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Description
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a small town near the green hills and valleys of California, stood a small brick house. It was painted with a thick layer of white paint and the roof was adorned with dark brown shingles. The door to the house was in fact two: the first was a thin metal door that was riddled with holes and the second stood behind the first and it was made out of a flat piece of wood; both doors were painted white. Though the house was simple, its inhabitants were not; a tale of life and death are contained within its walls.

The house was empty of its current owner, who was off to school for the day. However, other beings have made this house their home. They are very secretive, only coming out during the time the owner was out. They only take what they need to survive and only if the object in question would not be missed. They are not burglars, mind you, but a family no taller than a few inches: Borrowers.

Something scurried across the cream tile floor towards the kitchen. It wasn't a mouse or any sort of rodent, it was Borrower. It was a small boy, about two and a half inches tall, with short spiky black hair, ocean green eyes, and slight tanned brown skin. He quickly walked behind the white stove, where many ropes and pulleys hung from the many pipes and hoses that supplied the stove with gas. The boy climbed the ropes with ease, never hesitating, and soon arrived at the top.

He could see the entire kitchen from his perch. He could also see the glass door that led to the backyard, the dinning room, and the reflection of the front door made by an old mirror in the dinning room: this was the perfect outlook. The boy jumped down a few inches to the stove top; the metal rings inserted on top were still warm from earlier use by the Owner. For a moment, the boy spoke to himself.

"Ok, what should I get first? Mother said if I can find any soft foods...what a hassle. I don't usually do the borrowing, but sis and dad are sick, so it's up to me!"

He turned left and headed to the counter between the fridge and the stove. When he did, he discovered it full of food! Mind you, it was only some crumbs, but to a Borrower it was a full course meal. The Owner was probably in a rush, because the counter top was a mess: mustard and mayonnaise were splashed in a few places and large white fluffs of bread crumbs were everywhere.

"Hee, hee! So much stuff and not enough arm space to carry it all in one trip. Hmmmm...maybe I should lighten the load!"

With a hop and a skip over mustard, he sat down and began to eat some of the bread crumbs. It was so light and fluffy, he forgot the reason he was up here in the first place.

"Mmmmm, so good...dad would kill for something like this! Wait...mom will kill me if I don't bring something back!"

He quickly stood up and looked around for any signs of bread crumbs. To his relief there were a few crumbs left, hopefully enough to satisfy his mom's demands.

"I would have been screwed if I didn't bring anything back! Worse, if mom found out I ate everything, I would never see the light of day again! You are too lucky Nedes, too lucky..."

The boy named Nedes, snatched up the rest of the crumbs and walked towards the stove. As he was almost off the counter he suddenly slipped...on mustard. The bread crumbs scattered everywhere and Nedes laid there, his face and clothes covered in the yellow condiment.

"I hate my life..."

After his sarcastic mumbling, he carefully stood up to avoid slipping again. The strong smell of mustard hurt his nose and eyes, so then he went about collecting the crumbs again. He thought about how his favorite overalls were ruined and would probably smell like mustard for a month, even if he had washed them himself.

When he finally arrived at the stove, he walked to its edge where a rope ladder was hidden. Nedes looked down at the floor and shivered. He had a fear heights and the distance from the stove to the floor was a bit much, ironically he was a good climber; his father often compared him to a cat, always getting stuck in a tree. At least least cats in trees are less dangerous than the ones on the ground, his dad would say; he had an odd sense of humor.

Nedes breathed slowly and started his decent. With one hand on the ladder and food in the other, it led to a nerve-wrecking experience as the rope ladder swung from side to side every step down he took. He began to concentrate on the ladder which made the journey bearable at most. Then his right foot touched nothing!

Nedes was panicking, what happened to the ladder? Did it break, what was he going to do? He felt a little dizzy going through the scenarios in his head, when he decided to look down. The ladder was only a few centimeters off the ground; Nedes chuckled to himself.

"Heh heh, that was close..."

His ears picked up the sound of clinking metal and then the turning of a knob. Nedes felt fear clamp his body tight; he couldn't let go of the ladder. His mother warned him about the giants that lurked outside: humans. He was warned never to be seen by one or the human would do terrible things to him. He really didn't care what his mother said about them, but now he wished that he paid more attention to her warnings.

He could hear the front doors close and then the clicking of shoes heading towards the kitchen. Then he heard the clinking of keys hitting against the wooden table in the dinning and then silence. After a few seconds, Nedes slowly got off the ladder and peeked out of the crevice made by the counter top and the stove. He didn't see the Owner anywhere, but ran as quickly as possible back home.

A normal Borrower would not have done anything so risky and stupid than what Nedes did. He left himself exposed crossing the expansive dinning room floor. He was scared out of his mind and his eyes were closed half the time, he didn't even notice a large chair leg in front of him.

*BAM!*

Nedes grabbed his face in pure agony. He could feel blood dripping from his nose and to his dismay, the crumbs were scattered once again. After the pain subsided, he looked where he ran into. The wooden chair leg now had a little bit of mustard on it, but that was pretty much it. And once again, he began to pick up the crumbs that he dropped.

He did so quickly, he didn't know when the human would be back. Nedes finally saw the last crumb and he went for it. When he checked around, he found it next to a black object, a very large black object. His heart nearly stopped, it was a shoe! And something was still wearing it.

Nedes mind drew a blank and he just stood there beneath a sitting giant. He regained his composure after noticing that the human wasn't doing anything. He wondered why the human was not doing anything, was it dead? Nervously, he walked out from under the chair and looked up. The human had his head between his arms, breathing slowly...it was asleep!

"Phew..."

Nedes sighed in relief, but didn't stay long as he bolted down the hallway, crawled under a door, walked into a mouse hole, and traversed the wood and nails of the house walls all while holding the bread crumbs. He did it, he made it home. He felt relived and his nerves began to calm down.

"This is the last time I'll do anything like this ever again! Everything's too big and scary..."

But this was far from his last adventure.

Description
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a small town near the green hills and valleys of California, stood a small brick house. It was painted with a thick layer of white paint and the roof was adorned with dark brown shingles. The door to the house was in fact two: the first was a thin metal door that was riddled with holes and the second stood behind the first and it was made out of a flat piece of wood; both doors were painted white. Though the house was simple, its inhabitants were not; a tale of life and death are contained within its walls.

The house was empty of its current owner, who was off to school for the day. However, other beings have made this house their home. They are very secretive, only coming out during the time the owner was out. They only take what they need to survive and only if the object in question would not be missed. They are not burglars, mind you, but a family no taller than a few inches: Borrowers.

Something scurried across the cream tile floor towards the kitchen. It wasn't a mouse or any sort of rodent, it was Borrower. It was a small boy, about two and a half inches tall, with short spiky black hair, ocean green eyes, and slight tanned brown skin. He quickly walked behind the white stove, where many ropes and pulleys hung from the many pipes and hoses that supplied the stove with gas. The boy climbed the ropes with ease, never hesitating, and soon arrived at the top.

He could see the entire kitchen from his perch. He could also see the glass door that led to the backyard, the dinning room, and the reflection of the front door made by an old mirror in the dinning room: this was the perfect outlook. The boy jumped down a few inches to the stove top; the metal rings inserted on top were still warm from earlier use by the Owner. For a moment, the boy spoke to himself.

"Ok, what should I get first? Mother said if I can find any soft foods...what a hassle. I don't usually do the borrowing, but sis and dad are sick, so it's up to me!"

He turned left and headed to the counter between the fridge and the stove. When he did, he discovered it full of food! Mind you, it was only some crumbs, but to a Borrower it was a full course meal. The Owner was probably in a rush, because the counter top was a mess: mustard and mayonnaise were splashed in a few places and large white fluffs of bread crumbs were everywhere.

"Hee, hee! So much stuff and not enough arm space to carry it all in one trip. Hmmmm...maybe I should lighten the load!"

With a hop and a skip over mustard, he sat down and began to eat some of the bread crumbs. It was so light and fluffy, he forgot the reason he was up here in the first place.

"Mmmmm, so good...dad would kill for something like this! Wait...mom will kill me if I don't bring something back!"

He quickly stood up and looked around for any signs of bread crumbs. To his relief there were a few crumbs left, hopefully enough to satisfy his mom's demands.

"I would have been screwed if I didn't bring anything back! Worse, if mom found out I ate everything, I would never see the light of day again! You are too lucky Nedes, too lucky..."

The boy named Nedes, snatched up the rest of the crumbs and walked towards the stove. As he was almost off the counter he suddenly slipped...on mustard. The bread crumbs scattered everywhere and Nedes laid there, his face and clothes covered in the yellow condiment.

"I hate my life..."

After his sarcastic mumbling, he carefully stood up to avoid slipping again. The strong smell of mustard hurt his nose and eyes, so then he went about collecting the crumbs again. He thought about how his favorite overalls were ruined and would probably smell like mustard for a month, even if he had washed them himself.

When he finally arrived at the stove, he walked to its edge where a rope ladder was hidden. Nedes looked down at the floor and shivered. He had a fear heights and the distance from the stove to the floor was a bit much, ironically he was a good climber; his father often compared him to a cat, always getting stuck in a tree. At least least cats in trees are less dangerous than the ones on the ground, his dad would say; he had an odd sense of humor.

Nedes breathed slowly and started his decent. With one hand on the ladder and food in the other, it led to a nerve-wrecking experience as the rope ladder swung from side to side every step down he took. He began to concentrate on the ladder which made the journey bearable at most. Then his right foot touched nothing!

Nedes was panicking, what happened to the ladder? Did it break, what was he going to do? He felt a little dizzy going through the scenarios in his head, when he decided to look down. The ladder was only a few centimeters off the ground; Nedes chuckled to himself.

"Heh heh, that was close..."

His ears picked up the sound of clinking metal and then the turning of a knob. Nedes felt fear clamp his body tight; he couldn't let go of the ladder. His mother warned him about the giants that lurked outside: humans. He was warned never to be seen by one or the human would do terrible things to him. He really didn't care what his mother said about them, but now he wished that he paid more attention to her warnings.

He could hear the front doors close and then the clicking of shoes heading towards the kitchen. Then he heard the clinking of keys hitting against the wooden table in the dinning and then silence. After a few seconds, Nedes slowly got off the ladder and peeked out of the crevice made by the counter top and the stove. He didn't see the Owner anywhere, but ran as quickly as possible back home.

A normal Borrower would not have done anything so risky and stupid than what Nedes did. He left himself exposed crossing the expansive dinning room floor. He was scared out of his mind and his eyes were closed half the time, he didn't even notice a large chair leg in front of him.

*BAM!*

Nedes grabbed his face in pure agony. He could feel blood dripping from his nose and to his dismay, the crumbs were scattered once again. After the pain subsided, he looked where he ran into. The wooden chair leg now had a little bit of mustard on it, but that was pretty much it. And once again, he began to pick up the crumbs that he dropped.

He did so quickly, he didn't know when the human would be back. Nedes finally saw the last crumb and he went for it. When he checked around, he found it next to a black object, a very large black object. His heart nearly stopped, it was a shoe! And something was still wearing it.

Nedes mind drew a blank and he just stood there beneath a sitting giant. He regained his composure after noticing that the human wasn't doing anything. He wondered why the human was not doing anything, was it dead? Nervously, he walked out from under the chair and looked up. The human had his head between his arms, breathing slowly...it was asleep!

"Phew..."

Nedes sighed in relief, but didn't stay long as he bolted down the hallway, crawled under a door, walked into a mouse hole, and traversed the wood and nails of the house walls all while holding the bread crumbs. He did it, he made it home. He felt relived and his nerves began to calm down.

"This is the last time I'll do anything like this ever again! Everything's too big and scary..."

But this was far from his last adventure.