There were a lot of things Hero didn’t understand about humans. He had watched them for most of his life to better understand how to not be seen by them, but there were some things that he just didn’t understand.

He knew they retrieved their food supplies from something called a “store,” but how big was it? And where did they get their food?

The little boxes they played with were called phones and they had to make sure to be careful since those could take pictures – moments frozen in time. Those were dangerous, if not more dangerous, than being caught.

But, of all the things, there was one instance he observed once when going out with his older sister Cali. There was a family on one of the floors with a son. The boy was younger than Hero, but it couldn’t be by too much; five years at most.

Sometimes, the boy would get excited when the family played together. It didn’t seem to matter what the game was. Cards, board games, videos, and action figures all seemed to help bring whatever this thing was. The boy, whose name was Sam, would start coughing, which would turn into wheezing.

When Sam started either of these things, his parents would coax him into calming down and breathing deeply. Sam sometimes gasped for air. That was when the parents grabbed some weird “L” shaped device a couple of times when the breathing didn’t seem to be working and told Sam to breathe into the contraption.

It didn’t happen a lot, but it was enough for Hero to be curious about. So, when he and his sister were out borrowing, he asked her about it. The family was gone at the time, out on some errand, so Cali and Hero were out on the countertop getting bread from the bags. The device in question, whatever it was, lay on the other side of the counter. Hero could see something sticking out of the end and the other side had some kind of cap on it.

“Cali? What is that thing he breathes into?” Cali stopped untwisting the paper and metal tie at the end of the bag and glanced at it.

“That? I’m not really sure, but I think it’s called an ‘inhaler.’” Cali replied as she finished untwisting the tie and opened the end of the bag. Hero stared at the inhaler absent-mindedly, noting the cartoon sticker of faded red, white, and blue on the back of it.

“Oh,” noted Hero, now becoming more curious. “And he needs it? I mean, what does it do?”

“I don’t know. Why do you want to know?” asked Cali, finally managing to get part of the crumpled corner free inconspicuously and wrestling it from the rest of the loaf. “Get over here and open your bag.” Hero stepped over and opened the pack on his back.

The young Borrower knew pressing his sister would only lead to her asking more questions – and he couldn’t have her doing that. Instead, he shrugged.

“Just curious,” he muttered in reply.

His family didn’t know that he had snuck out that night and, thankfully, didn’t know he may have been seen by that older woman about a week ago. They didn’t know about his so-called “secret life” of being a hero and that’s how he wanted it.

The shrug seemed to pacify Cali, but she was very intuitive and, like their parents, seemed to just know things. Hero elected to help in silence for the rest of their borrowing trip and helped his mother and father with dinner so Cali would go about her business.

It wasn’t until after dinner and when Hero was tucked snugly in his bed staring up at the tiny dots of light cast by the covered Christmas light in the corner of his room that he let his mind wander.

I want to help, but how can I? Sam already seems to be well taken care of by his parents. I know he has a hard time breathing. I don’t think me breathing can help him. His parents aren’t that far away usually. Should I just wait? See if he needs something else?

Hero heard the floorboards creaking just above him. They’re home. Another late night. Where’d they go this time? There were loud crashing sounds followed by muffled shouts. The nerves in his middle sparked nervously. He pulled the quilt he slept under and nestled further down into it. The shouting was unnerving; even if it wasn’t at him.

The couple up above eventually quieted down and Hero drifted off to sleep, hoping that he could go help out Sam if he could.

~~~~~^*^*^~~~~~

Hero snuck back twice a day for the next week to pick up on the habits of the family. He used the excuse that he was practicing climbing in the walls with his hooks, which was believable. Hero hated the thought of lying to his family, but he couldn’t think of a rational way to explain his desire to watch one particular family so closely for no particular borrowing.

There were several things Hero noted immediately upon his reconnaissance mission. Both parents worked and Sam was either at a care place or there was another human called a “sitter.” This “sitter” played with Sam and took care of various needs just like when his parents asked him to watch Winnie.

The parents were far more attentive to Sam’s needs than the sitter and Hero started to notice different cues right before Sam started breathing weird. Sam didn’t have to use that little device called an inhaler, but the wheezing still sounded scary.

When it came to retrieving things and being taken care of, Same seemed pretty secure. The young borrower stayed crouched on top of his perch above the bookshelf and watched as Sam played with his action figures. The sitter had stepped out of the room, presumably to make a snack or take care of something, but she had been gone for a while.

Hero was getting ready to leave when he watched Sam stand up and turn his eyes to the bookshelf. His heart leapt in his throat and he thought for a split second he was spotted. He threw himself onto the top, but a few seconds later Hero heard rustling of some of the books a few shelves below him. The bookshelf swayed slightly until Sam presumably stepped away.

Hero let out a faint sigh of relief as his heart continued to pound in his chest when he heard something. A cough from below. Then a few wheezier coughs. Hero knew the sound and dared to glance over the edge.

By the looks of it, Sam was holding a book from one of the upper shelves. He must’ve climbed up to reach it. The other thing Hero noticed was the little puff of dust looming in the air and Sam beginning to cough.

Hero held his breath, wondering if the sitter would come into the room at the sound of Sam’s coughs. He was wheezing now. The aspiring hero was caught between a rock and a hard place. It was midday. There was a human obviously there. His options were limited in what he could do – but he had to do something.

Looking at Sam, he was starting to wheeze harder, a look of panic settling in his eyes. Hero glanced around the room wildly, eyes seeking out the small device called an inhaler. Could that do something? There.

Sam was now sitting on the ground while the inhaler was on the bedside table. Hero shoved his hook into the bookshelf and, using his paperclips as a grip and break, hurriedly slid down the line until he reached the ground with a rough thud. Hero felt his heart accelerating in his chest as he sprinted across the floor by the baseboards until he reached the table.

He spun the next hook at his hip around and around like a helicopter propeller until finally releasing. The metal piece arced through the air and embedded itself in one of the ajar drawers. Hero caught a glimpse of Sam out of the corner of his eye to see Sam searching the ground frantically; presumably for the thing Hero had already found.

Just as Hero reached the top, a realization hit him. He was probably going to be seen. It wasn’t like last time where he might have been seen. Don’t think about that. Sam needs your help. Hero pulled himself up the line, hoisted his leg over the edge, and stood shakily on the drawer.

Sure enough – there was the inhaler. There was no way he could move it on his own, but perhaps he could get the boy’s attention. Hero turned around to see Sam, though something was going wrong quickly. His lips and cheeks were pale. His breathing was coming in gasps. Panicking, Hero did the only thing that he could think of.

“Sam!” Hero shouted at the top of his lungs. “It’s over here! SAM!”

Hero wasn’t sure what possessed him nor was he sure why he lingered for that half a moment for Sam’s eyes to lock onto his eyes.

Hero had heard from other Borrowers who immigrated from other places what it was like being seen. This was much worse. Every hair on his body stood on end. His breath refused to leave his lungs. His heart pounded painfully in his chest, faster and faster the longer the moment lasted. Even his feet refused to move until he remembered what the pro hero told the green haired boy – their bodies moved on their own.

I can’t let this stop me. Hero pulled his mind free and, while he was still trembling, managed to start pushing the inhaler closer to the edge of the table.

Sam seemed to notice and was equally stunned. In a moment, he lunged forward. Hero let out an involuntary squeak and fell backwards, Sam’s grasping fingers nearly brushed him and, instead, desperately seizing the inhaler.

Sam ripped off the end and held the inhaler up, squeezing it and breathing in. Hero couldn’t help but imagine himself in the crushing grip, but he couldn’t do anything about it now. Summoning all his courage, Hero stood slowly and forced a reassuring smile.

“That’s right. Deep breaths. You’re going to be okay.” Hero mimicked the words used by Sam’s parents. A solid minute passed as Hero watched whatever the inhaler did work its strange magic. The color returned to the human boy’s cheeks and his breath no longer was wheezing.

The emergency of Sam’s breathing had come to an end. The bigger emergency of Hero being seen and standing out in the open was another matter entirely; and it became apparent when Sam turned his eyes onto Hero.

Sam didn’t have a chance to say anything though, as the sitter was now beginning to call out his name and asking him if everything was alright. Sam glanced at Hero curiously before turning his eyes back to the Borrower; but the young Borrower was already making a swift retreat down his line off the side of the table.

He was undeniably seen and he had technically spoken to a human. The last thing he needed was to get himself caught.

Unfortunately, Sam was perceptive and crouched to watch Hero descend the line. Hero’s hands shook on the line as he was now only a foot off of the ground. The sound of footsteps coming toward them pulled Sam’s attention away.

“Sam? Are you okay?” The sound of the sitter’s voice was closer than ever. Hero felt sick. Every instinct screamed to run and hide, but he couldn’t do that while clutching the line.

“I’m okay. I just need some medicine,” Sam responded with a few more coughs. Hero didn’t want to lose this hook. He had just reached the ground when Sam reached up to the hook and pulled it from the edge. Please don’t keep it. Please don’t keep me. I… I just wanted to help.

“Here you go,” wheezed Sam quietly as he held out the hook toward Hero, which was all the prompting he needed. Hero stepped forward slowly, grabbed the hook from the tips of Sam’s fingers, and stepped back.

“Thanks,” said Hero quickly. The sitter’s footsteps were still approaching. “Please don’t tell anyone you saw me.” The human boy’s eyes watched Hero curiously as the Borrower stepped further into the shadows of the bedside table.

“Will you come back if I don’t tell?” asked Sam. The air in Hero’s lungs felt heavy, his heartrate hurting his chest and veins.

“Promise,” said Hero. Sam nodded.

“Promise,” he echoed. With that, Sam stood shakily and headed for the door just as the sitter came around the corner.

The sitter, seeing Sam’s condition, began asking a thousand questions, and Sam answered them all. In the meantime, poor Hero took a moment to shake his nerves. He had just spoken to a human and, thankfully, he had been let go. Then again, he did promise to come back.

Hero figured that, in the end, what really mattered was that Sam was okay – he had made a difference, even if the price was high. The green-eyed Borrower scaled the bookshelf and slipped back into the walls, hoping the human boy would keep true to his word.

It was a shaky start, but hopefully all of this would be worth it.