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Mira had been having terrible luck lately. The mushrooms outside of the human house seemed to be preferred by animals lately. She needed to preserve the food she did have, which meant salt. That meant getting it from the salt shaker the human left on the table. She had never had trouble grabbing the table with her hook before, but her bad luck was clearly following her. It took more tries than she’d ever considered normal to get it steady.
She climbed up, the hook seemed unstable. She climbed onto the table and pressed her hook down a bit more. It looked stuck enough, she watched it for a bit before moving on. It was best to leave it out for a quick getaway. She was about halfway to the salt shaker when she thought to look back and check. The hook was sliding off the table. She tried to run back, tripping in her haste and watching it fall to the ground so far below. She bit back a groan when the thumping of footsteps sounded.
She pushed herself up and hid by the salt and pepper shakers. This human left the table mostly empty except for them. She reached to pull her hood down and nearly screamed. She'd forgotten it today of all days. She tried to use the shadows of the large items to cover her more. She knew her lavender hair would draw his attention. She bit her lip when she saw the giant walk into the room. He had barely come close and already towered over her.
“What’s that?”
She flinched, his voice was loud and too close for comfort. She poked her head out from her hiding place expecting to find his eyes locked on her. Instead she watched as he moved closer to the ground. He must have seen her hook, she wouldn’t be getting that back now. She bit her lip as the human barely disappeared from her view only to stand up to his full height. She shivered, she didn’t want this monster to find her.
She hid back behind the salt as he started to turn. She had to hope he’d just sit down and play with her hook before leaving. Humans did that sometimes, at least the ones here before did. She screamed as her hiding place was pulled away. She turned and stared up and up until she met the blue eyes that focused on her. She didn’t have time to think, dashing towards the edge of the table. She could try and shimmy down a table leg, if that failed she could hopefully limp away or would be too far gone to notice anything the human did.
Corus panicked when the little woman started to run. He didn’t want her to try jumping off. He reached out an arm and cut her off. She slammed into his palm and his mind froze. That was real, she was real. He thought this might just be a hallucination from lack of sleep. Instead there really was a person smaller than his fingers on his table. She really did just run into his hand. He started looking between her and his palm, only then realizing how he towered over her.
“Hi?” he tried. He crouched as he spoke, hoping to try and make her feel a little calmer. “I’m Corus, do you need help?”
He didn’t know the best things to say. Meeting new people was hard enough, this one was smaller than his fingers. She kept her wide eyes locked on him, they were pink. She could be like the fairies from stories, maybe he just cursed himself offering his name. He started to fidget with the fishing hook he picked up when he walked in. The little woman’s gaze shifted to it and the fear seemed to grow. He didn’t fish, so maybe it was hers. He ignored the way she tensed as he brought his hand close.
“Is this yours?”
The human’s voice was still too loud. Mira almost covered her ears to try and block him out. He brought her hook close and just held it there. She grabbed it and switched to a defensive position. She wouldn’t be held in a human hand again. Humans were clumsy and didn’t care about the strength they used, this one broke walls around the house. She just needed a way out. The human moved the hand blocking her path and she ran again.
The first edge she reached she stabbed with her hook. She threw the rope over the edge and started to slide down it as fast as she could. There was a sudden drop, she looked up expecting cruel blue eyes to be watching her. She didn’t see anything, but the hook falling from its perch. It slipped again and she yelped involuntarily. She tried to climb down, to beat the fall. Her luck continued to fail her as she entered a free fall.
There was a sharp tug on the rope before she stopped falling. She looked up, terrified of the face she’d see above her. The human hand held her hook higher than the table. She looked down, trying to judge the distance she’d fall if she just let go then. She would do it if she could make her limbs move.
“Wait!” he shouted. She winced, he was still too loud. “Sorry.” Quieter, better. “Just don’t jump. I’ll lower this to the floor so you can get off safely. I’ll give this back once you’re there.”
She nodded, she didn’t have much of a choice. It wasn’t his hands and she wasn’t getting trapped by an injury. She heard him sigh, but he did start moving her closer to the floor. She watched as her freedom was coming closer. Once she knew she’d land safely, she let go and took off. She didn’t have entrances this low, but she had hiding places. She heard as he moved and ducked into the first spot she found. It was a tight fit even for her, but she wouldn’t be grabbable.
She hugged herself as the earth shaking footsteps started. She wouldn’t be out in the open for this monster. She started to get bounced with each step. One of his feet landed just next to her hiding place. She barely covered a scream. It would be so easy for her to be out there and him to miss her. She bit her hand to keep her scream quiet when one of his knees hit the ground. She tried to ready herself to dive out and run if she needed to.
“I don’t know where you went, but I’ll leave the fishing hook right uh right here, on the ground,” he spoke. He was a bit sad that the little woman ran off without a word. He was trying to believe she was just scared because he was so much bigger and not because of his temper. She probably hadn’t been here long if she was still here. He placed the hook down and stood back to his full height. He tried to think about what it must look like to her when he stood. “I’ll be around so just let me know if you need anything.”
Mira held her breath as the human walked away. She wouldn’t just trust his words. She knew how to tell if he was still in the room, but she just needed time. She dove out once the steps were far enough she could reach a new hiding place before he came back. She actually stopped and stared as he kept walking away without looking back. Once he was out of sight she threw her hook up to the counter and made her way home. She had to think about things.
She ducked into her entrance behind the cabinet and nearly collapsed. The adrenaline from her close call dying out. She had to get home at least. Each step felt like it took everything she had. Once she got home she collapsed into her bed and pulled the blanket her parents gave her close. The only thing she had from home and the only reassurance she had she survived. She fell into a fitful sleep, nightmares of her past mixing with the truth of her present.
She woke up exhausted, but had things to do. She grabbed her cloak and hook, leaving her bag behind. Today she was just observing the human, finding out the risk she caused for her kind. She’d do what it took to get rid of it, even if it took her own life. She made it to her kitchen entrance, almost screaming when he was standing right in front of her. She pulled back, relieved he had been focusing elsewhere.
“This could work,” he said. She watched as he moved faster than his size would suggest. He pulled out a bunch of things from the drawer in front of him. He always tossed things in there, especially a rough paper she took more of than she probably should have. He grabbed some of that paper before moving to the table where she’d unfortunately met him. She wanted to know what he was doing, but from here all she saw was his back. She moved quickly and quietly to the sink. It was the easiest place to stay hidden and she could see the table a lot more clearly.
Corus wanted to show the little woman she could keep living here. After staring at the wall near his tools drawer he finally got an idea. He’d noticed the table edges had scuff marks and added some lacquer, that probably was why her hook fell. He started using the sandpaper to try and get back to the wood beneath his changes. He wished he could ask her to come test it, but making sure it was less likely he’d find her hurt was worth it. He was thinking of adding some nails to the edge of the table too. That way the hook had a solid spot to catch.
Mira watched as the human used the rough paper on the table. He took extra time on each of the edges. She knew it was useful to make wood smoother. She fixed up her home with it. She shouldn’t let that distract her. She had to stay alert, she should just go home. Watching him work was weirdly calming. It felt like he wasn’t the violent person she’d seen for so long. She felt her eyes growing heavy, the cool metal enticing her. His casual grunts as he worked were almost soothing. She promised herself she’d only rest for a few minutes.
Corus sat back, happy with his work. It took about two hours, but he’d done it. He went to clean up and froze when he found the little woman curled up near his sink. He could think of a million reasons she was out here, most leaving him hopeful. She might be curious about him too. She probably fell asleep watching him work, it wasn’t an exciting task. This was good though, he could have her make sure his work on the table would help her stay safe.
He pulled up a chair planning to just wait for her to wake up. He hesitated when he noticed her small body shaking. If he held his breath and leaned close he could barely hear the chattering of teeth. He couldn’t leave her like this. He went off to find a blanket she could use until she woke up. It only took a few minutes, he half expected she’d be gone when he came back. There was a sense of relief that she hadn’t disappeared. He still thought he made her up. He set the blanket down over her and rested his own head on his arms in front of her. Hopefully they could talk when she woke up.
Mira was warm and a gentle breeze was passing over her. She didn’t remember that from when she fell asleep, but she liked it. She couldn’t quite place the smell on the wind, but it was making it better. She felt calm for the first time since this new human had shown up. She sat up with eyes wide, she’d fallen asleep near the sink she shouldn’t be warm. In front of her was the human she was watching, the soap she hid behind gone.
She started to panic when she realized the breeze was his breath. She stood, pausing as the cloth fell off her. He had given her a blanket and that didn’t match what she knew of him. She stared at his serene face, she could almost forget the way he’d lashed out before. The close calls she’s had. Shaking away the thought she started to leave. She cursed herself as she tripped over the cloth and knocked into something. She turned back to face him, watching his eyes open and lock on her.
“Hey, did you sleep well?” he asked. She felt like that was some sick joke. The best plan would be refusing to speak and running away. She knew she wasn’t in a position to argue, but her luck had already gone bad.
“How could I sleep well with a literal giant a few inches from me?” she sneered. The human jumped and she tensed for the anger he’d shown in the past. He would be mad at her and lash out. She would break even easier than the walls.
“I guess I hadn’t thought of that.” He almost sounded remorseful. Mira wouldn’t fall for his trick. Humans would lie and cheat, that's their nature. The elderly couple did it to each other and this one lied to the lady who came to the door a lot. She wouldn’t fall for anything.
“I’ll be leaving then.” She started walking off. She wanted to appear confident, hoping he wouldn’t try to grab her. Running into his hand yesterday was more than enough. She wasn’t willing to dwell on the feeling of his flesh.
“Wait, please.” She kept walking. The longer he played kind, the better chance of escape she had. The shadow of his hand over her made her heart race, she couldn’t run just yet. “I sanded down the table and added some nails to the edges. Your fish hook shouldn’t fall again. Would you want to test it while I’m here just in case? Also, uh could I maybe know your name?”
She kept walking away. She glanced at the table, it did look different. He had just let her sleep too. He had plenty of chances until now to be what she expected and he hadn’t. She couldn’t just forget that night in the walls of his room. He had almost killed her and he never would have known. Her family would never have known what happened to her either. He was too dangerous to be near, she had to remember that. The entrance was close just a dash and she’d be safe. She wouldn’t use this one anymore, but she had a choice to make. She knew she was making the wrong one, but she didn’t care at that moment.
“Mira,” she said. Her voice cracked, her fear was coming through. She cleared her throat and inched away from the human who had leaned closer when she spoke. “My name is Mira.”
She disappeared once the words were said. She wasn’t risking him getting any closer. She leaned heavily against the wall and slid down to the floor. She waited for him to do something. He knew her name now, legends of a time where humans would use that flew through her mind. Legends have to start from something. She opened a door by giving her name, fear made her want to slam it shut. Curiosity had her wondering if he’d step through.
“Mira,” Corus whispered to himself. It seemed almost too normal. He was expecting her to be named something he couldn’t picture for a person. He smiled, he wanted this to mean she’d talk to him again. He walked away, pausing to look around his cabinet. He couldn’t see anywhere she could have gone, it was amazing. She was amazing. He wondered where else she had hidden openings.
He walked into his room and looked around. He almost wanted to see if he could find one here. He lost his focus looking at the discolored part of his wall. Zeke had left it like that after he lost his temper again. A way to help him try to stop lashing out. That night itself was normal, he got angry, punched the wall, got mad at himself and contacted Zeke. Something felt like it was sitting at the edge of his mind.
He could faintly remember staring up at the hole in the wall from his bed. He’d been mad that he lost his temper again. Glaring at the damage he caused and swearing he’d get better. There was something there that night though. A hint of color he thought he imagined. A bright pink and lavender that was gone as quickly as it appeared. He wrote it off before, the colors didn’t make sense. Now he could picture the face of the woman from his walls. The woman who was terrified and seemed unwilling to come near him.
“Fuck,” he breathed.
He had no way to know how close he’d come that night. Any night or day since then either. How many times had she just barely avoided a death sentence? His home was littered with signs of times he lost his temper and lashed out. Impulse control had been something he lacked for a long time. Coupled with a temper and now knowing about her he felt sick. He ran back to his kitchen nearly falling as he slid around a corner. He started knocking on the wall desperate to find out he was wrong.
“Mira, I hope you can hear me!” he tried. He was louder than he ever was here. He was terrified of what he might have done to her. “You’ve been here since I moved in, right? I’m sorry if I ever came close to hurting you when I lost my temper! I’ve never been great at handling it and I can only imagine how scared I’ve made you. I would never hurt you, I don’t want to ever hurt you. I’d like to be friends if possible, maybe just roommates or something?”
Mira’s whole body tensed when the knocking started. She knew it wouldn’t be so easy as getting to just go home. When he started apologizing for how close he came to hurting her it almost made her laugh. An apology didn’t take away the nights she spent terrified. It didn’t make the times she survived by pure luck go away.
He knew she was alive, he knew she could speak and think like he did. She was going to keep making her bad decisions. She slipped out of her entrance and stared up at the looming figure. She had to ignore the innate fear brought on by his looming shadow. She pushed away the way the hopeful look in his eyes made her feel.
“You think an apology makes up for you nearly killing me?” she asked. Her voice was cold and steady. She hadn’t heard herself like this before. “Do you have any idea how terrifying it is to wonder if this time getting food will get you killed? Other humans have caught me and I was let go, maybe with a few bruises. Every time you came close I knew that I’d probably die. You could ‘lose your temper’ and take it out on me. You’re more reckless than the child I’d been seen by. I wouldn’t be able to stop you. If I was slower, less careful, I’d be dead and it would be because of you.”
Mira kept her glare locked on the human’s eyes. She wouldn’t let fear make her seem weak at this point. Achingly slowly he crouched down until his eyes were level with her. She had to fight everything in her that screamed to back away. She didn’t speak out like this, not at home or when she was sent away, she wouldn’t look weak now that she did. He looked hurt and she did feel a little guilty. She didn’t do anything with the feeling building instead staring into his eyes and waiting. He sighed and looked away, as if he couldn’t face her.
“You’re right,” his voice was quiet and almost hoarse. “An apology doesn’t change what happened. I… I would like a chance to show you I can change. That I won’t hurt you and you can trust me… I…”
Mira wasn’t willing to pretend a large violent human wasn’t terrifying. He’d broken so many things that, to her, were nearly indestructible. At the same time he stopped her from jumping to what would have been her death. He saved her from a fall and didn’t try to find her when she hid. He kept from grabbing her and kept offering small promises that she would be safe. She was living here because of humans… She’d make another risky choice and see if maybe she’d been wrong about him all this time.
“I’m leaving. I’ll be gone from here by tomorrow. I won’t ever come back here, just forget everything about me,” she directed. She turned to leave. She’d watch and see what he did. If he changed, good, if he didn’t she’d still be safe until she could get together a warning for anyone who comes here and move on.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked. His guilt was eating through him. He knew he might hurt someone with how his temper got. The idea that he almost killed someone and he’d never have known was worse. He wanted to at least help her get somewhere safe after leaving.
“No.”
She disappeared behind the cabinet before he could try anything else. She moved in where she’d be out of reach and waited. She heard the sound of footsteps and waited for them to fade. She ran home and grabbed her bag. She’d stock up on what she could and just watch for a while. If he changed then she’d stay for good. If he found her again she’d make something up until she got away.
Corus sighed as he sat on his bed. He just made someone terrified enough that she’s leaving her home. He shouldn’t have taken the chance to move here after his grandparents were put in a care facility. He stared at the discolored part of his wall, guilt eating at him. He couldn’t stop her from leaving, but he’d make sure anyone else like her would feel safe around here. He started ordering some stress balls to keep all over the house. He ordered some books to his tablet on handling anger, too. He had to make things work this time.
Mira spied on the human for over a month. He was playing with strange items and mumbling to himself more often. His outbursts still happened, but he wasn’t breaking the wall or the doors anymore. It was an improvement at least. She had to rely on supplies from outside to stay hidden. If the mushrooms and herbs near the house hadn’t been picked clean by something she’d be fine. The colder weather would keep her struggling outdoors at all.
She moved slowly as she left the vent in the human’s room. He was in there more often than before. It worked for her. She stopped home and checked her supplies. She’d seen him scrutinizing things, it was too much of a risk to take directly from him at this point. She grabbed her coat and dumped out her bag. She needed to get some food from outside, especially before the snow the television predicted for tomorrow.
She pushed the exterior panel out of its place. She took a quick look around before sliding out and pushing the panel back in place. There was even less than the last time she’d been outside. She knew it would be a bad winter for her at this rate. She sighed, choosing to check the far edges of the house. She had been lucky in the past, but her track record with luck was running thin.
She might have to move despite the weather. At least for the winter. She could take a test trip towards the other home nearby, see how the trip would go. Although she seemed to remember the older couple complaining about animals nearby. The neighbor had something they called rats, but knew that wasn’t the right term. She grimaced, starting to look around for anything she could take.
Her luck was continuing to turn south. It was light out, her cloak wouldn’t hide her here. A human was nearby, she only saw their feet before a scream sounded. It was so loud, humans were always so loud, she had to cover her ears. Something slammed down on her while she was frozen from the shout. She just barely avoided getting her leg caught under the thing. She stared at the roof, the hoods of her jacket and cloak falling off. She ran to an edge, ceramic… It was one of the flower holders the older couple kept.
“Oh, Corus, perfect timing!” the human yelled. She recognized the voice of the neighbor always pushing for him to place traps. She grimaced, this might actually be where she dies. “I was taking a look at the old pots and found something scurrying around. I caught it, I remembered you said you try not to hurt the small things please come deal with it!”
“I’ll take care of it, you can head home with the others. I wanted to keep a few anyway. No reason to be here when I have to lift the pot up, right?” he said.
She felt the footsteps rocking through her as the one who trapped her left. The human she didn’t want near her again continued to approach. She felt the footsteps stop and had a moment of hope that both humans would leave her be. Instead a new heavier impact knocked her off her feet. She pushed herself up to stare above her, fear freezing her in place. She knew humans were dangerous, she knew she was at risk living like this. Any luck she had left was gone and she’d have to finally face humans who knew she was alive and scared.
Corus sighed as he placed his hands on the flower pot. Of course now is when his ‘helpful’ neighbor decided to look at the stuff he said she could have. He was getting sick of her neighborly kindness. She killed most of the mushrooms and herbs around the back of the house his grandparents always kept. They said something about helping the wingless. He never quite got it. He made sure he blocked the view his neighbor could have, he wouldn’t risk her learning about little people if it was someone like Mira.
“Hey, I’m lifting the flower pot now,” he mumbled. He slowly lifted it up so the opening was away from his house. He was waiting to feel stupid as a mouse or something scurried away from him. He didn’t expect to meet terrified pink eyes staring up at him. She was here, did that mean something happened? He hoped she had lied, he’d prefer she didn’t come back because she was in trouble.
They both stared for a minute before he remembered his neighbor was still watching. He cupped his hands around her, the yelp made him feel worse doing this. He carefully pushed her onto his hand. The way she shook made him feel like a monster. He had to cover her with his other hand so his neighbor would think he just found an injured animal. He had to climb up to his feet, the way she moved in his hands had him feeling awful.
“Looks like it’s injured,” he called out. He felt Mira flinch and pulled his hands closer. He wished he could tell her she’s still safe, that he’s making sure she’s not in worse danger. “I have a cage inside to keep it in until it’s healed.”
Corus hated how her shaking got worse. She probably thought he was actually going to trap her in a cage. He would need to get a fence or something to keep the woman out of his yard. He tried not to be obvious as he rushed inside, he was worried she might actually be hurt. In the worst case she could be in shock. He tried to hold her a bit more firmly so there was no chance of making a broken limb worse. He’d just set her on his bed and go from there.
Mira started shaking as the human spoke. She had two thoughts fighting for the focus of her mind. He was nice before, he hadn’t grabbed her until now, it could be him trying to convince the other human she was just a mouse. Unfortunately the winning thought was that he was keeping her. He let her go once and he wouldn’t risk her leaving again. She tried to go limp, but when the warm digits tightened she tensed and started shaking again. They were longer than she was tall. She was barely anything to him.
She gasped as light flooded her vision. She waited for the harsh feeling of the floor of a cage. Instead she landed on a soft surface. She never expected to wind up here. She pressed down on the soft surface, human beds were softer than she imagined. She couldn’t bring herself to face the eyes burning her skin. She didn’t want to see the greedy look of having captured something he could keep.
“Did I hurt you when I picked you up? Did the flower pot hurt you?” he asked, his voice was quiet. She slowly looked up at his eyes. She felt like she could swim in the blue looking over her. “Are you all right?”
She didn’t trust she could make her voice work. She stared at him, he seemed genuinely worried. He was nicer than most of the people she knew before she came here. Every time he found her, he helped her or let her go. The couple before him would grab her and put her away thinking she was just a forgotten toy. He’d been so violent and yet now he was kind and careful. Those hands were the first human hands that didn’t bruise her or squeeze her.
“Why do you keep helping me?” she asked. Her voice was weak. She couldn’t understand and she knew she should be silent. She should wait for the human to decide how to treat her and move on. A part of her wanted him to be as kind as he was acting.
“Well, you’re a person and I tend to help people when I can,” he answered. He sounded confused, but she kept her eyes locked on him. He looked away from her. “At first I was curious, I couldn’t believe someone like you existed. Smaller than even my fingers… Then I realized you had probably seen me getting angry and I honestly tried to ignore it. I just wanted to know what you were and who you were. Then when you told me your name I remembered seeing a flash of color pretty close to when I moved in… I realized I’d probably come close to hurting you or worse.”
“So it’s guilt.” She could work with that. It was a lot easier to work with than pity. She could make him leave her alone with guilt.
“No, I’m helping because you’re a person. I mean I do feel guilty about what I did, but that’s not why I’m helping you. I figured you probably lived here before me, I don’t want you scared of your own home. You don’t have to leave.”
She let the words sink in. He just wanted to help another person. That felt nice, being seen as someone equal. Even at home she was always in trouble, only Kaya was there to help her. Even her parents had their limits. He could be lying though. He had a curiosity and he could try to make her answer questions. She wouldn’t let her know about her home and she couldn’t say much about herself. She wasn’t sure he’d accept that, but she couldn’t move and risk someone running into him trying to find her in an emergency.
“What do you want from me if I stay?” she asked. She stared into his eyes, there was a light in them that made her feel weird. A good weird.
“Nothing, I guess… I mean I can’t make you talk to me,” he started, but she made a face. “Ok, I can make you do things, but I wouldn’t. I’d like to be friends if possible, roommates at least so you don’t have to sneak around. I’m guessing you do plenty around the house for your share of the bills.” He winked at her, that good weird feeling grew.
“What if I say pretend I don’t exist unless it’s an emergency?”
“I do that.”
“If I don’t say that, how would you ‘get to know’ me?”
“Maybe meals together sometimes. Talking now and then, I could show you anything you’re curious about. No matter what you choose you don’t have to sneak around, and if I don’t have something you need you can just ask me about it.”
“I can try for meals now and then, and maybe we can talk sometimes. I can change my mind at any time, deal?”
“Deal,” he smiled. She flinched when his hand came close, but he just held a finger out to her. She lifted an arm slowly and placed a hand against the digit. She couldn’t believe the way his finger could encompass her hand. He brought his thumb close and covered her hand and arm. He moved his fingers up and down slightly before letting her go. She pulled her hand to her face and stared at it. She wasn’t hurt.
She looked up at him, his face was full of awe. She couldn’t hold back her laughter at how goofy his face was. He blushed when she started laughing only to join with her soon. She was feeling lighter than she had in years. She hadn’t spoken to someone in so long and now this was the direction of her life. She had a voice in her mind telling her how wrong it was, but being alone was getting harder. If it went bad she was the only one in danger, the way she was supposed to be.
“Do you want to try dinner tonight?” he asked. She hadn’t had a good meal in a while. She hadn’t eaten with anyone in years. She could get supplies tomorrow, maybe even try the not sneaking around idea.
“I’ll meet you in the kitchen,” she smirked. He gave her a look, but got up and left. She was shocked he didn’t try to change her mind. She climbed down the sheet on the bed to the floor. She reached the lower entrance that she never got around to sealing up. This was the start of something. The voice in her head telling her of all the dangers was starting to quiet down too.