Mum was bending down to help me up onto the kitchen bench in seconds. I smiled gratefully as she scooped me up with practiced gentleness and deposited me beside the pool sized plate of biscuits she’d made. My stomach gurgled before I could stop it, and I heard my apparent cousin giggle ever so quietly under her breath. Mind you, no sound ever escaped my sensitive ears, whether it’s a whisper or a yell.

“S-S-Sorry.” I said, stumbling over the word. A part of me had almost forgotten about the presence of my gigantic cousin… until now. Gabby looked more curious than anything, which surprised me. For a first timer, she seemed to be handling my somewhat odd size well. It didn’t seem too weird, I guess, since she’d once gone to school with a Shrignakemic boy, but it sure made the situation even more awkward than it otherwise would have been. I have no idea how that was even possible, but hey, neither is my size, come to think of it.

“Well… this is Amy.” Mum told Gabby, breaking the silence that had spread after my stomach’s rumbling. To combat that dilemma, I quickly grabbed a crumb from the plate of cookies and stuffed it into my mouth, chewing. The trek downstairs must have taken more energy out of me than I’d originally thought. As I busied myself in eating, I took the time to study my cousin’s face, which had been turned away from my view during my little eavesdropping session from earlier.

To put it simply, Gabby Leebeck was beautiful. Not like a model or anything, but she had a raw, natural beauty that I couldn’t quite describe using words. Her rounded green eyes were soft and gentle, only just higher than the glossy blonde ringlets of her hair, which curled inwards slightly at her ears. I couldn’t help but notice how alike the two of us looked, aside from our hair colour.

I was nervous talking to a complete stranger (even though we’re related) and given our dramatic size difference, that was totally understandable. If I made the wrong impression, she could easily crush me under a car sized hand… or flick me off the bench like you’d do to a bug. Of course, it’d be horrifying if such an innocent looking girl would actually do something like that, but hey- I can never be too careful.

For that reason, I decided to start with introducing myself to break the silence accumulating between us. “Hi.” I said in the most clichéd way possible. “I’m Amy.” And that, ladies and gentlemen is how I made my first friend… or cousin, to be more specific.

“I’m Gabby!” My cousin replied, without missing a beat. I was surprised by her answer, not because it was too complicated for my tiny person vocabulary or anything, but because she spoke so… naturally. It brought a swell of relief to my chest that she wasn’t judging me because I missed out on a growth spurt during puberty. It sure calmed me down a bit, to say the least.

Mum, however, appeared mortally shocked. Her eyes darted between us over and over again, before an amused smile made its way to her face. Eventually, she simply shook her head and stood up. “I must say, Gabby: whatever reaction I was expecting from you after seeing Amy’s condition was hardly this! I’ve gone and bought a few buckets, in case you vomited or something!”

Automatically, I rolled my eyes. “Gee, thanks, mum. You really know how to spring a compliment.” I said sarcastically, earning a soft giggle from my cousin.

Pink flooded mum’s cheeks. “You know what I mean, Amy.” She laughed. “Remember when your grandparents first saw you?”

I huffed out a laugh myself. “Don’t think I could ever forget it.”

“Your grandmother fainted from shock and we had to call the ambulance.” Mum explained to Gabby, eyeing me slyly. I stifled a groan, those particular memories beginning to swirl around in my brain. Let’s just say my introduction with my grandparents didn’t go quite as smoothly as we’d hoped.

“It wasn’t that bad.” I butted in quickly, noticing Gabby’s teasing smirk. “When she woke up three days later we got to know each other a little better…”

“Amy, you’re being modest.” Mum chimed in almost instantly, giving Gabby a faux sad smile. “She was in a coma for two weeks.”

This time, I didn’t bother hiding the groan. “Why don’t we change the subject?” I suggested loudly- not that my voice is loud in general, that is.

Luckily, Mum seemed to sense my annoyance and clapped her hands together lightly, as to avoid hurting my earmuff covered ears. “Do you girls want to watch a movie?” She asked with a smile.

I couldn’t help but sigh in relief at the idea. I was already tired as hell from mountain climbing downstairs and I knew only too well that whenever we’d all sit down to watch a movie, Mum would always bake something scrumptious. I licked my lips, envisioning chocolate cake, muffins, more cookies, sweets…

“It’s up to Amy. I’m easy.” Gabby said cheerfully, breaking my day dreaming session in seconds.

“Sure.” I smiled up at her, beyond glad that she wasn’t as curious as she could have been about my obvious size gap. While it struck me as a little strange that she wasn’t trying to poke or grab at me, it was a welcome change. And it meant that I could actually consider trying to relax. In fact, my entire morning had been spent fretting about meeting another sixteen year old girl. Now, it all seemed like a huge joke. It made me want to find out more about how Gabby had managed to grow used to people like me and this… Marcus.

I watched wearily as both Mum and Gabby stood up from their seats, easily towering over me as I sat on the kitchen bench. Brushing the cookie crumbs off my pants, I followed suit, only to realise that the two of them had already begun to walk into the lounge room together. “Really?” I hissed under my breath, jogging to the edge of the bench and cupping my hands around my mouth to shout out. “Gabby?!”

Mum was the first to turn around and she stifled a giggle at the sight of me, left behind in the kitchen. Gabby seemed to pick up my dilemma in following them and walked back over, coming to a stop inches in front of me. I stared into her stomach for a moment from my vantage point before craning my neck to meet her eyes. It was like staring up at the penthouse of a skyscraper. In other words, my neck cramped after two seconds.

“Um… Do you mind if you give me a lift?” I asked, feeling a blush form over my cheeks. “I’m sorry- I just… take a long time to get places, if you know what I mean.”

“Course.” Gabby replied, gently offering me her hand, palm facing up. Before I stepped on, I glance over at mum and mouthed: Did you tell her to do this? Mum shrugged in response, just as shocked to see how calm Gabby was with me. I was hardly complaining, but again, it was quite a change from all the bug eyed curious stares I’d grown so used to over the years.

“Thanks, Gabby.” I smiled up at her, trying to shake away my amazement as I tentatively stepped into the centre of her palm. Her skin was colder than what I was used to, but the way she curled her fingers protectively around my seated body was enough to make me feel just as comfortable as I am when mum holds me. I shifted to the back of her hand, leaning against the tree trunk sized digits like a fleshy couch. “You’re good at this.” I found myself saying, as she begun to walk into the lounge room with mum again.

I felt her giant eyes flicker down to me. “What?”

My blush increased. “The whole handling thing.” I explained quickly as she walked. “This isn’t your first try, is it?”

I felt my cousin’s pulse speed up beneath her skin. Her cheery smile drooped. “No.” She agreed after a tight pause. “No, I used to do this kind of thing all the time with… Marcus.”

There it was again. The mention of that Shrignakemic boy, who’d apparently died three years back when he’d been fourteen. It made my heart swell with grief for what Gabby and the rest of his friends had gone through. It also made me even more curious as to what exactly happened to the kid.

I didn’t bring it up though, afraid that I’d a nerve. Instead, I allowed Gabby to place me gently beside my doll’s pillow, which sat beside the normal sized couch on a coffee table in front of the TV. Mum had sewn it for me when I was ten to make lounging around a tad less hazardous, especially if someone didn’t see me on the couch before sitting down.

As my mother busied herself in picking out a movie for us, Gabby sank into the couch and turned to face me, still bathed in silence. I looked up at her and smiled again, trying to change the topic of our conversation. “You know, you’re the first person I’ve met who hasn’t tried to touch me.” I said, kicking my legs back as I sat with my head propped up with my pillow.

“I spose I’m used to people… your size.” She replied almost carefully. “Not that I’d ever do anything like that to you, though. It’s invading your privacy.”

“Heh, I’m used to it.” I said, waving off her statement. At that, she gave me a funny look and tilted her head to the side with a frown.

“Marcus used to say that.” She told me, sadness in her eyes. I opened my mouth to reply but found that I couldn’t. I bit my lip while I tried to sculpt my response.

“Gabby,” I started, chewing on my gums. “Could you… I mean… I’m curious about this Marcus.” I took a deep breath, praying she wouldn’t be offended or too sad to answer. “H-h-how did he die?”

As if on cue, Mum returned with a few DVDs for us to choose from. Gabby sighed softly in obvious relief that she’d dodged my question and instantly began scanning the covers. “You like 21 Jump Street?” She asked me, her brow furrowed in a mixture of sadness and desperation to change the topic.

 I forced myself to laugh. “Actually, it’s my favourite movie.”

“Great,” She said, looking over the other titles. “You have The Borrowers? I used to like that one.” She commented, glancing over at me.

I shrugged. “It was a childhood favourite. Although, I still find it pretty cool…”

We settled on 21 Jump Street and there was little conversation between us, aside from my retarded laughter on every funny scene. God, I sounded like a dying chipmunk. Halfway through the movie, Gabby spoke up, her head propped up on the couch’s arm rest.

“The TV must be like a cinema screen to you.” She said.

I shot her an odd look. “What’s a cinema?” I found myself asking, having no idea what she was going on about. Gabby turned to face me, and even from a distance I could feel her warm breath tickle my skin like a heater in wintertime.

“You don’t know what the movies are? Do you ever go outside?” She blurted out, taken aback.

Feeling oddly uncomfortable, I shrugged. “I’ve been shopping a few times with Mum, and things like that…” My voice trailed off. Wow, Amy. I realised. Your life is so mind-numbingly boring.

“What do you do during the day then?” Gabby warbled on, her shock growing by the second. “Don’t you have any friends?”

“No.” I replied, pursing my lips. “Most people kinda scare me, and I didn’t actually know there were more like me, let alone here.” I explained.

For a second, Gabby looked almost as though she was about to cry. Pity flooded her trashcan sized irises, probably aimed at me. It’s a common occurrence for normal sized folks to feel sorry for me due to my obvious disadvantages height wise, but I’ve seen it on such a large scale before. It practically made me pity myself too.

As the movie finished, I stood up, stretched my tired legs and stamped on the bus sized TV remote beside me to turn the movie off. Being the good host that she was, Mum returned from what smelt like baking with a smile on her face. Hell yes! I thought, perking up at the familiar scent. She’s baked us cupcakes!

 “What do you want to do now?” Mum asked with a smile, and before I could open my mouth to make another suggestion, Gabby spoke up.

“I’m going to take Amy to the mall.” She said, and it was as if the temperature in out snug little house had dropped. Mum and I collectively began protests in our heads. My mind raced. The MALL? I mean- who in their right mind takes their five inch tall daughter to the mall?  

Luckily, Mum is the first to come to my rescue. “I don’t know, Gabby.” The says gently, flashing my cousin a soft smile. “It’s not very safe for Amy with so many people around. Maybe you could just stay here.”  

“I’ll look after her. She said she’s never been to the mall before!” Gabby insisted in an instant. Hmmm. Apparently it wasn’t just Mum and I who had a habit of rehearsing their speeches. I frowned at her eagerness, but turned to Mum as she spoke up again.

“I suppose it’s up to Amy then.” She nodded at me. “Would you like to go shopping?”

Oh shit. They’re both looking at me now. I thought, eyes widening. Did I want to go to the mall after so many years cooped up in my own home? Heck- what did I even need there?

That was the thing.

After over a year without shopping, barely anything I owned seemed new and exciting. The last thing I bought was a custom made dress from this awesome shop called Johnson and Son’s Dollhouse. Cheesy name? Yeah. Do I care? Nah.

That was pretty much why I felt my lips forming the answer I knew I would regret.

 “Ok then…” I said, signing my life away to Gabby.