P.A.F. is a young robot who lives on the little mechanical planet called 5T4Y awaiting to see his creator return from a journey started years ago.

It has been almost 30 years that he's been living on that planet but, despite the long wait, he’s patient because he believes that one day the creator will be back.

P.A.F. has a simple design. His body parts are simple geometric figures: circles, squares, triangles and lines, which are able to rotate and move giving him different forms. His creator chose these forms so that his son would be able to draw him easily.

P.A.F. is a sociable creature, he’s calm and he’s able to maintain his peacefulness even in the most difficult situations. He was built to look after his master’s son. He knows many games with which he amused the kid but he’s also very wise and he always knows what to say to teach how to live in harmony with the world.

In order for him to work best with children, the creator gave him 3 fundamental qualities:

• Patience, because kids do things in their own way and you cannot pretend that they follow your instructions literally;

• The ability to Awaiting, because kids have their times and when you’re on their side you have to go along with and accompany them;

• Faith, because even the most complicated kids can reach great goals, you must believe in them and help them with everything you got.

One day on 5T4Y planet a little alien landed and started to talk to the little robot:

“Hello Friend! My name is Tiawa, from planet W41T, who are you?”

“MY NAME IS P.A.F., FROM PLANET 5T4Y, THE PLANET WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW”

“So tell me dear P.A.F., does anyone else live here with you?”

“NO, MY MASTER LEFT YEARS AGO AND I’M WAITING HIM. I’M ALONE FOR A VERY LONG TIME.”

“P.A.F. my friend, didn’t you try to seek your master? Of course it’s important to wait and don’t have the rush to have everything immediately, but sometimes it’s not enough! I’m sure that if you leave to seek for him he will be happy to see you! You know, I’m traveling too to see a friend of mine. He left for another planet a year ago and we haven't seen him since then. I knew that sooner or later we would meet again but I couldn’t wait doing nothing. So I worked hard for all this time and now I can finally take a break to go meet him. Awaiting it’s ok because you can’t have everything immediately, but if we don’t do anything can we be sure to obtain what we want?”

After these words the little alien made his greetings and left again for his journey.

The robot was shaken by what the alien told: is it possible that for all this time he was waiting in the wrong way? Is it possible that waiting and doing nothing it’s not enough?

Thus, P.A.F., moved by Tiawa’s words, decided to start his journey to seek his master.

He reached a very big planet, with many people and started his research. He approached one of the inhabitants, a young girl, and spoke to her:

“HELLO, MY NAME IS P.A.F. FROM PLANET 5T4Y, CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT PLANET IS THIS?”

“Hi, P.A.F., my name is Felebi. This planet is called F41TH. What brings you far from home?”

“I’M SEARCHING FOR MY MASTER, I STARTED THIS JOURNEY RECENTLY BECAUSE SOMEONE TOLD ME THAT WAITING ON MY PLANET WASN’T ENOUGH, BUT I’M AFRAID THAT MY CREATOR WILL GET ANGRY FOR THIS. PROBABLY HE’LL THINK THAT I’D COME TO SEEK FOR HIM BECAUSE I THOUGHT THAT HE WASN’T ABLE TO GET BACK.”

“Dear P.A.F., don’t worry. I’m sure that your master can’t wait to see you again. It’s ok to believe in others but sometimes one person’s will isn’t enough to overcome some obstacles. And that’s when you see a true friend, someone who trusts you and it’s ready to help you if you need. See, I have a little sister, recently I taught her to use a spaceship. I knew that sooner or later she would be able to govern the ship without problems but, even if I had faith in her, I was there for her at first ready to intervene if she was in trouble. If your master is not back yet, maybe it is because he needs your help to do it!”

Felebi greeted the young robot and the two took their leave.

P.A.F. started to think about her words. He always had faith in his creator: is it possible that he wasn’t able to come back? Is it possible that the one who built him needed his help?

The young automaton resumed his journey and in space found a stopped spaceship, being repaired by some workers. He got close to one of them and said:

“HI, MY NAME IS P.A.F. OF PLANET 5T4Y, WHO ARE YOU?”

“My dear P.A.F., my name is Persev and these are my fellow workers of planet P4T13NT. We’re working on this spaceship so that, once it’s repaired, we can go back home. And you, what brings you so far from home?”

“I’M TRAVELING SEARCHING FOR MY MASTER, HE’S GONE FOR A LONG TIME. SOMEONE SAID TO ME THAT WAITING ISN’T ENOUGH AND ALSO THAT, EVEN IF I BELIEVE IN HIS SKILLS, HE COULD STILL NEED MY HELP, BUT I’M NOT SURE THAT ONCE I REACH HIM HE WILL FOLLOW MY ADVICE.”

“Do you see those men working on the ship? I taught them how to use those tools and how to repair damaged parts. It wasn’t an easy task because if I said to work in a certain way, their nature often led them to act in a different way. It took a long time, but finally any one of them learned and, even if they don’t always do as I do, they still get the result and sometimes it is even better than mine! So, P.A.F., even if your creator will not do as you ask, it doesn’t mean he’s wrong! Everyone does things his way. Some methods are faster and some others need time to improve. You just need to be patient.”

Once again P.A.F. greeted his new friend and resumed his journey asking to himself: “Will I be able to comprehend my creator's will? Will I be able to be patient and observe the results of his choices?”

P.A.F.’s journey continued. He reached many planets, some inhabited and some others not. He crossed galaxies and he reached the end of the universe searching for his master.

One day he saw a little mechanical planet very similar to the one where he lived but it couldn’t be the same because he was billions light years away from home. So he decided to land.

With big surprise he saw two figures familiar to him: a man with a long beard and a young smiling child. He recognized immediately his creator and his young son who he had to look after for years and he happily approached them.

The man seeing him ran and the two hugged each other. After the first moments of amazement P.A.F. observed the face of the man: it was very similar to his master but with something different. Even the child was a little bit strange and he seemed not grown at all, maybe he was even smaller than he remembered.

P.A.F. then said:

“CREATOR THERE’S SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN YOU AND YOUR CHILD!”

“My dear P.A.F., it's been a long time since the last time we saw each other and I grew older. My father who once you called creator, is gone for a long time and this right here is his nephew, my son! For years my father tried to get back to see you again but he was too old and he got sick. I too wanted to get back to you but he only knew the way back.”

“BUT IF HE’S GONE MY JOURNEY WAS POINTLESS, WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW? YOU GREW AND NOW YOU DON’T NEED ME ANYMORE. MY TASK IS COMPLETE! I THINK I SHOULD GO BACK TO MY PLANET AND THERE I WILL STAY TILL MY BATTERY DISCHARGE”.

The little boy got next to the robot looking with interest. Then he got to his father and whispered something. The father smiled and talking to the P.A.F. said:

“Sometimes the easiest solution is the hardest to find but kids always know where to search. My son had a great idea. P.A.F. stay and live with us. I’m old and I don’t need you anymore but he’s still a little boy with much to learn. With your help he will become a good and wise man.”

P.A.F. was full of joy and decided to stay and live with them in this little mechanical planet. Here he watched his creator’s nephew grow and so did with his children and the children of his children. And so he would have gone on till his battery discharge.

P.A.F. was happy because even if he was only a little robot he was able to give much and receive much in exchange.