by DocRick » Sat May 11, 2024 12:29 pm
Ayanna was a "borrower", a race of tiny humans living undetected among the normal size humans, known as "beans". Her family lived beneath the floorboards of a very wealthy family in the upscale part of town. Though they still lived off of what they could "borrow", they lived in a degree of luxury unknown to most borrowers. Until the day a freak thunderstorm hit the area, dumping 9 inches of rain in an hour. A basement window broke, and water poured in, submerging their living quarters. Ayanna was caught up in the flood and sucked into the floor drain. She managed to keep her head above water and rode the current though the city drainpipes and was finally dumped into a creek on the edge of town. She had no idea where she was or how to get home. Soaking wet and her meager clothing torn and ripped, she made her way to the only buildings she could see, a group of rundown brownstone rowhouses in the bottomlands of the town. She found a mousehole and climbed into the basement. It was dark, dingy and filthy. She made her way through the different apartments, the first had cats and the second had several children. The third one seemed to have only one occupant and no pets, so she found a small relatively clean section of wall space and settled in. She found a worn but clean washcloth, so she dragged it into her space and made a makeshift bed and tried to get some sleep. She lived there for several weeks. The occupant of the apartment was a man, middle twenties, she guessed and was not home very often, so she felt safe rummaging around during the day. She managed to find enough food to survive and got water from the condensation on a water pipe which dripped into a bottle cap she found. Far from her previous lifestyle, she tried to imagine attempting to find her way home, but she not only had no idea where that was, it was far too dangerous to wander around outside, too many beans out during the day and too many predatory animals during the night. One day, she was wandering around the apartment and was crossing the living room floor when the door abruptly swung open. The bean had come home early. She turned to run but caught her foot in a loose loop of carpeting and fell to the ground. The bean was walking straight towards her, carrying a large box and bag. She couldn't see his face and knew he couldn't see her. The monstrous feet came closer and closer. Unable to get up and run, she curled up in a fetal position and waited for the impending "squishing", the fate met by many borrowers, sometimes accidentally and sometimes intentionally, and screamed.
Joe was a bean. Driven and ambitious, he had earned a scholarship to college, then Harvard Law School. Graduating first in his class, he was hired by a prestigious law firm that represented many very high-powered politicians. Very successful in his job, he soon had a large house and was engaged to a girl he met in college. Then came the day he came across some documents showing his firm was covering up many activities of some of politicians, many of these activities illegal and even treasonous. As a man of principles, he couldn't just close his eyes to this and took copies of the documents to the federal investigators. He was told to just keep quiet about it and they would handle it. Satisfied, he went back to work, and he and his fiancée planned their wedding and future. Two weeks later, he was arrested and charged with a number of serious crimes. Fired by the firm, he was soon broke from legal fees fighting the allegations against him, he lost his house, and his fiancée broke up with him. Unknown to the legal authorities, Joe had sent copies of the documents to a newspaper editor family friend, who ran the story. The political world was turned on its head and a few of the highest placed political leaders were arrested, charged and convicted of crimes against the country. Unfortunately, even though Joe was acquitted of all his indictments, he was disbarred and unable to find any work better than manager of a 7-11. The only place to live he could afford was a rowhouse apartment in the older section of town. One day, after working several overtime shifts and getting a raise, he decided to splurge by buying a pizza and some beer. He brought his dinner, and managed to hold it all with one hand while he unlocked and opened the door with the other. He started into the apartment, walking towards the kitchen while carrying the food in both hands.
The "squishing" didn't happen. Ayanna felt a sudden warmth around her and slowly opened her eyes to see a wall of flesh all around her. The bean had heard her scream and stopped just short of mashing her into the dingy carpet. While surprised at seeing her, Joe immediately realized what she was. He had been told stories of borrowers by his great grandmother. While his adult mind had dismissed the stories as the rambling folklore of a senile old lady, his childmind secretly hoped they were real, and he would meet one someday. He slowly and gently brought his hands together beneath her and lifted her off of the ground. Too terrified to resist, Ayanna was carried to the kitchen table where Joe set her down on a folded dish towel. She knew she had no way to get to the ground as she was way too high to survive a fall. She could do nothing but sit on the towel while the bean put the pizza box down on the table and pulled out a couple pieces, placing them on a plate. He then took the "pizza saver", wiped it clean and set it down in front of Ayanna, placing a small piece of pizza on it. It was more food than she had eaten in a month, and it smelled so good, her empty stomach overtook her fear, and she dug in with her hands, greedily stuffing her face with the warm gooey delight. They didn't talk much while eating, though neither of them couldn't take their eyes off the other.....Joe in amazement and Ayanna still a little fearful. After dinner, Joe filled a bowl with hot soapy water, placed it on the table, using the empty pizza box as a privacy wall, allowed Ayanna to take a bath, the first she had had since the flood. After her bath, Joe wrapped her in a silk handkerchief, one of the few items of luxury he still had from his former life, and she curled up in the palm of his hand while he sat on the couch to watch some television. She slowly drifted off to sleep, against all the instincts of a borrower, this was the first time she truly felt safe since she was displaced. As Joe gazed at the tiny, beautiful girl dozing in his hand, for some reason he couldn't put a finger on, he felt a sense of happiness again as if his life had abruptly taken a turn for the better. Ayanna had moved out of her place inside the walls and into a small house Joe had made for her in a corner of the living room. As they shared their stories with each other, both of them would begin to formulate a thought in the far recesses of their minds.......they had both gone from a life of prosperity to a life of misery and found each other. Were they destined to meet? And why?
To be continued?
Ayanna was a "borrower", a race of tiny humans living undetected among the normal size humans, known as "beans". Her family lived beneath the floorboards of a very wealthy family in the upscale part of town. Though they still lived off of what they could "borrow", they lived in a degree of luxury unknown to most borrowers. Until the day a freak thunderstorm hit the area, dumping 9 inches of rain in an hour. A basement window broke, and water poured in, submerging their living quarters. Ayanna was caught up in the flood and sucked into the floor drain. She managed to keep her head above water and rode the current though the city drainpipes and was finally dumped into a creek on the edge of town. She had no idea where she was or how to get home. Soaking wet and her meager clothing torn and ripped, she made her way to the only buildings she could see, a group of rundown brownstone rowhouses in the bottomlands of the town. She found a mousehole and climbed into the basement. It was dark, dingy and filthy. She made her way through the different apartments, the first had cats and the second had several children. The third one seemed to have only one occupant and no pets, so she found a small relatively clean section of wall space and settled in. She found a worn but clean washcloth, so she dragged it into her space and made a makeshift bed and tried to get some sleep. She lived there for several weeks. The occupant of the apartment was a man, middle twenties, she guessed and was not home very often, so she felt safe rummaging around during the day. She managed to find enough food to survive and got water from the condensation on a water pipe which dripped into a bottle cap she found. Far from her previous lifestyle, she tried to imagine attempting to find her way home, but she not only had no idea where that was, it was far too dangerous to wander around outside, too many beans out during the day and too many predatory animals during the night. One day, she was wandering around the apartment and was crossing the living room floor when the door abruptly swung open. The bean had come home early. She turned to run but caught her foot in a loose loop of carpeting and fell to the ground. The bean was walking straight towards her, carrying a large box and bag. She couldn't see his face and knew he couldn't see her. The monstrous feet came closer and closer. Unable to get up and run, she curled up in a fetal position and waited for the impending "squishing", the fate met by many borrowers, sometimes accidentally and sometimes intentionally, and screamed.
Joe was a bean. Driven and ambitious, he had earned a scholarship to college, then Harvard Law School. Graduating first in his class, he was hired by a prestigious law firm that represented many very high-powered politicians. Very successful in his job, he soon had a large house and was engaged to a girl he met in college. Then came the day he came across some documents showing his firm was covering up many activities of some of politicians, many of these activities illegal and even treasonous. As a man of principles, he couldn't just close his eyes to this and took copies of the documents to the federal investigators. He was told to just keep quiet about it and they would handle it. Satisfied, he went back to work, and he and his fiancée planned their wedding and future. Two weeks later, he was arrested and charged with a number of serious crimes. Fired by the firm, he was soon broke from legal fees fighting the allegations against him, he lost his house, and his fiancée broke up with him. Unknown to the legal authorities, Joe had sent copies of the documents to a newspaper editor family friend, who ran the story. The political world was turned on its head and a few of the highest placed political leaders were arrested, charged and convicted of crimes against the country. Unfortunately, even though Joe was acquitted of all his indictments, he was disbarred and unable to find any work better than manager of a 7-11. The only place to live he could afford was a rowhouse apartment in the older section of town. One day, after working several overtime shifts and getting a raise, he decided to splurge by buying a pizza and some beer. He brought his dinner, and managed to hold it all with one hand while he unlocked and opened the door with the other. He started into the apartment, walking towards the kitchen while carrying the food in both hands.
The "squishing" didn't happen. Ayanna felt a sudden warmth around her and slowly opened her eyes to see a wall of flesh all around her. The bean had heard her scream and stopped just short of mashing her into the dingy carpet. While surprised at seeing her, Joe immediately realized what she was. He had been told stories of borrowers by his great grandmother. While his adult mind had dismissed the stories as the rambling folklore of a senile old lady, his childmind secretly hoped they were real, and he would meet one someday. He slowly and gently brought his hands together beneath her and lifted her off of the ground. Too terrified to resist, Ayanna was carried to the kitchen table where Joe set her down on a folded dish towel. She knew she had no way to get to the ground as she was way too high to survive a fall. She could do nothing but sit on the towel while the bean put the pizza box down on the table and pulled out a couple pieces, placing them on a plate. He then took the "pizza saver", wiped it clean and set it down in front of Ayanna, placing a small piece of pizza on it. It was more food than she had eaten in a month, and it smelled so good, her empty stomach overtook her fear, and she dug in with her hands, greedily stuffing her face with the warm gooey delight. They didn't talk much while eating, though neither of them couldn't take their eyes off the other.....Joe in amazement and Ayanna still a little fearful. After dinner, Joe filled a bowl with hot soapy water, placed it on the table, using the empty pizza box as a privacy wall, allowed Ayanna to take a bath, the first she had had since the flood. After her bath, Joe wrapped her in a silk handkerchief, one of the few items of luxury he still had from his former life, and she curled up in the palm of his hand while he sat on the couch to watch some television. She slowly drifted off to sleep, against all the instincts of a borrower, this was the first time she truly felt safe since she was displaced. As Joe gazed at the tiny, beautiful girl dozing in his hand, for some reason he couldn't put a finger on, he felt a sense of happiness again as if his life had abruptly taken a turn for the better. Ayanna had moved out of her place inside the walls and into a small house Joe had made for her in a corner of the living room. As they shared their stories with each other, both of them would begin to formulate a thought in the far recesses of their minds.......they had both gone from a life of prosperity to a life of misery and found each other. Were they destined to meet? And why?
To be continued?
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