She brought him into the kitchen and set him on the table, as she browsed through the cupboard, looking for a clean cup. Finding one, she made some instant coffee and went back to her room, carrying the cup in one hand and Jake in the other. She sat on her bed and let him get off at the nearby nightstand, as she slowly drank her beverage and looked at him. There was a little lamp on the nightstand Martha would sometimes read to, roughly six inches high. Compared to Jake it looked almost like a lighthouse. Then again, Martha though, everything looked oversized compared to him now.

“Are you relaxed now?” she asked and received a nod in reply. She smiled. “That’s a relief, then. I’m sorry for leaving you alone. I’ll try to be more careful. Do you like my nightstand?” she asked, deciding to change the subject. Another nod. She was happy Jake was so cooperative but she started to slowly grow tired of communicating with him like this. She missed talking with him, real talking. “I’d let you hang around the bed, but I’m kinda worried of losing track of you. No offense” she added, giving him a resigned, but sympathetic look. He nodded once more, clearly understanding how easily it was to lose him from sight now. Especially in the twilight of the room, as Martha kept the shutters in her room closed in summer in order to not let the scorching sun in. For the moment however, she saw him clearly, walking here and there around her nightstand. She finished her coffee and set the empty cup on the nightstand, making sure it’s far enough from Jake. From his perspective it looked like a giant, black silo, yet another household object reminding him how minuscule he’s become.

“We should make some plans for today” she said “I mean, technically I had some plans already but you obviously take the priority. I think we should start with a breakfast, what do you say? Actually, wait. You know what, I have an idea” she brought her index finger to where he was standing “Lie down on the fingertip. Trust me”.

He did as he was told. She brought the finger to her face, taking a closer look at the tiny man huddling to it, then moved it to the side, where her right ear was. “Try saying something” she instructed him.

“Something”

She smiled. Now she could hear him. His voice, although quiet even this close and high-pitched was nonetheless audible for a change.

“I should’ve done this earlier. Are you really okay?”

“I am. Thank you”

“You don’t have to thank me. In fact, I should be asking for your forgiveness instead”

“I have a lot to thank you for, Martha” he said, with an emphasis in his voice.

“Such as?”

“Well, saving me, for instance”

She felt herself blush and it almost made her drop him. She kept her hand steady, trying to change the subject.

“Right, er- Breakfast. You want anything in particular?”

“I’ll have whatever you’re having”

“Okay. Right. Fine, that works. I’m bringing my hand back now, hold tight”

She did so and, when he moved from her fingertip to her palm, cupped her hands around him, walking to the kitchen, hoping her blush will disappear sooner than later.

She made two toasts, on which she put some butter and strawberry jam. Martha had never been a big eater and that was enough to constitute a breakfast for her. Even more so for Jake, whom she put on her plate, letting him chip away a few crumbs and soak it in jam. Before long he was full as well. She brought him back into her room and sat at her desk, turning on her laptop.

“We need to write a message to your job, since you won’t be back there for… a while” she told him, keeping the hand he was on close to her face. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I need both hands so I’m going to bring you closer to my ear and you can climb inside. But not too far inside, I don’t wanna lose you there, okay?”. Seeing he agreed she moved her hand close to her right ear and waited a moment for him to climb in there.

“Are you in?”

“Yes”

“Great” she said, moving her hand to the laptop and clicking the browser icon. “I’ll need your login and password”

He gave it to her and she logged in.

“You know, you shouldn’t give your online data away so easily”

“I trust you with those” he replied, making her smile.

She began to compose a message. He told her who to send it to, what to write, yes write exactly that, no I won’t get into trouble for telling my supervisor that.

“What if they fire you?” Martha asked, worried.

“They wouldn’t dare” he said in a confident tone.

“I wish they cared that much about me at my job”

“Speaking of. Will you get into trouble for, you know… Losing a sample?”

Shit. She didn’t think of that. She completely forgot about that for the matter, her biggest worry being keeping Jake safe and sound.

“I, uh- I’ll think of something” she told him, trying to be as convincing as she could “Aaand sent” she added, clicking the right button.

“I don’t want to rush you but you’d better think what to tell them quick” Jake said with concern.

She sighed. “You’re right. I’ll come up with some convincing lie. Eventually. By the way, are you comfortable in here?”

“I am, but… I’d prefer if you let me out by now”

“So… you’re not comfortable in here”

“I feel kind of, erm, constrained”

“Constrained?” she laughed “Big word for a… Um. How do you mean?”

“Not much space to stretch my legs”

She pondered about his words. “I think I get it. You feel imprisoned”

“Well. Yes”

“I got you. Okay, I’ll let you out. But can you promise me something first?”

“Shoot”

“Promise me you’ll let me put you in there again. Or near that spot. So that I can hear you and we can talk”

“I’m too small for a pinkie promise, Martha”

“You’re never too small for a regular one, though”

“Okay. I promise”

She smiled and moved her palm to her ear again, close enough for Jake to jump down to it. She felt him do so, but stayed her hand a few seconds more to make sure. Eventually she brought it closer to her eye level, content to see Jake in it. She put it down on the desk, allowing him to descend and sat back, watching him wander around it. The desk was a mess. Other than the laptop and the box she put him into earlier, there was a hodgepodge of various objects strewn around it. Some papers she needed to read, two armbands made out of thin leather, an apple core she forgot to throw away, a black pen, a blue pencil sharpener, a half-empty pack of pads (she took it off the desk before Jake got too close), a pocket watch and finally her phone lying in the corner. Her desk was an absurd landscape from the little man’s perspective, a jumble of unrelated props, more akin to an absurdist movie set.

Suddenly, the phone started to ring, interrupting their little moment of desk exploration. She picked it up, seeing that a certain ‘Megan (Work)’ was calling. “Speak of the devil” she said, looking at Jake with a resigned look and answered the phone, her eyes still focused on the little man.

“Yes?”

“Hey, Martha” said a cheerful voice.

“You’re working today?”

“Yeah, my shift’s all over the place. But never mind that, I wanted to speak to you about the X-302-DMN”

“The what?”

“The compound, silly. The one they had you hold on to for the weekend?”

“Right! Yes, of course!” she cried out and saw Jake cover his ears. She didn’t realize how loud she was, especially to him. “Sorry” she mouthed in his direction.

“Well anyway, you might want to get rid of it. We’ve run some tests last night. Turns out it’s unstable and toxic”

“Toxic?”

“You better believe it. We’re in the middle of destroying the samples. Hey, by the way, did you get in contact with the thing? Like, poured it on your skin or ingested some of it or anything?”

“Huh? Why are you-”

“If you did, you’re gonna have to come over and get the reagent. Or more specifically an antidote, since it’s a poison, like I just said. Or I can drop it at your place after work. By the way, you didn’t hear that poison bit from me, if anyone’s asking”

Martha opened her eyes wide in astonishment and looked with them at Jake, causing him some concern.

“After work. Right. Uh, Megan, can you call me back from your private phone? There’s something I wanted to talk to you about”

“Can’t you tell me now?”

“Not… really”

“Fine. Call you in five” Megan said, hanging up.

Still holding the phone in her hand, Martha looked at Jake. “Keep your fingers crossed. I think I found a solution” she told him, this time with a comforting smile. She waited for Megan to call back. It was the longest five minutes in her life. Finally, the phone rang and she saw her private number on the display.

“Can you talk now?” Martha asked, excited.

“Yeah, I’m on a cigarette break. So what’s that thing you wanted to talk about?”

“Quick question first. How toxic was the compound? How did you test it?”

“I see now why you wanted to ask in private. Good call. Alright, long story short, we had five guinea pigs drink it and they vanished”

Martha’s heart sank. “Vanished as in…?”

“As in getting smaller until they were no longer visible” Megan said in a quieter voice. You could never be too sure.

“I need that antidote. Can you bring it to me today?”

“So you did come into cont-“

“Worse. Not me”

“Jesus. Alright, I’ll swing by your place in the evening. Oh and Martha? This conversation…”

“Never took place, I’ve got your back and you’ve got mine. I’ll be waiting” she hanged up and sighed heavily, leaning against the chair with exasperation painted all over her face. She looked down at Jake. “I’m okay, don’t worry about it. And you know what? You’ll be okay soon, too”. She put her right hand on the desk, her pinkie extended and facing the little man. “Pinkie promise” she said, beaming a smile at him. He approached the massive digit and patted her fingernail. He may have been too small to make one, but Martha definitely wasn’t. Finally, some good news, Jake thought.