Edith took a moment to look at herself in the mirror. She stared back at her auburn-green eyes and looked at her face. Her lightly freckled nose was a bit red, and her cheeks were a bit puffy, but her dirty-blonde hair hid most indications that she was on the verge of tears.

Maybe I should dye it, she thought to herself, grabbing a clump of her hair and holding it up for investigation. I might look good with a brown-red. Her eyes continued scanning her hair until they came to a rest on the ball-shaped earring dangling from her lobe.

“Oh, right!” she said aloud, quickly unhooking the thing and placing it on her vanity. She sat down to become eyelevel with it and twisted the top half off. “You alright in there?”

Out crawled a miniscule boy, no older than ten. He had a head of disheveled hair that was so purely black, it almost appeared blue. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and yawned as he stood to his feet.

“Man, that was a nice nap,” he said, still adjusting himself to the outside world. “I kept rocking back and forth, and it was so dark.” He smiled to himself and closed his eyes, trying to recreate the setting. “It was so soft and warm in there. And your voice was really nice, it was hard to tell what you were saying but it rumbled a little when you talked. It felt really good.”

Edith smiled at hearing that. Good, I didn’t wake him up, she thought. “I’m glad that worked, Cole. Now I can keep you with me wherever I go.” The boy was far too tiny to simply carry around in a bag. And most of Edith’s previous tinies had been “confiscated” from her room by her mother while she was away. This way he could be with her and out of harm’s way.

“Yeah! And maybe some of my friends can come with me next time.” The boy looked up at her earnestly. His skinny frame reminded her that he should probably eat some of the food she had stowed away in her pocket. Edith produced a small piece of bread and placed it in front of him. It was far too small to even be considered a snack to her, but to Cole it was a meal. He clambered to the top of the piece and began to chow down on his dinner.

The two sat in silence for a while as Cole ate his bread. I can’t believe that Mom is so stubborn, Edith thought. Just because someone’s smaller than me means that we can’t be friends? Ugh, she makes me so mad! Her anger was starting to show up on her face, and Cole took notice.

“Are you okay, E?” he asked. The concern on his miniscule face was evident, despite the major size difference. “I’m sure my friends will like you.” The boy clearly had no clue as to what was going on, or the danger he was in by befriending her. But he now saw Edith as an older sister, and would never abandon her. If he were my size, I could actually protect him like the big sister he deserves. She tried to consider different solutions before looking back over her earring. A thought came to mind.

“Hey Cole,” she began, “you like adventure, right?”

“Yeah I do!” The boy stopped eating and stood up on top of the piece of bread, taking a heroic pose.

“Climbing, exploring, everything about adventures is fun.”

“And you want to be bigger, don’t you?” Cole stopped to think for a second before answering.

“I actually like being small,” he admitted, “it makes me feel safe to know that you’re bigger than all my problems.” He smiled up at Edith in a way that nearly overwhelmed her.

“Well, if there was a way to make me even bigger, big enough to leave this place, would you help me?” She hoped she didn’t sound too selfish; she wasn’t really doing this just to grow larger.

“Of course!” Cole cried happily, “and we could bring my friends too, right?”
Edith smiled. “I think we could make that work.” She had never grown attached to more than one tiny at a time. But maybe, if things changed, she could learn to.

“Awesome!” Cole was so excited he had stopped eating. “So, what do we have to do?”

“We’re gonna look for treasure,” responded Edith. “Before my grandmother passed away, she hid away her oldest jewelry and left it to me as a sort of inheritance. I don’t know exactly where it is, but she left me a guide to find it. If we do, I’ll have more than enough money to get you and your friends out of here.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Cole asked, excitement lighting his eyes. “Let’s go hunt for treasure!”