The Garden

They stood there together in the truck watching a movie like they did every night. All the day’s work was done and they finally had time to spend together, just the two of them. With nothing but the glow of Christmas lights, overused air fresheners, the television in front of them, and the few stars that peeked through the makeshift skylight EVE had once desperately blasted through the ceiling, WALL-E and EVE leaned in towards one another, hand in hand, watching the scene take place before them. It was the most soothing of situations, and although they practiced this tradition every night, they never tired of it.

It wasn’t their beloved Hello Dolly, tonight. They had to resist the temptation, because they had already watched it the night before, and the night before that, and the night before that. They knew every line, every character, and every scene by heart, and the tape was on the verge of being so worn out it would be rendered completely useless. And anyways, WALL-E had collected a large array of VHS’s and DVD’s well worth watching as well. And the more they watched, the more things they learned, the more dreams they dreamed, and the more adventures they embarked on together.

The things humans did in those ancient times were really bizarre indeed. One of the couple’s favorite pastimes was trying to imitate the behaviors of the characters they saw on the screen. They wouldn’t know the proper way to dance, for example, if it weren’t for their most favorite film.

Put your hand on her waist and stand
With her right in your left hand.
And, one two three, one two three, one two three…

After viewing and rewinding the same scene over fifty times, they had just barely mastered the proper technique. Although neither of them had feet, WALL-E would muster all the grace his builders blessed him with to twirl EVE around the truck, her hand in his, and a hydraulic shovel-arm holding her side. EVE had successfully mastered the art of “floating through the air,” but he on the other hand had to put forth a little more effort and would sometimes end up tripping over his treads and/or falling backwards onto the floor. EVE would giggle, pick him back up, and start spinning him around like a top in midair, taking the lead instead. But WALL-E refused to allow her to go through the trouble.

The hero of tonight’s film was a dashing young fellow in a steel-gray suit, shiny black shoes, and dark brown hair combed neatly to the side of his face. He was walking down a star-lit path escorting a tall lady in a dazzling green evening gown and red hair pinned elegantly behind her head. The man bent down and picked something up from the ground and handed it to the woman, who smiled and took it from him as he whispered softly to her. WALL-E knew what the thing, or things, were. They were flowers. He saw them quite often. Every day, in fact. Because every day when he went to work, he would bring his lunch box, and in it there was always the same little glass jar. In the glass jar, after all his work was done, he would put a flower very similar to the ones the man gave the woman.

The day WALL-E had first seen a flower was a very special day. Not that every other day wasn’t special. Every day he had the privilege to wake up in the morning to EVE’s glowing face, kiss her goodbye before setting out to work, compact some trash for the humans, discover some new treasures, bring them home, and then spend the rest of the day with his lovely lady. Every day was bliss. But the day WALL-E first saw a flower was especially special. A flower is such a curious little thing. He knew it was some sort of plant because it had delicate green leaves, but it also had bright orange-yellow leaves that gathered together at the top of the green stem in a symmetrical star-like shape. Wait until EVE sees this treasure, he had thought.

So dirt, roots, and all, he placed the peculiar little thing carefully into a little glass jar that was lying nearby, stored it in his lunch box, and lovingly brought it home to his EVE. She squealed with delight as she kissed him and gently took it from him, staring at it with wonder. She told him it was called a “flower”. Being an Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator, she knew this word very well. Together, they planted the flower outside their little home, which had long since been moved to a now green and very grassy hill where the broken down overpass had once stood.

WALL-E wanted to see the joy in EVE’s bright blue eyes again and again, for he was only happy when she was happy. So the next day, he brought home another flower very similar to the first, and they planted that one as well. He did the same thing the following day, only that time he found one of a different color and sort.  Day after day, more and more flowers of all shapes and sizes were brought home until colorful blossoms started lining the entire perimeter of their humble abode.

They started with just one row all the way around the truck. And then another row was added, and another, and another, and another. Soon, rows of flowers became one large thick mass spreading out all around like an ocean, replacing what was once an immense trash heap about a century ago. It flowed down the hill on all sides, leading towards the bright lights of the town below, and then out back towards an empty field of rolling hills, painting an immense masterpiece in a tribute to all the colors of the rainbow. Room was left only for a few narrow paths that spiraled down and around the hill and for the giant oak tree that stood firmly in the center.

Almost every specimen of flower one could imagine was sprinkled along the horizon like dip ‘n’ dots. Blue flowers, red flowers, yellow flowers, tall flowers, small flowers, and medium-sized flowers. Some were very funny looking with their long pointy petals and others had blossoms that were small and round. One of WALL-E and EVE’s favorites was a giant yellow flower with a big brown center. It reminded WALL-E of the sun, and he was so pleased at the shocked look on EVE’s face when she found that it was taller than her.

It seemed as though each flower had its own personality. Some were bright, childlike, and playful, like the white ones with yellow centers. They seemed to laugh as they swayed in the breeze. Others were lovely, romantic, and mysterious, like the big red ones. WALL-E loved the big red ones. They reminded him of EVE. He always gathered as much as he could of this special prize.

The humans called it The Garden. One might consider such a thing to be mass confusion. There was no rhyme or reason to this strange phenomenon, but nonetheless, the people of the town considered it their pride and joy. An ingenious work of art. It was, in fact, a popular tourist attraction. People would come from miles around just to see the marvel take place. They would pass by each day and watch as it grew larger and larger.

No one was actually allowed to enter The Garden. City officials had made the historic landmark off limits, and electronic human-proof fences were placed all around it to prevent break-ins. Tourists never understood why, and when the residents told them it was because it belonged to “the robots,” many wouldn’t believe them. According to scholars determined to prove the PLBR (Personality-Like Behavior in Robotics) Theory wrong, “A machine would not be capable of creating such a thing unless it was programmed to do so. And if a fully functioning robot were programmed to tend to gardens, surely it would not do so in such a random and unorganized fashion. Therefore, it is easy to conclude that the phenomenon is a mere hoax concocted by the locals.”

But from time to time, mostly from the locals, there would be claimed sightings of a little white droid circling The Garden, watering and tending to each flower like a mother to her children. And those many people who did believe the stories, called the masterpiece the Seventeenth Wonder of the Universe.

WALL-E and EVE were completely oblivious to all this, however. WALL-E would go to work every day, cleaning the town’s trash, and EVE would stay at home, tending to their flowers, watering and weeding around ever single one. Each one needed special care, and only an Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator could know how to do it properly. After WALL-E returned home and they had planted their newest flower, they would sit inside the truck and talk together, sing together, dance together, and watch movies together. So there they were, once again, just like the night before.

WALL-E rested his head against EVE’s shoulder as she rested her head against his and they watched the scene before them. The gentleman on the screen was pulling from his coat pocket a different, much smaller object. WALL-E was not too sure what this one was. It looked oddly familiar though…

The man was getting down on one knee (what a strange thing to do, WALL-E thought) and he presented a little black velvet box before the woman, opening it gently. The lovely lady gasped with delight.

“Will you marry me?” the man said, eyes gazing into his love’s eyes, which were fixed on the tiny little box.

The woman looked back at him, “Yes!” she exclaimed, and they embraced each other as the man was picked her up and twirled her around. They were both grinning widely.

“Oooo?” EVE wondered, tilting her head up slightly. What a bizarre reaction to such a simple, meaningless thing. Humans were so strange. She didn’t understand them at all. Sure, she had done some crazy things in her own lifetime, but there were just some things humans did that she considered downright pointless. Unless there was something about this little box she was missing, she didn’t comprehend it at all. It didn’t help that the characters were using strange vocabulary she wasn’t programmed with. She didn’t understand what “marry” meant, but it must be a verb, she thought, because, the man is asking the woman to do something. She decided to record the scene for later reference.

WALL-E was just as easily confused, but nonetheless fascinated. He didn’t see how such a simple token could enthrall someone so much. The only time he had ever witnessed EVE so elated was when he presented to her with the plant he had rescued from the escape pod. But that was different. That was her directive. Unless this little velvet box, or whatever it represented, was this pair’s directive. WALL-E found himself beginning to understand…

Suddenly, WALL-E remembered where he had seen a little velvet box. He looked at the television, to the happy couple, to the delighted look on the lovely lady’s face, and then at his own lovely lady, who was staring curiously at the screen, taking it all in. He had an idea.

“Eve-ah!” WALL-E exclaimed, facing her and taking both her hands in his. He pointed a metal finger in the air as if to say, Wait here. EVE looked at him carefully and saw the excited look in his eyes. She knew he was up to something.

“Wall-e—“ but before she could ask him what he was doing, he was rolling towards the shelves. He stopped suddenly and turned back around to face EVE who was staring at him suspiciously. He covered his eyes. “Hmmmmm?” she asked. I don’t understand.

Peaking through his hands, WALL-E saw the confused expression on her face. He rolled towards her, gently picked up her hands, and placed them over her LCD screen. “Oh!” She twisted in the opposite direction and giggled, keeping her hands over her eyes. It’s a surprise. She loved it when WALL-E would do things like this.

As soon as WALL-E was sure she wasn’t peeking, he darted over to the storage racks. EVE laughed as she heard the sounds of shelves rotating, metal clanging, and things shuffling around. They reminded her of the day they first met when WALL-E had been searching his collections for the little green plant that would change both their lives forever.

Finally, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around slightly, glanced between her fingers and saw WALL-E beckoning towards the door. He reached out for her hand and it was immediately in his. He pulled her towards the front of the truck and outside into the garden. They gazed down at the city lights for a moment.

“Wall-e?” EVE asked, hand still in his, anxious to know where he was taking her. She tried to see what he was hiding, but there was nothing in his other hand.

“Eve-ah,” he responded softly, drawing her farther along. EVE decided she would need to be patient. They followed the path down and around the hill behind the old, battered yellow truck, the light of the town slowly disappearing. The illumination of the full moon above them was all that was left to guide them as they made their way through the field of sleeping flowers. The light reflected off them giving each petal an azure glow. The stars blinked down at the pair, but they took no notice. They never had to wonder what it was like being “out there” among the stars, and when EVE, especially, looked at them, she did not want to imagine herself still out there, without WALL-E.

They stopped a little ways beyond the small hill on which their truck was situated. It was completely silent now except for the sounds of crickets chirping, owls hooting, and WALL-E nervously poking the ground, not sure where would be the best place to start. He thought for a moment, remembering the scene, and decided to begin by plucking a few flowers from the ground.

“Wall-e,” EVE giggled, still wondering what he was up to. It was dark and difficult to see. He turned his head towards her for a moment, and from the reflection of the stars in his eyes she could see he was smiling nervously. He turned back to the ground, picking some more blossoms, making sure she couldn’t see them.

Suddenly, he was rolling back towards her, holding his hands behind his back. He stared into her curious blue eyes for a moment, examining how the moon shone against her sleek, glistening white shell. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, and even after almost one hundred years, she still took his breath away.

He slowly pulled the ragged bouquet of flowers out in front of her, “Eve-ah,” he whispered as the tallest blossom, standing out from the rest, poked out of the bunch making it’s way right between EVE’s eyes. She giggled and took the bouquet from him, realizing what he had planned. They were going to act out another movie scene. The setting was perfect, she thought. How clever of WALL-E.

He started to shuffle his treads even more nervously as EVE poked at the little cluster of flowers. He opened his compacting unit and brought out a tiny, slightly dirty, dark blue velvet box with gold trim around the edges. Still anxious, he almost forgot what he was supposed to do with it. Did he just hand it to her? Was she supposed to take it from him? No, somehow that didn’t seem right. After turning it around in his shovel-like hands for a few seconds, he remembered.

“Hah!” he exclaimed. EVE looked back up at him in surprise. She saw him holding something, but couldn’t really tell what it was.

WALL-E braced himself, hoping he was doing it properly. He raised the little box out in front of EVE and opened it. He didn’t remember the exact words he was supposed to utter, so he simply said the one thing he was really good at saying.

“Eeeee—“ he began, but before he could finish, he realized he had opened the box in the wrong direction. “AH!” he squeaked and frantically spun it around so it was facing EVE. He tried again. “Eeeeeve-ah,” he whispered anxiously.

EVE laughed at WALL-E’s nervousness. Whenever they would act scenes out from films, he was always so determined to get it right, but WALL-E was especially tense tonight, and she couldn’t understand why. She decided to make it special for him and get the scene right herself.

Remembering exactly how it played out, EVE got ready to squeal, “Yes!” (a simple enough word to pronounce) and to start spinning WALL-E in the air. But first, she wanted to get a closer look at this interesting box. She didn’t have a very clear view of it when the fellow in the movie was holding one.

She was surprised WALL-E’s box was almost exactly like the man’s. Usually when they needed props to act out scenes they would find the closest thing they could dig up. But these props, the bouquet and the box, were spot on.

The box was completely empty except for some velvet padding that matched the color of the outside. Under the lid was some silky white fabric with the BNL logo in shiny gold letters, and after scrutinizing the padding, EVE noticed there was an indent in the center as if there was meant to be something slipped into it…

Suddenly, with eyes open wide, all the pieces of the puzzle began to fit together. She knew exactly what this little box was for and what belonged inside it. She had seen countless instances in which human males would offer glittering tokens called “jewelry” to human females in elegant boxes of all shapes and sizes. And in some cases, a certain kind of jewelry called a “ring”, a metal loop with a shiny gemstone on the top, worn on the human finger, was exchanged. She had never witnessed such an exchange until that night, but she knew that when a female human wore a male human’s ring, it was a big deal. It meant they were going to be together forever. The humans called it “marriage”. “Marriage” sounded a lot like the word “marry”…

“Will you marry me?”

WALL-E was asking EVE to marry him.

She looked back into WALL-E’s eyes, which were staring lovingly into hers, and she knew that he had understood the significance of this little velvet box all along. Suddenly they weren’t acting out a scene anymore.

She didn’t know what to say or do. She uttered a few stunned squeaks, staring from WALL-E, to the box, and then back again. Finally, completely disregarding the velvet box and the bouquet of flowers that had been dangling at her side, she pulled WALL-E to her. She held him there as if her entire world would fall to pieces if she dared let go. If she had any tears, they would have been falling then. WALL-E was a little taken aback. This reaction was a little different from what he was anticipating, but he knew somehow that EVE was even more pleased than he had hoped. He held her close to him in turn, relieved that she was happy.

EVE tucked her head under his, eyes closed in pure bliss. It wasn’t the fact that WALL-E wanted to carry out a human tradition that touched EVE. She didn’t need a ring or even the pretty velvet box it belonged to to know she was meant to be with WALL-E forever. She had made that decision a long time ago.  She had made that decision from the moment she first discovered what love was, for it was WALL-E who showed her.

No, the thing that amazed her was that he still wanted her to be his forever, even after all the trouble she put him through; even after all the times he had to risk his life just to make her happy. But what he hadn’t understood was that the only thing that made her happy was having him there with her. Just him and nothing else. She had so many defects, and even after a century she still had so much to learn.  But everything she did know she learned from WALL-E. He adored her to no end and she didn’t deserve one bit of it. But she loved him so much for it. So much, she almost couldn’t stand it. She didn’t know what she would do without him, and she didn’t dare try and think about it.

WALL-E turned his head slowly from its resting position and meaningfully looked into EVE’s eyes, which were glowing back at him with pure joy. “Eve-ah?” he asked. Did this mean she wanted to be his forever?

As the stars in the heavens blinked down at them from above and the flowers in the garden peeked up from below, EVE gently spark-kissed WALL-E and rested her forehead against his. “Waaaaall-e,” she whispered, and he knew what the answer was.