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She covered the palm Jake was in with her other hand and she slowly stood up, carrying him to the kitchen. There, she lay her hand on the table and waited for him to get off. She then opened the fridge and took out a bottle of still water. She sat by the table, filled the bottlecap to the brim with water and set it down near Jake. It was a bit shorter than him, so the little man could easily draw from it. She told him to do so slowly, as the water was cold, then watched him approach and drink, plunging his cupped hands into the cap and bringing the liquid to his lips several times.

 

“Feeling better?” Martha asked and smiled as she was met with a series of nods coming from Jake. “That’s good to hear. In fact, maybe you’d like to take a bath? I could fashion a nice hot tub from that bottlecap for you”. Another series of nods, more eager than those before. “Okay, give me a second”.

 

She took the bottlecap and brought it to the electric kettle in the corner, turning it on. A moment later she poured a drop of hot water into the cap. She turned towards the sink, grabbing a bottle of detergent and pouring a drop of that into the mix to get the foam. She brought the result back to the table and smiled as Jake approached the cap and slowly got into his makeshift bath. Resting her chin on her hand, Martha watched the little man scrub his body and relax. When he was done she handed him a tiny piece of paper towel to wipe himself with, then let him dry up in her palm.

 

“I forgot to ask if you’re hungry” she said, looking down at him. He shook his head. “Yeah, me neither. Though I could use some coffee, but that comes later. Listen… I need to take a shower myself, so I’m gonna take you back to my room and put you somewhere safe. Just for a while, okay?”. He nodded, fewer times than before. She could tell he didn’t like the idea of being left alone. She smiled at him either way, content that despite not being able to properly communicate they could still understand each other. Just like before, she cupped her hand over the one Jake was sitting in and walked to her room. There, she looked around for something to keep him in. Something he’d be safe in, something he couldn’t escape from. The latter thought made her somewhat uneasy. She basically had to imprison him for a moment, even if she was doing it for his own good. Her attention turned to a small jewellery box standing on the edge of her desk. I got it for Christmas last year, Martha thought, from mum. She never kept any jewellery in it, but she found the box useful. It was a good two inches in height and made out of smooth, polished wood. In other words, it was perfect for the task. She opened it and lowered her hand into it, telling Jake to get off.

 

“Wait for me here, I’ll be back in ten minutes tops. Oh, and take this” she said, grabbing a paper napkin from a pack lying nearby and folding it into a little square, which she put inside the box “It’ll be more comfortable to sit on this. I’ll leave the lid open” she added, as she walked out of her room, grabbing some clothes on her way to the bathroom.

 

Jake walked around his container, the walls of which towered over him. Even if he wanted to climb out of there, the walls were too smooth to grab onto. He resigned himself to simply waiting, taking walks from one edge of the box to the next, sitting on the folded napkin when he tired of moving around. The wood felt cold under his feet and he was almost surprised when he realized he’d rather be back in Martha’s hand. He figured he was getting used to being small and he wasn’t sure whether he liked the idea. Martha was being gentle and careful with him and so far he had no reasons to complain, or at least not too many reasons given the circumstances. But what next? What about his job, his place, his near future? He stood up and took another walk, trying to shoo the thoughts away, hoping Martha would come back soon. Suddenly, he stopped, seeing something above him. Something was hanging from the edge of the wall, thin like a twig and covered in sparse hair. Another twig-like thing emerged from the outside of the box, and one more. And then Jake saw the owner of said twigs, as it pulled its body on top of the box’s edge and looked at him with all eight of its eyes.

 

For once, Martha wasn’t taking her time with the shower, washing herself quickly and carelessly rinsing the shampoo from her hair. She felt bad about leaving Jake alone. Done with the shower, she stepped out of the cabin and rapidly wiped herself. Her hair was still wet and so was her body in a few spots, but she didn’t care – she’d dry on her own on this hot summer day anyway. She put on a light blue bra and underwear, a sleeveless white t-shirt with no print on it and bright red shorts. She left the bathroom and walked back to her room, straight towards the box she left Jake in and immediately noticed he wasn’t alone. A spider, roughly a quarter of an inch in diameter, stood in the middle of the box, staring at his prey who in turn found himself with his back against the wall at the opposite end of the container. Martha reacted in an instant, bringing her thumb down and squishing the beast, twisting the digit to ensure its dead, then wiping its remains on her shorts. Only then did she turn her attention to the little man cowering below.

 

“Oh my God, Jake. Are you alright?” she asked, lowering her face to look at him better. She sighed in relief upon seeing him nod and offer her hand for him to climb into. “I’m so sorry you had to see that” she told him once he was safely in her palm “I should’ve closed the lid. If that spider did something to you I wouldn’t forgive myself”.

 

Looking at the tiny thing in her hand, still shivering from the ordeal, she realized once more just how much power she held over him. And how much responsibility she had towards him. She brought the other hand closer and slowly, carefully caressed his back with the tip of her index finger, almost completely covering the little man with just this tiny part of herself. “There, there” she whispered, making slow, rhythmical movements with her fingertip until Jake calmed down. At which point she smiled warmly at him and cupped her hands around him, leaving the room. This was too much for one morning, she needed that coffee.

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