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Alessia was bored with Delphia gone. It was the first time in months she had nothing to do and time alone wasn’t her favorite thing. She let out a heavy sigh as she tried to think of what to occupy herself with. She heard a crash from Del’s greenhouse and jumped to her feet. She rushed to the room, worried something had gotten inside again. She found a shattered pot with crushed seeds.
“Oh no,” she murmured. She started to pick up the larger pieces of ceramic. When she turned to set them down, she froze. The pieces fell and shattered on the floor again as her brown eyes were locked on a small human form.
Slowly she started to climb to her feet. The little human didn’t move a muscle. She didn’t know if she was relieved or worried. She towered over them, it felt weird. She wasn’t taller than many of the people in her life. She took a step and the little form started to move. She acted without thinking, slamming her hands down around them. She had them trapped, she could see their little chest heaving.
“Hi,” she tried. The little face stared up at her with fear. They started to run forward and she put the ends of her hands together. They were trapped in the small space left between her palms and fingers. “Don’t do that… who are you?”
The little person still wouldn’t speak. She tried to smile, she wanted them to feel calm. She didn’t know what was going on, but they were terrified. She crouched down and rested her chin on the table. Slowly she separated her hands and she was face to body with the little person. She couldn’t believe someone so small could even exist. She stood a bit and leaned closer to see them better.
“Can you talk?” she asked. The little person was shaking horribly, she didn’t want to just send them off. She leaned a bit closer to get a clearer look at their face. “Are you hurt?”
They stepped back from her face. She frowned, but they jumped and stumbled once they backed into her fingers. She sighed and watched how her breath blew their clothes around. She must seem impossible to them. She looked away, staying in here seemed dangerous for them. She brought her fingers closer around their form. Their eyes went wide as she made contact with them.
She moved fast once they started to move forward. She didn’t want them trying to run. She slid her fingers around them, they didn’t feel as fragile as they looked. She was sure the awe she felt was perfectly reflected on her face. She felt awful as a fearful face looked up at her in return. She stood up slowly before pulling her hand up from the table.
“N-No!” they shouted. Their voice was deeper than she expected. She frowned, but continued pulling them up from the table. She cupped her hand near her heart and turned to leave. Del wouldn’t mind the mess being left behind for now. She felt the way they struggled in her hand, it filled her with guilt.
Alessia made her way back inside, kicking the door shut behind her. She felt the little person slump in her hand. She bit her lip, she didn’t know what was going on. She made her way to her living room, she tightened her fingers a bit to try and reassure them. She sat on the floor leaning back against the couch. She took a deep breath before setting the little person down on the table. She didn’t block them with her hands again, she just folded her arms and rested her head on them.
“This is better right?” she tried. They stumbled back falling off their feet. She was getting a better look now. Their clothes looked like makeshift armor and they didn’t have shoes. Their hair was a mess where they hadn’t managed to shave it off. They had one green eye and one blue, both filled with fear as they looked at her. “I’m Alessia, who are you?”
She was trying to keep her tone light. The little person just seemed to panic. They groped for something at their hip, but came up empty. She frowned. She didn’t want to have been what made them lose it. She moved a bit to check her hands, she could have caught it without knowing it. The little person shielded their head as if she was about to hurt them. She sighed before pulling back and just looking down at them.
“I don’t want to hurt you. I want to make sure you’re alright,” she whispered. They lowered their arms slowly and stared up at her. Their expression seemed fierce, but their shaking was coming through. She moved to rest her head on the table, it was an awkward position. “ Talk to me, okay? I need to know what’s going on. ”
“...it was dangerous,” they murmured. She just barely heard them. She moved forward a bit to try and hear better. It made them shuffle back with wide eyes. “Th-the plant. It would release pollen that could hurt you once it started growing… It’s not easy to recover from, I was worried Delphia would be gone too long and you’d…”
“So you pushed it off the table?” The little person jumped and slowly seemed to relax. There was a feeling she didn’t like buried in how they acted, like they were accepting death.
“I was trying to just kill the seeds so it wouldn’t grow. Wh-when I climbed off it lost balance and fell. I didn’t think you’d run in like you did and I froze…” Alessia reached forward and carefully wrapped her fingers around the small person. She tried to give them a warm smile as she squeezed them. She wanted to offer them a hug, the pot and seeds didn’t matter. Del wouldn’t care either.
“Thank you, Del’s gone for a few weeks. It could have been dangerous.” The little person turned red in her hold, she thought it was cute. She didn’t want to push it, but they did mention her. “Do you know Del? Do you help with her garden?”
Alessia didn’t think the idea of Delphia surrounded by unexplainable creatures was weird. Most times her girlfriend seemed ethereal herself. The little person started to shake in her hold. They wouldn’t look at her, like she’d hurt them for it. They had managed to meet her eyes before, but looked away now. She wanted to know more about this person.
“No… I live in the walls here,” they said.
She widened her eyes, a lot of Del’s actions made sense. She started growing fruits and vegetables that she never had an interest in when they moved here. She left out random things that never made much sense overall. Alessia couldn’t hold back her smile, or her laugh at how much sense it made. Del would have kept the secret too, just to respect the little person. She sat up, pulling the person up in her hand as she did so. She held them over her heart and pressed them against her.
“That explains so much. I can’t believe I didn’t notice you before, I hope we haven’t made anything too hard for you,” she laughed. The little person against her stopped struggling as she laughed. She pulled them from her chest and held her hands cupped by her eyes to look at them. “Del had been doing so many weird things. She must have noticed you after we moved here.”
“What?” they had wide eyes as she spoke. They must not have spent much time watching Delphia if it shocked them. She nodded, it made so much sense to her. “You knew about me?”
“I didn’t, Del seems to notice things others wouldn’t. You don’t have to be scared.” She was excited to learn more about this little person. They seemed terrified. She wasn’t sure how to calm them.
“What are you going to do?” Their voice sounded void of emotion. She frowned, but moved to set them down on the floor this time. They stared up at her with shock and she offered a bit of a smile.
“Nothing, well I am going to clean up the mess from the plant, but that’s all.” They didn’t move, just looking up at her. She wanted to know more about them, they were cute.
“Could… we talk more?” Alessia tried to keep her excitement under control. She wanted to talk so badly.
“Yes of course!” She started to lift her hands up, freezing as their small fingers dug into her skin. “Sorry, I guess I got too excited. Did you want to talk more now?”
“I… Yes, I think so.” They smiled at her. She felt her heart skip the same way it did the first time she saw Del’s smile. She liked the idea of a tiny partner, it felt exciting. She smiled widely at the little person. “I’m Ash.”
“Nice to meet you, Ash. I hope we’ll get along.”