It’s a dead body! Or wasn’t it? I struggled to calm myself, and finally mustered enough courage—and leg strength— to stand and peek again. I held the crowbar tightly, intending to use it as a weapon if necessary. I took a deep breath and peered in.

“Wow.”

The word came out of my mouth involuntarily as I stared at the person lying inside the box who may or may not be dead. It was a guy who looked a little older than me by maybe a year or two. His eyes were lightly closed, almost as if he was just sleeping. Dark brown hair fanned across his forehead, framing his face well. He looked gentle, with soft features that were almost feminine. Also, he didn’t appear to be breathing.

I knelt closer and poked his cheek. “Hey.”

He didn’t move. I poked him again, but still, nothing happened.

I sat up, thinking. If all of my deepest, darkest imaginings were true and he was indeed a robot, how in heck would I switch him on? Curious as I was, I didn’t want to touch any other part of his body. I settled for examining the box and the tiny pieces of colored foam around him. That was when I noticed a little box near his left hand, wrapped in a yellow ribbon. Intrigued, I picked it up and opened it. Inside, I found a little fox keychain that easily fit into the palm of my hand. In its tummy was a circular button. I pressed it experimentally.

I wasn’t sure if the whirring sound was only in my imagination. Sort of like a machine sounds like when you turn it on, a low metallic sound than made me think of tiny gears spinning.  I leaned towards the box again, then immediately leaned back, because at that exact moment, the sleeping boy/robot woke up and turned to me with a smile, his face just a few inches from mine.

I stared at him and he stared back, still smiling, looking as though he was expecting me to say something.

“H-Hi,” I stammered.

He smiled wider. His eyes squinted a bit, and the corners of his mouth drew up. He stood up in one fluid motion, taking my hand and making me stand too.

“Hello,” he said. “Are you my master?”

“What? Master?”

He nodded. “You bought me, right?”

“Not exactly,” I answered, then gestured at the other four boxes. “I won you from a game.”

He looked at the boxes, then back at me. “Oh, you got all of us?”

I nodded and quickly explained what happened yesterday. He nodded and smiled, but didn’t say anything else.

“Are the others…Are they like you?” I asked.

He took the crowbar from my hand and walked to the next box. “”Well, I don’t know. Why don’t we find out?