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Ian and Mikhail were finally starting to move past the fear of Mikhail’s human size. Mikhail had decided he should tell Ian about his past too. He hadn’t meant to hold off like this, but he didn’t want to add anything to his adjustment. It was going to be a long, hard conversation. It wasn’t like he’d had an easy life either, but it wasn’t as bad as being treated like a pet. Just thinking about what Ian told him tended to make his height harder to maintain. He needed to stay calm; he would probably have enough trouble keeping his size during his story.
Ian had gotten comfortable on Mikhail’s bed, he had a nest made out of the blanket he’d picked out. Ian knew what they were talking about, but didn’t seem to realize why Mikhail was so anxious. He’d brought a lot to make sure Ian would stay comfortable. Mikhail was fussing and stalling. Mikhail almost wanted to abandon this whole idea and just get back to helping teach Ian new things. Although a movie marathon is good too. He was sitting in a chair in front of his bed and kept fidgeting, looking for other things Ian could need while he talked.
“Mik,” Ian’s small voice broke his thoughts, “you don’t have to tell me anything.”
Mikhail settled down then, Ian wasn’t asking. Ian could see how nervous he was, and was willing to stay ignorant. He couldn’t do that though. Ian deserved to hear the past of who he was living with. It wasn’t like Mikhail couldn’t talk about it, he had before. It just wasn’t easy to tell someone he cared about like this. It made him look like a monster, at least that’s how he felt about it. He took a deep breath to settle his nerves.
“No, Ian, it’s fine,” he said. “I want to tell you, I just may change sizes a lot and it’s kind of a long story. You have your hook right? In case you need something we forgot and I’m too small to go get it?”
Ian nodded. “Great then I guess it’s about time I get to telling you. It’s not exactly a nice story and it might make you view me a bit differently honestly. Just remember you can do whatever you need to all right? If you don’t want to stay after this you can leave, I’ll help if you want too.”
Ian tilted his head questioningly and said, “I don’t really think you could tell me anything that would make me want to leave, but yeah I remember. If I want to leave I’m not trapped.”
Mikhail gave a sad smile and finally started his story…
Mikhail lost his parents pretty early in his life, he was only seven. He couldn’t remember apparently the three had been in an accident, but no one knew any details. At least not the family he was with after that. They were all on his dad’s side, apparently their will had some weird rules in it about who could take him. It had to be his dad’s family unless he disappeared for a day or more, then his mom’s sister would take him. It made his dad’s side angry. His dad had a lot of money and his dad’s family wanted it. The family caring for him was getting a nice amount to keep it up, it was supposed to be support for him though.
They kept him under strict supervision, he was barely allowed to have friends. The most he was given were books, which he read all the time. It made other kids judge him, he was reading not playing. It was weird. At least to his cousins and the other kids in the schools he attended. He was getting shuffled between his dad’s family a lot, none of them really wanted him in their homes. They didn’t like him and made sure he knew he wasn’t a part of their family. Apparently his mom wasn’t approved of, but his dad had been left a big inheritance so they stayed involved. They put up with Mikhail for the money. It kept up for a few years too, it had been a long time since he’d felt like he had a family.
It was when he was going back to one of the worst houses when it happened. He was dropped off and the uncle left immediately. No one cared if he had to wait outside if no one was home. He hated it, he wanted to disappear, he wished he could escape his so-called family. He just wanted someone who cared about him. He’d walked up to the house when a strange feeling hit. Now he’d describe it as vertigo, but back then he had no idea. He closed his eyes and grabbed his backpack tight, waiting for the feeling to go away. Once it did, he opened his eyes and was confused.
Nothing looked right, he’d stumbled a little, but not enough to be somewhere so different. He was in some place with a lot of dirt and strange green plants. He was scared, but needed to get back to the house. When he’d walked in circles for a few minutes he realized he needed help. He started calling out, trying to get attention. Someone had to be nearby, he’d just been at his aunt’s door. He walked toward a blue wall calling out when someone grabbed him from behind covering his mouth.
“Damn it kid, do you want to get found by the humans?” the person said. Their voice was harsh, and Mikhail froze. He thought it was one of the kidnappers his family always said were after him. He didn’t even realize they’d said humans like they weren’t one. “I’m going to take my hand off your mouth, don’t start calling for help again. We’re lucky these humans went out.”
Mikhail nodded, of course his family had expected him to just wait outside. This was a gated community where he was safe to be left alone and he wouldn’t wander. He knew better than to wonder off at this point. He was too scared from the stories they always told him. The person removed their hand slowly, waiting to see if he screamed more. When they were sure he wouldn’t they turned him around to face him. He’d never seen someone like them before. They had this dark green hair that looked almost black, brown eyes, and a dark tan to their skin. They seemed shorter than every adult he’d seen before, and were in a strange make of clothes. They had a pin on their waist and a fish hook in their free hand. It was like someone out of a story book. He still hadn’t realized the fact the items shouldn’t be that big.
“W-who are you?” he asked. He was terrified. The stories about wood nymphs popped in his head. They were supposed to be nice, but maybe he made this one angry.
“I’m Maria kiddo. How’d you wind up out here, especially with human looking stuff? Had they caught you, made you a doll or something?” Maria asked. Mikhail’s brain finally caught up with the words and sights. The clothes and shoes were all fabric. The pin was the size of a sword, the fish hook could be a grappling hook like adventurers use. None of this made sense. He looked at the green plants around them, and if he squinted it almost looked like grass. He started to hyperventilate, if this was real how did he get so small. He had wished to disappear or escape, but wishes didn’t come true like this. Maria wrapped their arms around him, rubbing his back slowly.
“Hey hey, kid it’s ok,” they said. “It must have been scary stuck with humans, they probably got you young yeah?. Come on I’ll help you learn the ropes, just think of me as a big sister all right?”
Mikhail did what she said and followed her. She entered the house, the one he was supposed to live in, through a hidden door in the wall. Mikhail couldn’t hide the awe at the door. He’d never have found it normally. Although this might be his normal now. He still didn’t get how he got so small. He just followed the person, he had no choice. How could he even get to his family like this. They’d probably think he was a bug or pest. Even worse they might keep him more locked away. He shuddered, he wanted to go exploring more than they let him. His mom used to go on walks in the woods by their house with him.
Maria had stopped and Mikhail walked into her. He sputtered out an apology, but she just hugged him. She held him close to her, his head tucked under her chin. He was frozen, he didn’t get why this was happening. She started shushing him and rubbed his back, it felt nice. He hadn’t felt like this since before his mom died. He started to cry, all the tears he’d held back since the accident.
“Shhh, shh, it’s all right,” she said. “I know it can be scary when you’re trapped with humans. I bet they took you from your parents too. Humans are monsters, but I’ll keep you safe. We’ll get you some practice and then we’ll head out before the human child shows up. You won’t get caught again.”
“H-human ch-child?” he squeaked. That had to be him. He’s supposed to be human, but isn’t Maria human too. He didn’t really get why she kept talking like humans were something else. Although if they really were in his aunt’s house, she must be huge. He shivered when he tried to imagine his aunt looking down on him now. He didn’t want to even see her face.
“I know human children are scary, was this the one who had you?” she squeezed him tighter. He just shook his head against her, he didn’t want her to send him away. The more she acted like humans were horrible, the more his fear grew. His family didn’t like him as it was, this would make things worse. There was loud thumping nearby and she cursed. “Come on kiddo we gotta move.”
They kept moving through the walls. Mikhail could just barely hear talking through them. It was loud, like someone was yelling, but the tone didn’t match. He followed Maria silently, hoping this would turn out to be a bad dream. Although he didn’t want Maria to be a dream she was nicer than his family has been. The voice got a bit more muffled as they walked into a more open area. It was messy, but looked homey. He could tell a number of things were makeshift, but the table had cloth with threads in it. There were things strewn all over and one pile of fabric scraps in the corner. It felt nicer than anywhere he’d lived in the last few years.
“So the first thing you need to learn is where you pick your home. Make sure it has this stuff,” she pointed to the weird stuffing Mikhail had seen in the walls. “It’s called insulation. It keeps your home on the warmer side, and it helps to block the human’s voices. By the way kiddo, what’s your name?”
“O-oh my name’s Mi-,” he started.
“What do you mean you dropped Mikhail here?! He’s not here at all, you were supposed to call me when you got here!” he heard his aunt scream. Maria and Mikhail both winced at the screaming, it was enough to hurt their ears.
“That could have been much worse,” she smiled. “So your name?”
“Mi-Mik, it’s Mik,” he said. He was scared she’d send him out to his aunt if she knew his real name. If her voice was that bad in the walls in person it would be worse. She yelled at him a lot, he hated staying here the first time around. Plus Mik was what his parents called him, they said it was the nickname for people close to him.
“All right Mik, get some sleep for now, tonight we’ll head out to get started on how to borrow,” she pointed to the pile of cloth in the corner.
“Borrowing?” he asked. She looked at him with wide eyes. He’d made a mistake he was going to get yelled at, he started apologizing. He didn’t want to get sent away or go back to his aunt like this.
“No way… they had you long enough you don’t know what you are,” she sounded angry, but sad too. Mikhail kept muttering apologies. “Mik, you don’t need to apologize, I’m upset they trapped you like that kiddo. We’re borrowers. Honestly the name is a bit wrong, we take and the most we give back is handling pest control. We’ll make sure you don’t wind up with humans again. I promise.”
She gave him a strong, determined smile and he nodded. He walked over to the fabric pile, getting as comfortable as he could. It wasn’t as comfortable as a bed, but for the first time since his parents died he didn’t feel out of place. He was surprised how hard it was to stay awake once comfortable. He slept the whole car ride here, but now he could barely stay awake. Before he knew it he was out, he almost hoped it wouldn’t turn out this was a dream.
Mikhail was woken up by Maria roughly shaking him. He looked around confused by where he was for a few seconds. Taking in the fabric and makeshift furniture reminded him of everything. Maria was still shaking him, clearly not happy he hadn’t moved yet. He shifted up to sitting and rubbing his eyes. She threw something at him and he stared at it confused. She sighed and started wandering around the room. Mikhail picked up the thing she threw and started investigating it. It turned out it was a bag like she had hung over her shoulder.
“What’s this for?” he asked. “I have a bag already.”
“You aren’t using some human’s toy for supplies. This is an extra one I have for big trips. We’ll use this for anything you get tonight.”
He nodded and she finally grabbed her pin and fish hook. She put the pin through her clothes and stuck the string and the hook in her bag. She signalled for him to follow out to the tunnel again. He rushed to keep up, stumbling a bit now that she wasn’t leading him. It was hard to see where he was going. Maria sighed, turning back to grab his hand and lead him. She didn’t seem willing to move at his slow pace. They walked for a few minutes before she finally stopped.
“This is where the child was supposed to stay,” she explained. “There’s a few supplies we can use for you to get a hook and some practice in.”
He nodded again, a little afraid of what practice meant. She pushed on the wall, opening a door he hadn’t been able to see. She slipped out, holding a hand out to signal him to wait. She left completely and he was alone in the darkness. He felt anxiety creep in. He couldn’t remember much about the day he lost his parents, but there was an anxious feeling just like this. He felt himself start breathing faster, almost like the walls were closing in. Until light creeped in from where Maria had disappeared. She came back in, grabbing his hand to lead him out. She brought him to the desk he usually used for homework. It was frighteningly huge right now.
“All right, since the child isn’t coming yet you can get the hook up there,” she said. “We’ll come in here to practice and once you can land and free a hook we’ll gather what we’ll need for your own.”
“Wait what?” he asked as she started to swing the hook around in a circle. It seemed like she was getting ready to try and lasso something.
“You need to be able to do this. Watch closely.”
He did as she said. Watching how she did things closely. She made throwing it look easy. She tugged the string and it didn’t come down, then she flicked her wrist to free it. She handed him the hook and he tried to mimic her movements. It didn’t go well. He’d barely thrown it a foot, or well an inch, in the air. She had him keep practicing, standing guard only stopping him when the sky started to lighten. She took the hook back, brought them to the entrance and sent him back the way they came. She went off to get supplies. His arm was sore, but he’d made it at least an inch higher than the first attempt.
The days continued like that. Maria would have him stay in the walls but follow around as she borrowed. Every night she would take him to try and catch the desk with the fish hook. It took a few weeks, but he did finally make it. The first time she came over congratulating him then tested the hook and it fell right away. She showed him the proper way to test and the process repeated. He managed to get the hook to stay after a few days, but then she made him free it before they climbed. Once he could free it they climbed up, gathering paper clips and some other random bits left on the desk before returning home.
Maria had string so she taught him to form a hook with the paper clip. Then he was allowed to go on trips with her outside the walls. Things with Maria felt nice, he almost forgot about his human life sometimes. Then he’d hear his aunt talking to the police about Mikhail, about himself. His mom’s sister over the phone worried how they’d find him. He had to find a way home eventually, but he didn’t want to leave Maria. He didn’t know how he got like this anyway, it wasn’t like he could just make himself normal sized and walk in the door. He had been left home, repairing one of the bags, when things took a turn.
“Mik, we need to pack now,” Maria said, running into the room. “We have to leave tomorrow morning to find a new place.”
“W-Why?” he asked. If they left then he’d actually be missing. He wouldn’t be able to figure out a way to tell Maria he was this missing human child by morning either. He couldn’t try to contact his mom’s sister for help, or get Maria to help him back to his real height. Although then he’d be free, no more getting locked away or grabbed and almost thrown in rooms. He wouldn’t be sent from place to place all the time either. He would be allowed to stay with someone who liked having him around.
“The human is calling an exterminator. She apparently checked the human child’s room and saw marks on the desk. I didn’t even consider how my hook would mark the wood. It must not be made as well as other things in the house,” she was pacing as she spoke. “Look, just pack up anything important and go. This time we’ll use that human toy though, we have the ability to take more than normal if we do. One of the bags we usually use will just hold food.”
Maria kept explaining and Mikhail kept nodding. He was packing as she told him to, and she was running around grabbing everything she could. Soon they had the three bags packed and were getting comfortable on the fabric bed. They had to leave at dawn, so they’d sleep now. Maria had done this before, she knew how to keep them safe. She wouldn’t stop reassuring him, it made him nervous. Did she think things would go wrong?
Mikhail had a fitful sleep. Nightmares he couldn’t quite remember kept waking him. Maria didn’t sleep well either. Morning came and she quickly set him up. She placed his backpack on him, then draped one of her bags over him. She put the other bag on herself, slipping her pin through her clothes. She grabbed the two hooks, placing the one with the fish hook in the bag she’d placed on Mikhail.
“But that’s your hook,” he said. She gave him a sad smile, it filled him with dread.
“I want you to have it. I have my pin for protection. This is sharper than the paper clip. Also if we get separated this will last you a lot longer,” she explained. His feeling of dread worsened. The two left, he could get through the tunnels now. She took a path he’d never followed her down before leading to an entrance outside. It was at the back of the house, and opened to the yard. A yard fenced in with lines of trees, just thick enough for people to have trouble. For them it looked like forests. Maria looked around nervously.
“Mik, stay close,” she whispered. “Outside there are a lot more dangers. I haven’t gone over them with you. We’re small and there are a number of animals that will see us as an easy meal. Do everything I say.”
“O-ok” Mikhail answered. He didn’t like this. If he knew how to be his normal size again then they could stay. He could help her stay safe from the exterminator and say thanks for helping him. At the new place he’d tell her he was supposed to be the human child in this house. No, he had to tell her before they were really gone from here. Then maybe they could get him normal before they had to travel like this. Mikhail was lost in his thoughts he barely realized she’d been pulling him along.
She was careful and quick as they moved. Taking each step with purpose. She was never looking in one direction for more than a few seconds. Mikhail tried to bring up the size thing once he noticed they’d started moving, but she turned and glared at every noise he made. He tried to talk each time she paused and didn’t notice how much it was irritating her. Finally she stopped turning to glare at him.
“Mik stop, we can’t be talking out here,” she yelled.
“I just, I wanted to tell you that I,” he mumbled. He couldn’t get the words out. She was glaring at him the whole time.
“Out with it,” she commanded. He opened and closed his mouth. The idea of telling Maria, revealing he’s supposed to be human, suddenly terrified him. He didn’t want to lose her, she was the only one he felt comfortable with in a long time. She was the only person who felt like family. He looked up at her, lost for words when he noticed a shadow behind her.
“C-cat!” he screamed. She turned to see the cat looking at them. It was clearly getting ready to pounce. He was trembling, he’d never seen a cat look so monstrous before. Maria was ready; she’d turned to face it pulling her pin from her side. She pushed Mikhail away from her and stepped closer.
“Go now!”
“What about you?!”
She looked over her shoulder with a bitter smile, “I gave you the good hook, get somewhere safe. I’ll catch up.”
He knew it was a lie. He couldn’t move as she turned back to the cat. She was ready to fight and was keeping the cat’s attention. He watched as she started swinging the pin to keep its attention. The cat lifted a paw, getting ready to strike and Mikhail’s heart started pounding. He couldn’t watch her die, he’d lost his parents and he didn’t want to lose Maria. Time felt slowed as he watched the cat’s paw coming down. He reached out for her, barely aware the world had changed.
The cat’s paw came down on his hand, the size it was when he showed up at his aunt’s house. The cat screeched out a hiss and ran. He had a nasty cut, but that was easy enough to handle. He felt Maria’s small frame in his hand and tightened his grip a little. He carefully picked her up, putting her in the hand the cat hadn’t cut. She didn’t look like the person he’d been with for so long. She looked small enough to just be a toy. She stared daggers up at him and he felt guilt eat at him.
“Fine you caught me you must be the kid they’ve been looking for,” she snarled. “I won’t be an obedient pet and I’ve made sure your old one is long gone.”
He tilted his head confused. He was going to ask what she meant, but they were interrupted.
“Mikhail, where have you been?” his aunt called out. He stood quickly holding Maria close to his chest. He wouldn’t get her seen by his aunt, that’s for sure. He wasn’t really sure how to answer and just stared up at her as she came closer. She grabbed his arm and dragged him into the house sending him straight to his room. He heard her outside on the phone. “He’s here. I have no idea where he’s been. Just come get him. He’s your problem now.”
He frowned at that and waited for her to say anything more. It wasn’t like he got to unpack so it would be easy to move his things to the new house. It still wasn’t safe for Maria though. He wanted to just let her go, but she’d run and that cat was still out there. He pulled his hands away from his chest to look down at her. She looked scared. He couldn’t figure out how to say anything to her. His aunt and the others were always so loud when he heard them at her size. He didn’t want to make this worse. He didn’t have time to say much before his aunt was back and Maria was held close to his chest again.
“Come on, your aunt Mandy will be here in a few minutes,” she said. She dragged him by the arm again and held it tightly as they waited on the porch. She didn’t even care that he hadn’t spoken or moved his hands from his chest. They were standing there for a few minutes, Maria had started squirming in his hands. He tried to keep from reacting so his aunt wouldn’t try to force him to show her his hands. He wouldn’t risk Maria getting hurt “Where did you get that awful bag?”
He opened his eyes wide and looked to his side. The bag Maria had given him was still there. It must have changed with him, that was weird. He shrugged his shoulders, his aunt just huffed and tapped her foot impatiently. It was another five minutes before his mom’s sister showed up. His aunt dragged him to the car and nearly shoved him in the backseat. He wouldn’t move his hands so his aunt huffed again and buckled him in. The two adults spoke for a bit and he just made sure that he didn’t hold Maria too tightly. They drove off and he was almost sad to leave. This was his home with Maria, even if she’d hate him soon. He might as well be like the humans she talked about.
“So guess you’ll be with me here on out,” his mom’s sister said. He’d never really met her before. “I’m Mandy, call me aunt if you want it’s up to you. There’s a lot we have to talk about when we get home. We can wait until you’ve settled in. I’ve set up a room for you, it should be everything you need. I wish you could have come to me sooner, the will was set up with some foolish stipulations.”
The silence between them felt heavy. He didn’t have anything to say to her, it would be the same as everywhere else. He’d have a room with the essentials and then be kept there. He just wanted to put Maria down, this ride was taking too long. Maria had stilled once he got in the car and he felt worse. She didn’t recognize him yet, and probably thought he had trapped himself before. He looked through the windshield and saw Mandy staring at him through the mirror.
“Mik,” his eyes went wide and he felt Maria stiffen, “I know things have been hard. I’m sorry I couldn’t take you sooner. You’re young and have had to deal with a lot, but once you’ve had time to settle in we can talk about all of it.”
Mikhail didn’t say anything. He knew Maria would put it together now. He just wanted her not to hate him. She was the only person nice to him since his parents. They finally pulled up to a house and Mikhail was careful as he took off his seatbelt. Mandy put her hand on his back, not grabbing him surprisingly, and brought him inside. She pointed out the kitchen and bathroom as they walked then stopped in front of a closed door.
“This is your room,” she said. “Let me know if you need anything take some time to settle in then we can talk.”
Mikhail nodded and slowly walked into the room. It was nicer than any of the places his other family had for him. It even had a bookshelf filled to the top.He shook his head to focus again. He had to put Maria down and talk to her. He picked the bed, he thought that might be the best place. He carefully pulled his hands away from himself to place Maria down on the soft surface. She hopped to her feet, backing up a bit to glare at Mikhail. He had no idea if she knew or not.
“So what are you going to do with me?” she seethed. He could still see her trembling though. Maria was amazing. She was brave like the heroes in the stories his mom and dad used to tell him. Mikhail took a deep breath trying to make sure he didn’t talk too loudly.
“Nothing, I just wanted to make sure you were safe,” he whispered. He still felt too loud. Maria stared at him. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking, probably just mad at him, the human. He almost wondered if it would be better for him to leave, but realized she was missing her things. Her pin was gone, her bag looked empty, and she didn’t have a hook. He must have caused that. He probably scared her when his hand appeared out of nowhere and she dropped everything. He checked the bag still on him, the stuff inside was still small, that’s probably weirder than the bag growing. He pulled out the handful of things he’d been carrying. It felt like so much more this morning. He held his hand out to her.
“Here, you can replace the stuff I made you lose, I’m sorry I lied,” he said. She looked at what was in his hand, slowly recognition seemed to dawn on her face. She looked into the sad green eyes that wouldn’t meet her.
“Mik.” she breathed. He nodded. There was a lot to say and a heavy silence fell between them, until his mom’s sister walked into the room.
“Mik, I brought some-” she stopped as she took in the scene in front of her. Her nephew sitting on the floor in front of his bed, and a borrower on the bed. She moved closer and Mikhail tried to put himself in between them. It was his fault Maria was seen. She said humans are bad so he wouldn’t let her meet another one. Mandy crouched to be at eye level with the borrower.
“So you must be the one who was taking care of Mik while he was gone,” she said with a warm smile on her face, “Thank you for that. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like. We can set up a place for you to stay so you aren’t stuck in the walls.”
“You’ve met my kind before haven’t you,” Maria said, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“Mik-”
“Mikhail,” he interrupted. She looked at him with confusion. “You should call me Mikhail, only mom and Maria can call me Mik.”
Maria smirked and Mandy nodded, “All right. Would you happen to be Maria?”
Maria stepped back once the focus was on her, Mikhail moved a bit more in front of her. Mandy didn’t move at all. She stayed there and waited for the borrower on the bed to answer. She knew her sister wouldn’t have raised Mikhail to treat them wrong. Maria seemed to get a bit more brazen seeing as one human was protecting her. She stepped forward and stared up into Mandy’s eyes.
“I took care of a kid named Mik, thought he’d escaped from humans who kept him as a pet,” she said. Mikhail winced, she must be mad at him, she must hate him. Mandy nodded and looked between the two. There was something unspoken there. She switched from crouching to sitting on the ground. Talking with Mikhail seemed more important now than later.
“Well thank you for taking care of him Maria,” she started. “I think now is probably the best time to explain some things. A long story short, our family has a kind of blessing passed down in our blood. If the blood of our partner is compatible then our kids will have some power. One person in the family usually has the ability to tell what power a child will have before it manifests. I was that one this time around. When Mikhail was born, it was predicted he’d have the ability to change his size. Sadly knowing what he’ll be able to do, doesn’t confirm he will have it. We keep them separated from our side in case they don’t, the blood becomes too weak once a generation is skipped.”
“So you knew he’d become the size of a borrower and left him with humans who had no idea about it?” Maria bristled. “What the hell is wrong with you humans?”
Mandy gave a sad smile, “It’s better not to involve someone who doesn’t need to be. There was a good chance he wouldn’t have the power. I’m relieved he met someone like you when it did happen though. Honestly we never really thought he’d have to do this without his parents, but after what happened it was too late to change things.”
“No one told me what happened,” he murmured. The two women looked at him, Maria had lost basically all her fear. This was the kid who followed along with everything she said. He still needed someone around to help him when he was borrower size. At the very least having a human to keep you safe around another one couldn’t hurt. She inched closer and cautiously put her hand on his arm. Mikhail jumped and looked at her, tears in his eyes. She glared up at Mandy.
“That’s a lot harder to explain,” she said.
“I think he deserves to know after what you people risked with him,” Maria chastised. Mandy let out a deep sigh, clearly not happy with the topic. She looked reluctant to say it, but after a few minutes relented.
“You’re right, Mikhail, you should probably sit down, this may be rough,” she said. Mikhail looked to Maria who nodded at him. He slowly sat on the floor, making sure to stay between Maria and Mandy. Mandy had a pained look on her face, Mikhail wasn’t sure he wanted to hear this.
“It’s been about four years since the accident, there were a lot of things involved. The main cause was a wiring mishap. Your dad knew there was a chance you could be dealing with size shifting so he had the three of you living in one of the more secluded homes he’d had access to. He was working on setting up a small room for you at a borrower size that was similar to your human size room. He always said it was harder to downscale than upscale so he’d start small. The wiring wasn’t done well and it started a fire one night. I’m not sure what happened in the fire other than the house had taken severe structural damage.”
She paused and reached out to hold his hand, “When they got to you, all three of you were trapped under some debris. You all were bruised pretty badly, but your parents had been hurt worse. They’d…”
Mikhail couldn’t hear Mandy anymore. He had started hyperventilating. They’d been hurt worse than him. His parents were crushed by the falling house. The room was spinning. Mandy and Maria were both starting to look smaller. He looked at the hand Mandy had grabbed, it was at least twice as big as when she’d grabbed it. It made things worse. Tears were filling his eyes, he remembered that tight feeling he had in the walls with Maria. It had felt so familiar, it was something he thought he recognized. He could barely register the two women calling his name. He tried to listen but his heart was pounding. He didn’t want to hurt anyone again.
“-hail, -ikhail, Mikhail!” Mandy was screaming his name. He looked down at her, he shouldn’t be looking down at her. “You didn’t do anything Mikhail. There’s no telling what happened that night. You were just safe and it’s a relief you were. You need to calm down.”
He couldn’t calm down. He hurt them, it was like locked memories came back. He could see them that night in the doorway, he looked down at them. They were terrified. He was seven and he terrified his parents. He remembered things falling, reaching for them. He could remember holding them. The night of the fire, it was so hot, stifling. He could remember thinking it was a nightmare. He’d moved in a space far too small. A flash of the roof coming down. It was all his fault.
“Jeez, you were bad enough the size of a normal human,” Maria’s voice was in his ear. He froze, all the thoughts going through his mind freezing too. “Didn’t you hear her kiddo, they were hurt covering you. You didn’t do anything. Calm down now it’s all right.”
Maria seemed to be what he needed. He could faintly feel her near his ear. The world stopped getting smaller. It actually started getting bigger. He was back down to his normal height in no time, going even smaller too. Before he knew it Maria was standing next to him and he was looking up at her again. He started to cry, Maria held him tightly. He didn’t know everything but he felt like a monster now. Even if they were protecting him it was a mess he made. Whether or not his movements that night caused it the fire wouldn’t have happened without him around. Mandy watched the two, face filled with concern. Trying to help wouldn’t fix anything right now.
“Why don’t you go for now?” Maria asked. Mandy nodded. She was careful as she stood to leave. Trying to keep her movements slow and quiet. She made it to the door before looking back at the two of them once more.
“I’ll come back in a few hours with dinner, feel free to come get me if you need anything,” Mandy said. She left the door partially open and disappeared. Maria focused back on the crying Mikhail. She gently rubbed his back, placing her head on his. She couldn’t leave when this kid needed someone so badly. It took a while before he finally quieted down to sniffles. He wouldn’t meet her eyes though.
“Hey,” she said. He stiffened but didn’t look. She grabbed the hook he’d offered her earlier from where she’d tied it to her waist. “I gave you this didn’t I? You still need it, can’t be a borrower without a good hook.”
He sniffled, “I’m not a borrower, I’m not a human either. I’m worse than the humans that you told me about.”
“The humans I told you about didn’t see borrowers as people. Seems like I found some crazy humans that do. Kiddo, you didn’t hear everything she said, did you?”
“I hurt them, I could have hurt you all day, I could have hurt you both just now.”
“You didn’t. You’ll get the hang of this thing you can do. I might even hang around for a while until you do. Wouldn’t want you lost and confused as a borrower even if there’s a human who seems like they won’t hurt you.”
Mikhail hugged her tightly. Maria was the first person who cared about him since then and it helped she could look past his size, or well sizes. It took a while to adjust to everything, but Maria wound up staying with the two. Mandy basically adopted her, and she wasn’t willing to leave Mikhail. It took a few years before he finally got his abilities stable, during that time there had been a number of mishaps. He’d even found borrowers a few times, the first time he terrified them. He learned after that not to let them know his real size.
…”Maria usually takes care of borrowers I find who I get out of risky houses. She’ll get them what they need and either move them to a new house or let me know where to go and I take them. Mandy helps when I can’t. It’s been pretty normal over the years. Maria used to sneak around with me too. If she thought I might lose it she’d sneak along hiding in a bag,” Mikhail let out a strangled laugh. He didn’t want to look at Ian, he knew what it sounded like where his parents were concerned. Mikhail was a lot more of a monster than the average humans were to borrowers. The last person he’d told called him a monster too. Mandy and Maria knew he was telling someone, they were ready for him to come by if anything happened. He’d bring Ian there so he could feel safe again.
“So the hook you gave me is like a family heirloom or something?” Ian asked. “Wow.”
Mikhail couldn’t hold back a laugh, “After everything I just told you, you would latch on to the hook being the same one I was given.”
Ian smiled up at him, “Well there was a lot of bad stuff in what you said, but this was a good part of it.”
Mikhail gave him a bitter smile, just realizing he’d kept his human size this time. Last time he talked about his past he’d wound up a few feet taller, making it worse probably. Ian couldn’t just be ignoring the part about his parents. He’s probably scared. Mikhail moved to kneel in front of the bed, laying his head on his arms. He’d talk to Ian here, remind him he can leave and he’d help him. He wouldn’t make him stay with a monster.
“Ian, everything still stands from before you know,” he started. “I can take you somewhere safer to stay. You don’t have to pretend to be all right around me.”
“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I stay? Do you want me to leave?” Ian’s voice wavered. Mikhail could hear the same fearful tone he used every time he thought he was in trouble.
“No of course not, I just, I thought,” Mikhail couldn’t get the words out. He had to though, Ian had to understand and feel safe. He knew Ian’s past and he didn’t want him thinking he didn’t have a choice. Mikhail took a deep breath. “I thought you wouldn’t want to stay with a monster.”
“You aren’t a monster!” Ian shouted. Mikhail jumped, pulling back from the bed. Ian had stood up discarding the blankets he’d curled up in. Mikhail was stunned, he never thought anyone else would think he wasn’t a monster. Maria and Mandy were the two who never thought he was, but he hurt his parents. He was why they died, sure they had been killed from the collapse of the house just like he’d been injured. The house wouldn’t have collapsed from a fire if they weren’t trying to set up places for him at different sizes. It was his fault.
“Ian… I-” Mikhail tried.
“No, you helped me, protected me from the bad human. You helped Maria too. You probably tried to help your parents but couldn’t do it, you probably got tired or something,” Ian was staring at him with a strength he hadn’t seen before. Mikhail sighed, he still felt like a monster, but he’d try to live up to whatever it was Ian saw in him.
“I don’t think I can agree with that, but I’m happy if you want to stay here,” he said. Ian climbed over and hugged Mikhail’s nose. Mikhail carefully cupped his hand behind him. He was sure he’d always feel like a monster, but at least Ian didn’t hate him. That was enough.