Ashlynn had a hard time sleeping that night. Finding a place to sleep wasn’t the hard part – it was keeping her nerves in check. Staring at the ceiling, her heart pounded and throbbed in her chest. Was it the fact she would be smuggling a family of four-and-a-half inch tall people into her apartment? Was it just seeing them again? Was it about meeting Soren’s daughter?

Ashlynn sighed and rolled over from beneath the covers to stare at the wall instead. There was a tenseness that almost felt unsettled and disheartened. She still couldn’t believe that Soren had a kid – that he had fallen in love with someone and had a kid with them.

Did it bother her?

No.

At least… she didn’t think so.

It wasn’t jealousy. She was genuinely happy for Soren. Perhaps it served as a reminder that time had passed.

But why was that feeling there? Was this a fear? An anxiety that they weren’t as close as they once were and that they couldn’t achieve that same closeness again?

Nonsense! They talked like not a day had passed between them. He stepped onto her hand with no hesitation like they used to.

Was it because he was in a different stage of life? He had a relationship – a wife – and then had a daughter. Ashlynn hadn’t done any of those things; but, had she wanted them?

Yes… yes she did… but not with anyone she knew in her day-to-day life since leaving the old apartment.

She didn’t want to think about any of that now. She needed her rest and for her nerves to settle down. Deep breath after deep breath, Ashlynn finally managed to drift off to sleep filled with dreams of looking for something yet never being able to find it. She searched the floors and the walls and every room in a labyrinth like house that changed constantly.

The abrupt sound of the alarm going off jolted her out of her deep slumber. Her brow was lined in a light cold sweat. Her body felt on edge. It wasn’t the first time this dream haunted her sleep, but hopefully it would be the last.

Ashlynn pulled herself out of bed, feet hovering just above the floor just for a few seconds. She went through her mental checklist. Tennis shoes, comfortable pants, and a t-shirt seemed suitable for a moving day.

Here we go. Thought Ashlynn as she stood and readied herself for the day.

~~~~~

The drive was quick back to the old apartment complex and the day was slightly overcast. There was a weather prediction for heavy rain and thunderstorms later, but for now the day was bright and promising.

Before making it over, she stopped by the store and picked up a few odds and ends the thought might be useful. She bought a couple of totes with dividers and supports on the inside to keep the Borrowers’ things separate and organized and even invested in a small step ladder as Soren suggested. She also purchased a few nick knacks like safety pins, thin cloth for curtains or spare fabric, and even a few pieces of dollhouse furniture, which she determined she would probably have to justify getting them.

Ashlynn hoped it wouldn’t be too much and that they wouldn’t see the furniture as disrespectful or her overstepping her bounds. Moving was stressful enough without having to throw your entire life in a box by a giant.

Ashlynn stepped out of the car, bringing the box with her, and made it back to the lockbox at the front of the property, noting that there were several new dumpsters at the end of the road as well as two new pieces of heavy machinery.

With one shaky deep breath, she unlocked the box and let herself into the old apartment for the last time. The early morning light cast a cool glow against the walls and illuminated the rooms. She could see where her heels from the day before had kicked up the thin layer of dust on the floor.

The floor creaked under each step as she made her way into the back bedroom. She looked around the room, seeing the corner that Soren had mentioned the day before. She didn’t want to sneak up on them – a laughable thought that she could sneak up on a Borrower at her size. Ashlynn stepped up to the wall and knocked three times.

“Soren? Rey? Dorian? Um… good morning. I just wanted to let you know I was here. Are you awake?” called Ashlynn, raising her voice only slightly above her normal speaking level. There was nothing – not a sound.

A flash of concern washed over her. Had they already left? No, they wouldn’t have left. Perhaps they were still asleep? If that were the case, perhaps she should sit and wait until they made contact.

She was about to make herself comfortable on the hardwood floor when she heard the sound of slight scraping coming from above her head. She turned her eyes upward slowly to an air vent grate to see the ceiling trim where the walls met opening outward and to catch a glimpse of two familiar faces cast in shadow.

It was Soren and Rey. The moment they made eye contact with one another, their smiles contagiously spread to Ashlynn as she looked up to them. With the trim successfully out of the way, Rey hooked up some kind of line and began to belay himself down the wall, hanging upside down like spider-man.

“Morning Ashlynn!” called Rey as he descended the line.

“Be careful, Rey. Right side up,” instructed Soren as he stepped away from the opening in the ceiling. Rey looked back up the line, but continued to lower himself the wrong way.

“I’m being careful!” he called. Ashlynn chuckled and walked up to Rey just as he made it to her eye-level.

“You are quite the aerial acrobat,” grinned Ashlynn.

“I’ve been practicing,” bragged Rey. “I’ve also been working on some new things like this. Watch!” Rey continued to pinch the line with his feet as he began to pull something from his back. It was a mess of paperclips and wire ties, but it evidently was something more as Rey clipped it onto a belt he was wearing and hooked his line through it.

Then, without warning, he let go of the line. Ashlynn’s heart leapt in her throat and she instinctually threw her hand a few inches below Rey, but he did not fall. He stayed put there on the line.

“Had you worried, huh?” grinned Rey mischievously. “It’s a placeholder if you get tired on the line while you’re climbing. You can also put it on the line and stand on it if you—woah!”

One of the paperclips turned suddenly, letting the pinched line slip through the device. Rey fell only the three inches from where he was on the line to where Ashlynn had placed her hand, landing on his back with an abrupt thud.

“Oooff!” he winced. He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck as he rolled over on Ashlynn’s palm so he was now crouched. Ashlynn, on the other hand, took a second to exhale with relief as her heart continued to pound in her chest.

“Still working out the bugs?” she asked, keeping her voice low in hopes Soren wouldn’t scold Rey for not listening and being reckless. Rey sat back, legs folded, as he looked up at Ashlynn, wrinkling his nose at her.

“Okay, so it’s not completely sound. I’ll get it though. It works most of the time. I need more stable ties,” said Rey, already problem solving his invention. Ashlynn’s fingers curled instinctually upward as Rey pulled his creation from the line and began fiddling with it, working as if he weren’t being held.

“Well, we can brainstorm some ideas if you want,” encouraged Ashlynn. “You’ve got a lot of good things going. Maybe you just need a tighter seal on the line.”

“Exactly!” beamed Rey.

“Rey! Rey! Where are you? And why is your bag so heavy? Did you pack your borrowing bag with things you actually need? Or did you just pack all of your crazy…” Rey and Ashlynn looked up at the hole in the ceiling to see Dorian dragging a bag up to the ledge.

Dorian halted and stared down, his body almost immediately stiffened the moment he made eye-contact with Ashlynn. Her jaw slackened as she saw the teenage Borrower. She thought Rey had changed, but Dorian had definitely matured more physically. His jaw was stronger and he was slightly broader. For a moment, Ashlynn could almost see the form of his father, from what little she saw him, as he stood there looking down at her and his younger brother.

“Dorian? Wow, you’ve gotten so much taller. How are you?” asked Ashlynn. Dorian glanced away nervously before clearing his throat.

“I…I’m… fine. You?” asked Dorian.

“I’m doing really well,” smiled Ashlynn. “Is that something I can take down for you?” Dorian let the bag drop from his hand to the ledge.

“Sure. Um… yeah… sure…” he said as he backed away. “I’ll… um… go get some of the other bags.”

Ashlynn watched in partial confusion as Dorian vanished back into the shadows of the walls. She felt a pang hit her she wasn’t expecting. Was he afraid? Had she done something wrong?

“Don’t mind him,” said Rey’s soft voice as he pushed himself up to stand on Ashlynn’s palm. “He’s been acting weird lately.”

Ashlynn was about to pry further when she saw Soren step back up to the ledge, take the line in his hands, and begin sliding down, belaying down the wall effortlessly. The devices in his hands evidently helped him descend the line by protecting his palms, but that wasn’t what caught Ashlynn’s eye – it was the pack attached to his back and the mess of auburn kissed hair that was in it.

It wasn’t until Soren made it all the way to the ground that Ashlynn could better see how the device on his back was constructed. The pack was like a backpack, slinging over his shoulders, but it tied in the front across the top of his chest and again at his waist. The moment he touched down, he knelt he began undoing the straps, slipping out of them methodically.

Ashlynn subconsciously sat down very slowly to not create any sudden movements while Soren sat the pack on the ground pulled out a roly poly toddler with wavy brown hair kissed with the slightest auburn who barely stood around an inch and a half tall. Mayzie clutched her bunny tight and waited for Soren to finish undoing the straps, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

Soren’s heart was practically pounding out of his chest. Much like the first time he met Ashlynn, there was uncertainty crushing his chest, compressing it from all sides. He was nervous Mayzie would have a bad reaction to seeing Ashlynn. He had prepped her the night before and had been prepping her all morning, but this would be Mayzie’s first time seeing a human.

At the moment, she didn’t seem to notice; however, they were on the ground now and Mayzie was starting to look around. It didn’t take long for the toddler to notice the massive figure of Ashlynn who was sitting a few feet away. The toddler’s eyes widened and she instinctively stepped forward toward Soren’s outstretched arms, eyes locked on this new, much larger, entity.

“Um… Ashlynn… this is Mayzie, my daughter,” said Soren as he took a couple steps forward cautiously.

She started to whimper when Soren bounced her and smiled soothingly, standing as tall as he could as he pointed to Ashlynn.

“It’s okay Mayzie. This is Ashlynn. You remember? Ashlynn. She’s very tall, isn’t she? Can you wave?” prompted Soren as he waved to Ashlynn. Mayzie didn’t wave. Soren looked up at Ashlynn, apprehensive of what he would see. What was Ashlynn thinking about his daughter? What if they didn’t like one another? Soren’s mind was racing that he almost missed the sparkle in Ashlynn’s eyes as she met Mayzie’s eyes.

“Hi Mayzie,” said Ashlynn softly as she brought up her other hand and gave a small wave. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

Soren could feel Mayzie’s heart beating quickly and her grip tightening on his shirt. They were at a crossroads. He knew it. He wished he weren’t nervous, knowing that Mayzie could probably sense it.