Kristine locked the front door and walked back to the living room, where she sat on her favourite piece of furniture in the whole room, her wicker lounge chair. She leaned back, put her feet on the coffee table and calmly sighed as she relaxed. She enjoyed quiet evenings such as this, when she could do nothing but sit comfortably and unwind after a tiresome, or simply long, day. And today was long, having even gotten dangerous at one point. She shuddered, as the memory of Sean getting lost in the carpet found its way back into her brain. If it wasn’t for her cool head and, more importantly, for her magnifier, they’d probably still be kneeling on the floor, combing through one fibre after another looking for him. Kristine looked down to the golden birdcage containing her little guest, content once more for having bought it. He was safe in there, secure from all the dangers the world posed at his size. And she was free from worry about his well-being, of wondering where he could’ve gone to, whether he was in any danger from insects that could’ve made their way into the house or from either her or Nicole, as they were unaware of him being nearby.
She suddenly remembered the first time she saw him, waving to her from her book and how her first thought was to carry him outside, throw him out thinking he was an ant. While she didn’t exactly feel guilty about it, she realized just how easily he could’ve perish that day. What would happen to him if he were to spend the night in the foliage around the house, Kristine wondered. Would ants tear him apart, would he get caught and dissolved alive in a spider’s web? And even if he made it back inside, would she notice him at night or would she squish him underfoot on her way to take a shower? Did he come at risk of being crushed as he tried getting her attention in the first place? She felt herself being overwhelmed by an unexpected, inexplicable sadness, as she pondered about his fragility and how hostile the world had become to him now that he was so tiny. “Do you think he likes being in there?’ Nicole’s words echoed in her mind. No, of course he doesn’t, Kristine thought. But what else was she to do to keep him safe? It would be so easy for her to lose sight of him, and just thinking about things that would happen if she did… She felt her eyes fill with tears and it took her a lot of effort to regain her composure. She knew she had to be strong, if not for herself then for the little being still hanging around her neck. ‘Besides’ she thought ‘as long as I see him, he should be safe’.
She put the cage in her palm and opened it, watching Sean step out into the vast stretch of her skin. ‘Hello, my little wanderer’ she cooed at him, hoping her voice sounded convincingly cheerful and that the little man wouldn’t notice a slight, red tint in her eyes, where tears were just a moment ago. ‘Did you have fun today?’.
Right arm in the air, in agreement. ‘That’s good’ she followed with a smile ‘Nicole seems to be taking a liking to you, not that I’m even remotely surprised. Do you like having her around? She certainly likes having you around, and so do I’ she added, smiling even wider. As she sat there looking into her palm and the person within, she began to wonder what they would talk about if he was a bit bigger, or at least audible. Him being close to her age, he must’ve carried a similar amount of lifetime experience, and with his scientific background to boot she was sure he had a lot of interesting things to tell. It was a shame he was now so much smaller than her and a feeling of pity towards him took hold of Kristine once more. She knew nothing about him, save for his work and only because that was the only thing they discussed with Mandy regarding him. Then again, as she realized, he hardly knew anything about them either.
‘And in turn I like having Nicole around’ she spoke, her gentle gaze never leaving Sean sitting in the middle of her palm ‘In fact, she’s almost like a daughter to me. Well, maybe a bit more than almost. My sister got pregnant with her when we were still teenagers and, just between you and me, she never seemed to have learned how to be a mother and I had to lend my hand in raising her. They still live together, but they’re not exactly on good terms - most days they tolerate each other’s presence and that’s pretty much it. She likes me much more, as you have probably noticed, maybe because I can always find some time for her. Did you know I’m an interpreter? Well, you do now. As you can imagine, my working hours are somewhat more flexible’ she giggled, her soothing laughter lifting the mood before she turned pensive again. ‘Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if she sees me as her true… Oh, never mind, you’ve endured my ranting long enough’.
She smiled at him, grateful he was willing to listen (even if he didn’t have much choice in the matter) and began to lower her palm, slowly, until she placed it in her lap. ‘As a reward, how about you wander around me a bit? If you’re feeling brave, you could try walking all the way there’ she said, pointing towards her feet resting on the coffee table. ‘Just try to stay within my sight’.
She watched him slowly walk down her little finger, even the smallest digit of her hand dwarfing him innumerable times over, and onto her left thigh. She was glad she decided to put on a light grey skirt this morning, him still being visible this way. But as he advanced, the further he went the worse she could see him. She left her glasses on the coffee table and she could’ve reached for them, if it wasn’t for the fact Sean was already walking through her shin and Kristine feared to move. It would’ve been so easy to send him tumbling down into the abyss her leg was now a bridge over for the little man. ‘How did he get there so fast?’ she thought in surprise. Did she space out or wasn’t seeing clearly? Her gaze was focused on him and him only, even if the distance made him seem less and less as a tiny person and more and more as a moving smudge. Still, she watched him press on, making it through her leg and climbing up the slope of her foot, all the way to the crevice between her big and second toes and she could only imagine the triumphant look on his face then and as he made his way back. Several minutes later he was safely returned onto her palm, as she lifted him to meet her smile.
‘I’m impressed, little one’ she cooed at him once more ‘You’ve made the same journey as with Nicole and you returned safely. Impressive! But, I think I have one more adventure in store for you’. She leaned in and with her free hand she let one strand of her hair loose near where he was standing. She didn’t have to convince or invite him for the climb and soon she was watching him ascend, carefully grabbing onto her hair and pulling himself up, a tiny speck of a man lost on the golden waves flowing from her head. Impressed and enamoured with this sight, she sat there as unmoving as she possibly could, watching him getting higher and higher with each second, knowing at this rate he will eventually make it to the top, to see the world as she saw it. And then a worry got the better of her, a thought of how easily he could get lost in the thick forest of her hair and she gently asked him to stop. She brought her index finger close and kept it still as he cautiously walked onto it.
‘I’m really sorry. I just… I don’t want to risk losing you up there’ she told him in an apologetic tone as she brought him to her eye level ‘I guess I wish I was as brave as you’ she added, lowering him towards the cage and waiting for him to get in. Even not looking him in the face she could tell from his stance, as he walked inside, that he was disappointed and so was she – with herself. She closed the cage, angry at herself for letting her fear for his safety get better of her. She stood up sluggishly and carried him on her neck to her bedroom, where she placed the cage on the nightstand and left it open, as she went to take a shower. When she was back, having changed into her blue, long night gown, she saw Sean already lying down on one of the miniature pillows, the exhaustion from walking and climbing her body finally catching up to him. She smiled as she noticed this night’s choice was a pink flamingo on a light green background and she lied down too, wrapping herself with the covers. She stayed still for a while before turning on her back to face him, surprised how distant he looked.
‘Hey’ she said, a gentle, caring smile spread across her face ‘I’ll make it up to you next time’. Then she turned off the light.