Over the next few weeks, Hero spent time going from apartment to apartment being the most careful little Borrower he could be. He didn’t like that he had been seen by Sam, Maggie, and the elderly woman in such rapid succession. They all seemed nice and Hero didn’t think he was in any danger, but for the sake of his family he needed to keep a lower profile.

A hero, after all, doesn’t require thanks for the good deeds they do and therefore doesn’t need to – and shouldn’t – be seen.

So, during that time, Hero diligently scanned through the floorboards to make sure there were no mice and other missing items that had fallen through the cracks. He managed to find a half a dozen plastic thimbles, needles, buttons, and a couple of cards with pictures and numbers on them. There were also earrings which acted as great grappling hooks and bag holders; however, he elected to try and return them to the rightful owners.

Hero also dared to go visit Maggie once when she seemed particularly down and Sam when the human boy had to spend a few days in bed because he wasn’t feeling well. He didn’t stay for long and ensured they were alright before skittering off back through the walls.

It was another day and Hero decided to go walking around on a floor he hadn’t visited before. There were loads of floors in the building and the ones on the closest floors were places Hero had already explored.

So, on this day, Hero took up his extra line, backup hook, a small canteen of water, and a couple cracker fragments and went to the stairs. These stairs went along the human staircase, but these steps were Borrower made – and quite well made in Hero’s opinion. Often times, Borrower constructions felt unsteady, constructed of miscellaneous and borrowed materials. These stairs were made with real duct tape, nails, and popsicle sticks, each measured to fit every Borrower’s height.

Hero took the stairs down further and further, coming across a few new faces here and there from immigrating families. He smiled and waved, but maintained his focus on the task at hand – find someone new to help.

He finally reached the bottom and, spinning around for a second or two, chose the first random direction his feet set him on and he headed down the wall joists to the left, hip lamp illuminating his path. The trail left behind by his footprints in the dust told him that there were probably no Borrowers living on the first floor – not that he was complaining. No other Borrowers meant he was less likely to be caught and questioned on why he was spending so much time watching the humans.

The aspiring human helper found where the nails led up to the baseboard. The perfect entrance which was by the corner of the wall. He had just reached the first wall barrier when he heard something above him. Hero was used to hearing the muffled sounds of humans talking and even shouting just above his bed, but this was different; very different and yet familiar. Hero stepped carefully and dimmed his light up to the nearest opening and pressed it open.

He could hear it clearly now. It was soft and wonderful. If he didn’t know better, the young teen would have thought the voice was coming from an angel.

It was singing.

From what he could tell, it was the singing of a human woman. Just listening to her made him take pause. The notes were completely on key. The notes radiated from her chest in soothing vibrations and the high notes were as effortless as the breeze on an autumn day.

Enchanted, Hero dared to press open the panel further and take a glimpse of the human. Thankfully, there was a desk at the corner of the wall so Hero had a place to duck for cover as he inched his way out, step by step, to the edge.

The woman had auburn hair, the tips stark white. It cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall and swished behind her as she walked around the apartment. The hair was an interesting combination considering the human herself didn’t appear to be too much older than Cali, his oldest sister. She seemed to be cleaning and singing to no one in particular, so Hero decided to linger. It wasn’t hurting anyone after all.

For what felt like an hour, Hero clung to the edge of the desk and listened to the woman sing and hum to herself. It was then that the Borrower boy noticed something interesting about the way the woman moved. She was very precise. She would take a few steps before reaching out and touching the couch’s edge. Often, a hand would reach out and graze the edges of the walls and tap the doorknobs as she walked by.

Hero didn’t think anything of it until she walked over to the desk and picked something up. The Borrower instinctually backed further into the shadows. He could see the shoes she was wearing and the way her toes tapped as she continued humming.

His heart suddenly leapt into his throat and out of his chest when something heavy and cloth clattered to the ground and scattered a half a dozen objects or so from the object’s interior, showing how relaxed he had accidentally let himself become in the presence of a new human. His hands flew to his mouth to stifle a yelp of surprise as he suddenly realized that some of the objects had rolled under the desk mere inches from where he was.

What was worse was that only a moment later the human woman’s head came into view.

Hero hadn’t had time to observe her schedule. Was she a good person? A bad one? Would she be kind to him? Try to grab him? At least with the others, Hero was able to watch them and see whether or not it was safe to approach. His insides fluttered as he heart pounded mercilessly against his chest, bright green eyes locking onto pale blue eyes so pale they looked misty like clouds.

The exit wasn’t too far away. Hero could make it if he sprinted, but it would be a risk running past her arm.

Hero chose too late. Before he could let out a plea or take a step away, a long arm reached under the desk. A hand which could engulf him entirely was mere inches from him as it felt along the ground and picked up a small tube of something for the woman’s lips. Then, as soon as it came, it went.

The hand retracted, leaving Hero weak in the knees and completely baffled.

We locked eyes. Her hand just barely missed me. She didn’t even say anything about it. Does… she know about us? Or… maybe she didn’t see me?

Hero took this opportunity to back away slowly from the spot and nearly tripped over another item, a pen, that had rolled past him. The eyes once again came into view, but this time Hero focused as the woman’s eyes remained fixed while her hand tapped and touched the ground for the accidentally dropped items.

This time, he immediately realized why she hadn’t said or done anything. She couldn’t see him. She was blind.

It wasn’t a common thing and Hero had only heard rumors and stories of Borrowers barely escaping because the humans didn’t see them. Dozens of questions suddenly flooded the aspiring hero’s mind. How did she live? Could she see at all? Hero couldn’t imagine being able to do what he could without one of his primary senses.

Still, there she was cleaning her apartment and singing with the most lovely voice. The hand reached past again, but this time Hero cautiously stepped to the side and watched it glide past him to a pack of tissues. The woman’s hand reached back, put it into the bag, and reached back, obviously searching for something else – most likely the pen. This was the perfect opportunity for him to help.

Hero waited for her hand to brush past to the opposite end of the desk before stepping forward quietly and grabbing the clip of the pen. He struggled for a second as he lifted but managed to drag it closer and closer within the woman’s reach; and just in time too.

Just as Hero stepped out beyond the shadow of the desk, the woman reached back and began feeling along each side, checking closer to where Hero was standing. He had to duck and drop the pen as her fingertips barely grazed the tip of the pen. The Borrower stayed crouched, her arm barely an inch above his slightly fluffed sandy brown hair, as her fingers grasped the pen and placed it into her purse.

She pushed herself off of the ground, bag in hand, and headed for the door. Hero couldn’t help but smile as she walked away. He had just found someone new and had managed to help on his first try with no observation.

Since she was leaving, Hero saw no reason to stay for too much longer except to peer into the other apartments. He returned to the baseboard and slipped back into the shadows for the trek home, a thoughtful smile on his face the whole way.