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Description
"Well, here we are!" smiled Jane, who brushed past Sho to open the door. Arrietty, whom was nearly falling out of Sho' shirt pocket with excitement, gleefully poked her tiny head out. Jane's house was in a small suburban area; it wasn't large or small, but it was surrounded by plants and trees which was a very suitable environment for a borrower to live in. As the key clicked and worked its magic, Sho distinctively felt the presence of another borrower. He glanced around the house as he stepped inside, trying to absorb everything. She lived mostly by herself (not including the mysterious borrower), so she didn't have much furniture. The walls emanated a pale green, and the tiled floor ended abruptly and was met by carpet. A small television was hooked up to an Xbox, and a discarded bag of chips lay on the floor. The cleanliness of the bag startled Sho – did the borrower clean it of crumbs?
"C'mon, I'll take you to my room!" grinned Jane, and Sho could only nod.
They walked up a narrow and small flight of stairs, which led to a single room. It was about the size of Sho's room, but it had more windows and felt livelier. A small shriek pierced the room, and everyone, including Arrietty, flinched.
A small voice cried from atop Jane's desk, "Jane! You…!" She dropped the chip-crumb that she was gnawing on and was about to flee when grimacing, Jane grumbled back.
"Don't worry! He knows!"
The wind rustled against the windows, and no one spoke. Arrietty peeped out, and her eyes widened. They was no way that this borrower was-
"Who is he, then?" said the borrower.
"I'm Sho. And I'm the friend of this borrower" he gently pulled Arrietty out "Arrietty".
As if from a movie scene, both borrowers widened their eyes in complete disbelief, then sudden comprehension.
"ARRIETTY!"
"MARIBEL!"
Sho quickly delivered Arrietty to the desk, and he watched as the two borrowers embraced each other with squeals of pure delight. The spun around each other, trying to make sure that to other person was real and not a dream. Sho and Jane watched with little, childish smiles on their faces, and they caught each other's eyes. Jane looked away, embarrassed, but Sho's grin grew wider. After the two reunited borrowers had calmed down, Arrietty explained to the two giants.
"Maribel was one of the borrowers from the forest that was an orphan. Her parents had disappeared" she choked upon the word "and left her there."
"Arrietty's family took me in for a few weeks. One day, when I went exploring, Jane kidnapped me."
Defensively, Jane retorted, "I was doing research, and I found a little girl running around and screaming. What was I to do?"
"Doesn't matter. You took me, and that is that."
Arrietty continued impatiently. "After she didn't come home for dinner, I knew something was up. But I couldn't bear myself to say it, so I kept it to myself."
Sho exclaimed, with visible curiosity, "Why didn't you tell me about her?" Jane smirked.
Dipping her head, Arrietty replied, "I forgot about her." Turning to Maribel, she apologized with tears.
"Aww, c'mon Arrietty, it's okay," consoled Maribel, patting and stroking her head.
The sight of a borrower clad in blue soothing a borrower clad in red who was bawling was too much of a sight for Jane. She burst into merry laughter, reeling over in pain as her stomach cramped up. Tears flowed freely with a mix of bitter pleasure, and soon everyone was laughing with her.

Sho pulled his chair a little closer to the table, and Jane sat cross legged. The two borrowers perched upon the dinner table like two parrots, squawking about the time that had passed. This was the first time Sho actually had to observe Maribel. She was in some ways quite different from Arrietty – but their personalities made them seem like twins. Maribel had black, silky hair which cut off a bit shorter than Arrietty's brown hair. Her eyes were large and gleaming, with a possible hint of dark blue. Her chin was slightly sharper. They were about the same height, as far as Sho could tell, and they were of the same slimness and fitness. It was hard to believe that Maribel was an orphan, yet this was the fact. Jane leaned her head against the table, enchanted with the borrowers' dialogue. Sho began dozing off, and as his eyes grew heavy, he heard a little exclamation which snapped him to attention.
"How far did you say?"
"I'm not sure, but it was really far away."
"How many bear-lengths?"
"About 10 or 20, I guess…"
"20 BEAR-LENGTHS?! Jane and I can only reach up to 5!"
Groggily, Sho tried to grasp the context of their conversation. "What? What?"
Arrietty grinned. "Good morning, sleepyhead. I was telling Maribel how you could hear me from your house."
"Oh… ok."
Hurriedly, Maribel grilled on. "What other things? Can you share thoughts? See through each other's eyes?"
Both Sho and Arrietty froze with awe. "So it wasn't an unknown thing!" they both thought. Arrietty felt the slightest tingle in her head, and she groaned. It was happening again. She sighed, and relaxed. It hurt less if she didn't fight back. She opened her eyes slowly, and saw nothing. Then a layer of light focused, and once again, like before, she was looking out of Sho's right eye.
Maribel watched with horror as Arrietty's now mind-less body crumpled and collapsed, and immediately fell to her side to try and wake her up. Jane watched this unfold with fascination. Sho slowly pulled Maribel away from Arrietty, and Maribel kicked and scratched at his huge human fingers.
"You! You human! Stop it! Stop it, I say!"
Calmly, Sho shushed her. "Quiet, Maribel. Arrietty isn't hurt. Actually, she's watching you right now."
Maribel blinked and stopped her fuss. She glanced upon Sho's eyes, and gasped. His right pupil was not aligned with his left pupil, and his iris had changed color from his original greyish-black to a brown similar to that of Arrietty's. Sho relaxed his face muscles, and he was hoping that Arrietty could begin to control his mouth. Echoing in his mind, he thought to Arrietty,
"Arrietty, try to speak."
He heard the returning "Okay" and felt his mouth twitch.
The voice that came out was alien to him. It was a girlish voice, yet with his tones and sounds. It was the weirdest sensation he had felt; never before had he lost complete control of his mouth and voice. His breathing was affected as well – he could not breathe easily, and he felt like choking.
"Maribel – I'm fine."
Jane and Maribel jumped at the sound, and they stared at the limp Arrietty.
Maribel, voice shaking, hoarsely whispered, "Stop it. Get out of his mind. Please."
Arrietty obliged, and slowly slid out of Sho's consciousness. Sho's right eye flickered and jerked as it changed color and then it relaxed. He cleared his throat, and watched as Arrietty clambered back up. Maribel rushed up and hugged her so tightly she lost her breath. "Please, don't do that again." Maribel began to sob, and tears welled in Jane's eyes. Sho wasn't a sentimental person, so he stayed sitting primly, waiting for the drama to come to an end. This time, it was Arrietty's time to pat Maribel's head. Jane sniffed loudly, and wiped her face with her sleeve. She caught Sho staring with dismay, and grinned sheepishly.

"Well, I once heard that certain borrowers had this special power."
Maribel was explaining how she knew about the special powers Arrietty and Sho held between them.
"I was told that when these special borrowers first meet with a human being, if they are able to control their fears of the human bean, they unlock a channel between the two."
Arrietty, sitting on Sho's palm, interjected, "That sounds like a bunch of baloney to me."
Without skipping a beat, Maribel continued. "If the borrower does not meet the human face to face, the human will have the ability to hear and see borrowers, but that would be all. The borrower would gain a small increase in strength and stamina, but nothing more."
Arrietty's eyes twinkled. "My father said something like that when he told me bed-time stories!"
Jane continued for Maribel: "But, if the two meet later, they gain a connection through their minds. Sometimes it is weak, and not much different than if they had not met. Other times, they share thoughts, memories, and senses with ease."
Sho glanced at Jane, bewildered. "How would you know?"
Jane chuckled softly. "Why not ask the borrower that gave me this knowledge?"
"You two can share thoughts?" exclaimed Sho and Arrietty in unison.
"Yeah, but that's the limit of our abilities. Nothing fancy like you two."
Blushing, the two looked away. Suddenly, Maribel had an idea. You could almost see the light bulb flash above her head. "Arrietty, y'know how the old beard guy said he knew everything? Aw, I mean in the forest! Is he still alive?" An affirmative nod was received. "Then let's ask him about this!"
"How are we going to get there?"
"We have two big humans that can hide us and protect us, as well as carry us. Why not?"
Jane nodded, and spoke. "I think that would be a good idea, but we can't go in."
Flustered, Maribel agreed. "No one would want you there. Sho, do you think you can hear through Arrietty's ears?"
"I may, but I haven't tried," muttered Sho.
"Then try!" urged Maribel and Jane at the same time.
"Is that okay, Arrietty?"
Arrietty nodded, slightly nervous. "I think so."
Sho imagined his mind as a freely flowing substance, gooey and soft. It slowly extended to reach out towards Arrietty, and then went into the shape of her ears. The goo wrapped around the sides of her head, and she shivered. She allowed Sho's mind to slowly creep into her head. As if someone had slowly turned down the volume, she lost hearing in her right ear. Sho left her left ear untouched, for she needed to hear as well. As soon as his hearing increased, he nodded to Maribel. She daintily skipped over to Arrietty's side and whispered something into her right ear. Arrietty heard absolutely nothing from her right ear, but Sho heard every word clearly. As soon as Maribel stepped back from Arrietty, Sho released her ear slowly. Her hearing returned, and she shook her head from side to side.
Maribel asked impatiently, "What did I say?"
"'Across the berry tree is a bird; down there are two stones, and a buck. Or something like that."
"Close enough. I said 'Across the pear tree is a bird; down there are tombstones, and a duck.' At least we know it works!"
Jane piped, "Shall we g moving now?"
"Yes!" chorused the two borrowers, and the two giants smiled.

To Arrietty now, climbing on Sho felt like having her very own big machine to drive. She had seen many cars and airplanes, but never ridden one. "Forward the light brigade!" shouted Arrietty in Sho's chest pocket.
"Forward the light brigade!" echoed Maribel.
Sho glanced at the tiny girl in his pocket with amusement. "How would you know that poem?"
"I read it from one of the books."
Maribel's eyes boggled. "You have books?"
"Mhmm! You really should visit some time. I have so much to show you!"
"…forward!"
Laughing Arrietty continued. "Cannons to the left of them. Cannons to the right of them! Argh!" She yelped as Sho suddenly begin walking and she fell down. "Sho!"
Sho chuckled, and kept walking. Maribel was riding in a small pouch that Jane wore next to her hip. She giggled and ducked her head inside. The two humans, carrying two borrowers, stepped out into the dark. A gust of wind swept past them, and Jane straightened her hair. Sho ad Jane looked at each other and nodded. Locking the door behind them, they set off towards the forest of borrowers.

Description
"Well, here we are!" smiled Jane, who brushed past Sho to open the door. Arrietty, whom was nearly falling out of Sho' shirt pocket with excitement, gleefully poked her tiny head out. Jane's house was in a small suburban area; it wasn't large or small, but it was surrounded by plants and trees which was a very suitable environment for a borrower to live in. As the key clicked and worked its magic, Sho distinctively felt the presence of another borrower. He glanced around the house as he stepped inside, trying to absorb everything. She lived mostly by herself (not including the mysterious borrower), so she didn't have much furniture. The walls emanated a pale green, and the tiled floor ended abruptly and was met by carpet. A small television was hooked up to an Xbox, and a discarded bag of chips lay on the floor. The cleanliness of the bag startled Sho – did the borrower clean it of crumbs?
"C'mon, I'll take you to my room!" grinned Jane, and Sho could only nod.
They walked up a narrow and small flight of stairs, which led to a single room. It was about the size of Sho's room, but it had more windows and felt livelier. A small shriek pierced the room, and everyone, including Arrietty, flinched.
A small voice cried from atop Jane's desk, "Jane! You…!" She dropped the chip-crumb that she was gnawing on and was about to flee when grimacing, Jane grumbled back.
"Don't worry! He knows!"
The wind rustled against the windows, and no one spoke. Arrietty peeped out, and her eyes widened. They was no way that this borrower was-
"Who is he, then?" said the borrower.
"I'm Sho. And I'm the friend of this borrower" he gently pulled Arrietty out "Arrietty".
As if from a movie scene, both borrowers widened their eyes in complete disbelief, then sudden comprehension.
"ARRIETTY!"
"MARIBEL!"
Sho quickly delivered Arrietty to the desk, and he watched as the two borrowers embraced each other with squeals of pure delight. The spun around each other, trying to make sure that to other person was real and not a dream. Sho and Jane watched with little, childish smiles on their faces, and they caught each other's eyes. Jane looked away, embarrassed, but Sho's grin grew wider. After the two reunited borrowers had calmed down, Arrietty explained to the two giants.
"Maribel was one of the borrowers from the forest that was an orphan. Her parents had disappeared" she choked upon the word "and left her there."
"Arrietty's family took me in for a few weeks. One day, when I went exploring, Jane kidnapped me."
Defensively, Jane retorted, "I was doing research, and I found a little girl running around and screaming. What was I to do?"
"Doesn't matter. You took me, and that is that."
Arrietty continued impatiently. "After she didn't come home for dinner, I knew something was up. But I couldn't bear myself to say it, so I kept it to myself."
Sho exclaimed, with visible curiosity, "Why didn't you tell me about her?" Jane smirked.
Dipping her head, Arrietty replied, "I forgot about her." Turning to Maribel, she apologized with tears.
"Aww, c'mon Arrietty, it's okay," consoled Maribel, patting and stroking her head.
The sight of a borrower clad in blue soothing a borrower clad in red who was bawling was too much of a sight for Jane. She burst into merry laughter, reeling over in pain as her stomach cramped up. Tears flowed freely with a mix of bitter pleasure, and soon everyone was laughing with her.

Sho pulled his chair a little closer to the table, and Jane sat cross legged. The two borrowers perched upon the dinner table like two parrots, squawking about the time that had passed. This was the first time Sho actually had to observe Maribel. She was in some ways quite different from Arrietty – but their personalities made them seem like twins. Maribel had black, silky hair which cut off a bit shorter than Arrietty's brown hair. Her eyes were large and gleaming, with a possible hint of dark blue. Her chin was slightly sharper. They were about the same height, as far as Sho could tell, and they were of the same slimness and fitness. It was hard to believe that Maribel was an orphan, yet this was the fact. Jane leaned her head against the table, enchanted with the borrowers' dialogue. Sho began dozing off, and as his eyes grew heavy, he heard a little exclamation which snapped him to attention.
"How far did you say?"
"I'm not sure, but it was really far away."
"How many bear-lengths?"
"About 10 or 20, I guess…"
"20 BEAR-LENGTHS?! Jane and I can only reach up to 5!"
Groggily, Sho tried to grasp the context of their conversation. "What? What?"
Arrietty grinned. "Good morning, sleepyhead. I was telling Maribel how you could hear me from your house."
"Oh… ok."
Hurriedly, Maribel grilled on. "What other things? Can you share thoughts? See through each other's eyes?"
Both Sho and Arrietty froze with awe. "So it wasn't an unknown thing!" they both thought. Arrietty felt the slightest tingle in her head, and she groaned. It was happening again. She sighed, and relaxed. It hurt less if she didn't fight back. She opened her eyes slowly, and saw nothing. Then a layer of light focused, and once again, like before, she was looking out of Sho's right eye.
Maribel watched with horror as Arrietty's now mind-less body crumpled and collapsed, and immediately fell to her side to try and wake her up. Jane watched this unfold with fascination. Sho slowly pulled Maribel away from Arrietty, and Maribel kicked and scratched at his huge human fingers.
"You! You human! Stop it! Stop it, I say!"
Calmly, Sho shushed her. "Quiet, Maribel. Arrietty isn't hurt. Actually, she's watching you right now."
Maribel blinked and stopped her fuss. She glanced upon Sho's eyes, and gasped. His right pupil was not aligned with his left pupil, and his iris had changed color from his original greyish-black to a brown similar to that of Arrietty's. Sho relaxed his face muscles, and he was hoping that Arrietty could begin to control his mouth. Echoing in his mind, he thought to Arrietty,
"Arrietty, try to speak."
He heard the returning "Okay" and felt his mouth twitch.
The voice that came out was alien to him. It was a girlish voice, yet with his tones and sounds. It was the weirdest sensation he had felt; never before had he lost complete control of his mouth and voice. His breathing was affected as well – he could not breathe easily, and he felt like choking.
"Maribel – I'm fine."
Jane and Maribel jumped at the sound, and they stared at the limp Arrietty.
Maribel, voice shaking, hoarsely whispered, "Stop it. Get out of his mind. Please."
Arrietty obliged, and slowly slid out of Sho's consciousness. Sho's right eye flickered and jerked as it changed color and then it relaxed. He cleared his throat, and watched as Arrietty clambered back up. Maribel rushed up and hugged her so tightly she lost her breath. "Please, don't do that again." Maribel began to sob, and tears welled in Jane's eyes. Sho wasn't a sentimental person, so he stayed sitting primly, waiting for the drama to come to an end. This time, it was Arrietty's time to pat Maribel's head. Jane sniffed loudly, and wiped her face with her sleeve. She caught Sho staring with dismay, and grinned sheepishly.

"Well, I once heard that certain borrowers had this special power."
Maribel was explaining how she knew about the special powers Arrietty and Sho held between them.
"I was told that when these special borrowers first meet with a human being, if they are able to control their fears of the human bean, they unlock a channel between the two."
Arrietty, sitting on Sho's palm, interjected, "That sounds like a bunch of baloney to me."
Without skipping a beat, Maribel continued. "If the borrower does not meet the human face to face, the human will have the ability to hear and see borrowers, but that would be all. The borrower would gain a small increase in strength and stamina, but nothing more."
Arrietty's eyes twinkled. "My father said something like that when he told me bed-time stories!"
Jane continued for Maribel: "But, if the two meet later, they gain a connection through their minds. Sometimes it is weak, and not much different than if they had not met. Other times, they share thoughts, memories, and senses with ease."
Sho glanced at Jane, bewildered. "How would you know?"
Jane chuckled softly. "Why not ask the borrower that gave me this knowledge?"
"You two can share thoughts?" exclaimed Sho and Arrietty in unison.
"Yeah, but that's the limit of our abilities. Nothing fancy like you two."
Blushing, the two looked away. Suddenly, Maribel had an idea. You could almost see the light bulb flash above her head. "Arrietty, y'know how the old beard guy said he knew everything? Aw, I mean in the forest! Is he still alive?" An affirmative nod was received. "Then let's ask him about this!"
"How are we going to get there?"
"We have two big humans that can hide us and protect us, as well as carry us. Why not?"
Jane nodded, and spoke. "I think that would be a good idea, but we can't go in."
Flustered, Maribel agreed. "No one would want you there. Sho, do you think you can hear through Arrietty's ears?"
"I may, but I haven't tried," muttered Sho.
"Then try!" urged Maribel and Jane at the same time.
"Is that okay, Arrietty?"
Arrietty nodded, slightly nervous. "I think so."
Sho imagined his mind as a freely flowing substance, gooey and soft. It slowly extended to reach out towards Arrietty, and then went into the shape of her ears. The goo wrapped around the sides of her head, and she shivered. She allowed Sho's mind to slowly creep into her head. As if someone had slowly turned down the volume, she lost hearing in her right ear. Sho left her left ear untouched, for she needed to hear as well. As soon as his hearing increased, he nodded to Maribel. She daintily skipped over to Arrietty's side and whispered something into her right ear. Arrietty heard absolutely nothing from her right ear, but Sho heard every word clearly. As soon as Maribel stepped back from Arrietty, Sho released her ear slowly. Her hearing returned, and she shook her head from side to side.
Maribel asked impatiently, "What did I say?"
"'Across the berry tree is a bird; down there are two stones, and a buck. Or something like that."
"Close enough. I said 'Across the pear tree is a bird; down there are tombstones, and a duck.' At least we know it works!"
Jane piped, "Shall we g moving now?"
"Yes!" chorused the two borrowers, and the two giants smiled.

To Arrietty now, climbing on Sho felt like having her very own big machine to drive. She had seen many cars and airplanes, but never ridden one. "Forward the light brigade!" shouted Arrietty in Sho's chest pocket.
"Forward the light brigade!" echoed Maribel.
Sho glanced at the tiny girl in his pocket with amusement. "How would you know that poem?"
"I read it from one of the books."
Maribel's eyes boggled. "You have books?"
"Mhmm! You really should visit some time. I have so much to show you!"
"…forward!"
Laughing Arrietty continued. "Cannons to the left of them. Cannons to the right of them! Argh!" She yelped as Sho suddenly begin walking and she fell down. "Sho!"
Sho chuckled, and kept walking. Maribel was riding in a small pouch that Jane wore next to her hip. She giggled and ducked her head inside. The two humans, carrying two borrowers, stepped out into the dark. A gust of wind swept past them, and Jane straightened her hair. Sho ad Jane looked at each other and nodded. Locking the door behind them, they set off towards the forest of borrowers.