The Jar

“One order fulfilled, one turn of the lid”
I will never forget this phrase, or its variations, for the rest of my short life.

I still remember the day when I opened my eyes and saw that ugly opaque lid above me, the lid of the jar in which I was kept. Looking around, I found that my jar had only four things inside. A bed, a cupboard, me and my thoughts. The last thing was the dearest to me. In my thoughts I could see myself flying above the hills with the birds, occasionally coming down to eat fruits from the trees and drink from the river. In my thoughts I was not a captive of the jar.

Fortunately the walls were transparent, so I gazed outside. There were others, similar to me, but different in every way. All of them dressed the same. Neither did they talk to each other, nor did they seem to think. Those robots seemed to roam around lifelessly in specific paths at specific times.

At first I was least bothered about my situation. The cupboard gave me almost everything I could ever ask for. Books. Pictures. Food. Fancy clothes. But not people. Not freedom. Soon, I longed for someone to talk to me. I longed to see the bright blue sky for once. So one day, I went towards the nearby wall and called out.

I swear they could hear me, I could see their peeking eyes, but no one replied.I screamed until one day only my lips could move. My eyes were about to give out when, with my droopy vision I saw the lips of a robot moving. I’m sure it was directed to me as they said the dreaded phrase.
“One order fulfilled, one turn of the lid”

What order? No one even talked to me and here I was supposed to follow some order! And then it dawned on me. Maybe I was supposed to be like them. They are outside unlike me, and they see the sun every day. I had to become a robot. With heavy legs, I went to the cupboard and asked for clothes which they wear. For the first time. With a loud creak, the lid of the jar turned once.

“One order fulfilled, one turn of the lid”

I was not happy at all. But it was working. My desire to see the sky outweighed the sacrifice. Slowly, I learned to move like them, in specific paths, at specific times, inside the jar. The only thing that kept me going was my dearest possession, my thoughts. I thought about how silent space might be, what sound the river makes when a bird dips its beak into it, the irregular noises of the footsteps of people who are free to run anywhere they want. The creaking sound of the lid became frequent like my heartbeat.

And then it stopped. It stunned me. I had done everything the lid could have asked for. I was then a fully functional robot. I did not know what else to do. I kept thinking, and then I stopped. I was thinking, which I should not. Give up your prized possession, in exchange for a whiff of outside air. The last step. The last turn.

I did. I thought nothing for days, except the lid. And then it turned for the last time. My joy knew no bounds. I ran frantically towards the cupboard and asked something for the last time. A ladder. I climbed it up swiftly and pushed the lid with all my might. It fell to the side with the largest thud you will ever hear. Everyone looked at me. I was at the top. My lips were aching with smile, my eyes red with happy tears. Arms wide open, with my hair in a mess due to the outside air, I closed my eyes and turned my head up to see the one thing I cared for the most…

I opened my eyes and saw that ugly opaque lid above me, the lid of the jar in which we were kept.