The Life of a Borrower

Chapter 3

"Ben?" Samantha asked, but no response. Ben was unconscious in Samantha's hand. Samantha grew very uneasy and anxious holding Ben, she was scared to hurt him or drop him. She also felt sorry for Ben. She didn't mean to scare him to the point of fainting. After having a better look at him, he appeared disheveled. Hand made clothes and dark brown hair in disarray.

About a minute later, Ben slowly opened his eyes and sat up. The ground beneath him was warm and squishy, and he suddenly remembered where he was. He looked up at Samantha from her cupped hands with terrified eyes filled with fear.

"Hey..." Samantha said softly.

The way Ben looked at her broke her heart. He looked at her like she was some kind of monster. Is that what she was to him? She never thought of herself as a monster, but she supposed from his point of view, she could be.

"Sorry, I'll put you down now, but promise me you won't run away. I'll feed you some food. I have to make sure you're okay." Samantha said to Ben. Ben hesitated at first but nodded in agreement. He figured he didn't have much to lose, anyway. Samantha gently placed him back on the counter.

"I have some pizza in the fridge. Would you like some?" Samantha offered.

"Pizza?" Ben questioned with a puzzled look.

"Yeah. I can break a piece off for you." Samantha said. Ben still looked confused. Did he not know what pizza was? "Here, I'll show you."

Samantha stepped off to the side and opened her fridge. She pulled out a big shallow box and placed it on the counter next to Ben. She opened the box and pulled out a slice of pizza, breaking off the corner and handing the piece to Ben. He took the piece about the size of his head with both hands and looked at it with bewilderment. It smelled amazing to the small boy.

"Try it. I promise, you'll like it. Everybody likes pizza." Samantha assured him. He took a bite and was surprised by how much he enjoyed it. He took another bite and another, until the piece was gone. It was the best "meal" he'd had in a while.

"Th-thank you." Ben said with a shy smile.

"You're welcome!" Samantha said cheerfully. "I know it's not the healthiest option, but you gotta have something in your tummy. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Sam?" Ben asked. He said her name for the first time and it immediately got her attention.

"Yes?" Samantha happily responded.

"I'm thirsty." Ben admitted.

"Right. Um, hang on." Samantha said nervously, then scrambled around her kitchen looking for something small enough.

Ben watched Samantha in admiration. He wasn't letting his gaurd down just yet, but Samantha was being super generous and kind. It warmed Ben's heart. If she wanted to hurt him or do anything, she would have done it already. Maybe this five-and-a-half foot giant wasn't so bad. Samantha filled a shot glass with tap water and carefully brought it to Ben.

"I'm sorry, this is the smallest thing I have right now." Samantha said apologetically.

She held the glass at an angle he could reach it from, and carefully helped him hold the glass while he drank some water. She felt his tiny little hands on her fingers and it felt so surreal. It was almost electrifying, and at that point, nothing else seemed to matter.

"Do you feel better now?" Samantha asked.

"Yeah, I think so. Thank you." Ben said.

"May I ask you something?" Samantha asked. Ben nodded nervously. "Why are you in my house? How did you get here?" Hearing that, Ben started to panic. Samantha saw this and quickly reassured him. "I'm not mad, I promise. I'm just curious. I've never seen someone so little."

"Well," Ben nervously began. "I live here. I've been living here for a long time. I'm... I'm a borrower." Ben said, feeling like he betrayed his entire species.

"A borrower?" Now it's Samantha's turn to be confused.

"Yeah... I borrow things that you wouldn't miss, like scraps, to survive. I only take things I need, like little pieces of food or small objects I could use for survival." Ben explained. Samantha soaked up the information.

"Oh, I see. It's like stealing." Samantha said. She didn't mean for that to sound like an accusation.

"Um... I..." Ben started to panic again.

"It's okay. I'm not mad at you, I get it." Samantha was quick to reassure him again. "So, are you the only one? Are there more of you?" She curiously asked.

"Well, my parents were here, but they passed away when I was young. I've been on my own ever since." Ben confessed, feeling dejected.

"I'm so sorry. What happened to them?" Samantha asked. The sad look on Ben's face made her realize she pried too much.
"I'm sorry. You don't have to talk about it."

"It's okay. I don't remember much about them." Ben said. Samantha thought that was really sad, though she could relate.

"My parents died when I was a kid, too. I was raised by my grandparents. Now they're gone, I inherited their house." Samantha explained.

"Wow." Ben said with a bit of shock. He had more in common with this girl than he thought. She also knew what it was like to be alone. Samantha looked at him and her eyes softened.

"Ben, how old are you?" Samantha asked.

"Nineteen, I think. I'm not very good at measuring the passage of time. How old are you?"

"Twenty-four." Samantha replied. She thought for a moment. "So, you've been alone all this time? Where do you stay?" Samantha asked.

"I live in the walls." Ben stated.

"In the walls? That can't be comfy." Samantha said sympathetically.

"I'm used to it, it's safer there. Sure, it's cold and lonely sometimes, but it's all I've ever known." Ben explained.

"Well if you ever get lonely, or just need a friend, you can always come to me." Samantha kindly offered.

"R-really?" Ben asked.

"Yeah. We are practically roommates, might as well be friends, too. If you need anything, I'm right here." Samantha paused for a moment. "Unless, of course, I'm at work. In which case, I'll be here later in the day."

"Wow. Thank you." Ben said. He was truly thankful for her kind offer.

"You're welcome. Don't be afraid to ask me for anything. I'll do everything I can to help you. Even if you just want to hang out, I'll always be here. You can trust me." Samantha assured him.

"Thank you. I appreciate it." Ben admitted. He was slowly letting his gaurd down. If Samantha was legit, she was a beautiful person, inside and out. Ben had a crush on her for a while, even though it was drilled into his head that he had to be terrified of her. Maybe he could trust a human afterall.