."
"I'm sorry, but I don't want..."
"Are you afraid?"
"Not really... I just don't want to sound weak... The wheel is nothing."
"You need to go and check. Nothing terrible will happen. We can all break down, no one is safe from this."
These words did not at first instill much confidence in Mary. But a little later, when Kate had already left, Mary began to think about her words.
"But really ..." this time, Mary did not think aloud.
She hesitantly headed towards the repair depot.

"Um... Hello?" she asked hesitantly. If her wheels were as flexible as cars, she would press them against her body.
"Mary? Come in, don't be afraid!" one of the workers said. "Well, what happened to you?"
"One of my wheels got too noisy," she said. - "I think it's the back left, because I can feel something in it ... It's a little unpleasant"
"I see. It's just a little loose. Nothing serious yet, so I'll fix it quickly."
"Thank you," Mary said.
When Mary was moving to the depot after repairs, she thought to herself:
"Kate was right... It's even a little embarrassing that I argued with her... Oh well. And why did they all decide that I'm afraid of repair? I was not afraid of inspection or repair, I was afraid of another..."

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Date of writing: April 2021 (original), November 2022 (final version)