*Mine

Intro: This is like my story last week. I know it ends fairly quickly. I was feeling rushed for time. Sorry.

Those who said robots were only metal buckets had never lived with one. For Sarabell the robots she lived with were more human than the majority of those she associated with. No one knew she lived with the robots and it was best to stay that way. She'd lived with them for almost five years and had no intention of ever living anywhere else again.

Sarabell adjusted the scarf around her head and went back to work, doing the laundry. The coal town brought in a lot of money. With all of the steam engines needing fuel miners were in high demand. She worked for one of the companies as a laundress for the uniforms. That was were she'd first met the helper bots. They were strong but didn't have fine motor skills so while the humans did all of the intricate tasks the bots did the heavy lifting and drilling in tight places. She was taken on at the town but didn't have any money to rent so slept in the shadows outside of town. One of the bots must have seen her sneaking off one night. When she woke up the next morning she was in a bed. The bots didn't talk but they made sure she was fed and found ways to entertain her.

"Sarabell, are you done with that load?"

"Yes," she replied.

She used a long wooden stick to fish the clothes out and drop them into a colander. The water drained into a hole in the floor and then the next person in line whisked it away to go through the rinsing cycle. Except for the washing, doing the laundry was machine work. Large tube heated and powered by steam. Most people hated dealing with the dirty water and rough soap but Sarabell didn't mind wearing the long rubber gloves. She found she'd become stronger doing the labor and didn't like the noise of the grinding gears.

The pile of clothes was gone and she trained the tank, letting the gray-black water tumble towards the drain. Once the copper basin was empty she spent the rest of the shift cleaning it out. The night shift would be around in a few hours. The washer started before the rest but that also meant they finished early. She waved goodbye to the others as she headed out of the laundry shed.

The mine always bustled and she walked towards town. She ate at a little cafe every day. The room didn't have a kitchen because the robots didn't need to eat. What she saved on rent was spent on buying pre-made meals. She took her usual table and they brought her usual dinner, complete with a sheet of paper, inkwell, and pen. Every Thursday she wrote a letter. Never mailed it, but wrote it.

"Miss Sarabell, and how are you this evening?"

She finished signing her name and looked up from the paper. The man in front of her wore clean miner's clothes. As clean as they came with only stains. Pierre worked the night shift . He greeted her every evening and was one of the ones who brought in the clothes to her in the morning for washing. He had a dimple. She couldn't meet his gaze when he smiled.

"I'm good." That was her typical response. She always stuttered when she said it.

"Another letter to your family?"

She touched the paper and a feeling of sadness welled in her.

"I can always post it for you if you want."

"No. I'll take care of it."

"Would you take a walk with me?"

She nodded. She looked forward to their nightly walks. She felt almost comfortable around him. When she turned down his proposal three months earlier she thought would be the end of their friendship. He respected her decision but remained her friend. A siren split the air. Pierre bolted from the door and Sarabell was on her heels. The mine had collapsed. She stood on the edge as Pierre pushed through the crowd.

"What's happened?"

She knew he was important, but she hadn't realized who he was. As he stood next to his father, the owner of the mine, she let out a sigh. It seemed impossible and though she'd talked to him every day for the past year she still thought he wouldn't want anything to do with her really. No one would want her.

She backed away and stumbled on a vent into one of the abandoned tunnels. The metal grating shifted and gave way. The sunlight vanished and the fell into darkness.

"Sarabell! Can you hear me?"

She rubbed her eyes and looked up at the small shaft of light above her head. She shifted and a pain shot through her leg. The beams crossed above her head and there wasn't enough space for her to climb through, even if her leg wasn't broken.

Around her was walls of darkness. She listened to the sound of Pierre's voice but couldn't tell where it was coming from. She tried to call out but the dust choked her. The daylight above her head faded and returned. She counted but couldn't remember from day to day. Her mind fuzzed. She drifted off.

A metal hand brushed her skin and pulled her up. More voices. More metal hands. Water trickled down her throat and she pried her eyes open. Five green eyes and a pair of brown eyes.

"Welcome back, Sarabell. Why don't we get you to a real bed. No more sleeping with the help. Though I think we'll keep them around. We wouldn't have found you without them. And, I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"Is this another proposal?" She managed.

"Yes."

She smiled and nodded. "I like the sound of that."