“Hello,” greeted Hero, admittedly sounding more bashful than he wanted. He cleared his throat and straightened up before continuing. “It’s nice to meet you Watney. My name is Hero.” Rather than approach, Watney crouched at an impressively slow pace and sat on the ground so he could still partially see Hero while also maintaining, what Hero thought to be, a safe distance.

“Wow,” the auburn-haired boy was obviously trying to form words while his brain was visibly malfunctioning. “I mean… gosh. Sorry. That was rude of me. Yeah… um… nice to meet you too. You said your name is Hero? That’s an awesome name.” Watching the flustered boy was admittedly amusing; and Hero couldn’t help but chuckle to himself, but also be slightly confused. Watney clearly was drawing Borrowers, granted with some altered features such as the ears and tails; but, if he knew about them, why was he acting so flustered?

“Thanks,” said Hero, daring to take a few more steps closer to the partially opened book. “Um… Watney? Have you… ever seen someone like me?” Hero was careful not to mention Borrowers by name. For all the young hero knew, this was something that Watney thought he came up with himself.

“What? Like you? No, but I’m not surprised. You’re not supposed to be seen or known about, right?” The question hit Hero like a gut punch, and his confusion must’ve been apparent because Watney continued. “Sorry. You’re probably breaking all of the rules just to talk to me. Gosh! Sorry! I’m such an idiot. You’ve got to be freaking out.”

Hero felt his confusion growing more and more. Watney hadn’t met a Borrower before, but he knew about the rules? He had some idea of how Hero was feeling?

“How do you know about the rules? Do you… know what I am?” asked the young Borrower, daring to take a few more steps out onto the desk to get a better view of Watney.

Watney, who had partially averted his gaze, glanced back up at Hero before responding. “Well… I mean, yeah. You’re a Little, right?” Hero felt a wave of confusion pour itself into his already charged and muddled brain.

“A little what?” asked Hero.

“No. I mean… yeah, you’re little, but you’re also a Little. You know? Part of the book series?” prompted Watney. Hero felt his head swirl.

“Wait… there are books?” asked Hero.

“Yeah. They’re by some guy named John Peterson. He wrote them ages ago, but they’re about little people who live in the walls with mouse-like tails and improvised clothes. They go on adventures and aren’t supposed to be seen or talk to humans. You’ve never heard of this?” The more Watney explained, the more worried Hero got; but, at the same time, he felt an excitement flutter in him.

If humans know about these books, then they’ll know what we’re worried about. They’ll know that we’re smart just like them and maybe, just maybe, they won’t try to capture us. This might actually be a good thing, right?

Hero remembered Watney had asked a question and hurriedly shook his head.

“No, I’ve never heard of them. But, if it makes you feel better, you’re right about the other things. Humans aren’t supposed to know about us and, if possible, we’re not supposed to talk to you if we are seen. I… hope you can promise you won’t say anything to anyone about this; right?” Hero tried to sound friendly and inviting, knowing that his whole world still depended on a handful of humans keeping their interactions and his species a secret.

“Yeah, no. Absolutely. Lips sealed. You have my word,” said Watney, a smile on his slightly freckled face. There were a few moments of silence before Watney awkwardly cleared his throat and continued. “Um… so… I know it would be rude if I asked what you are and everything, but could I ask you something different? Well, more like an observation?”

Seeing that Watney seemed to understand more than most humans, he couldn’t really see the harm in answering a few observations. He nodded, his sandy brown hair bobbing up and down, falling slightly into his eyes.

“Neat! Um… well, it’s a little awkward, but you don’t actually have a… tail or fluffy ears, do you?” asked Watney. Hero felt a genuine smile tug onto his face as he shook his head.

“No, I don’t have a tail or fluffy ears,” replied Hero. “I noticed that with all of your drawings. They’re really good by the way. You’re really talented.” Watney seemed to straighten up at this complement.

“Thanks, but I’m nowhere near as good as other artists,” he said dismissively.

“Hey, don’t doubt yourself,” encouraged Hero. “Considering you’re going off of what these books you talked about describe, you’ve got a lot of good details.” Watney smiled again and shrugged.

“Well, thanks,” said the auburn-haired human. “Hey, do you mind if I ask you about, like, suggestions? You know. Are the packs and tools okay?” Hero nodded.

“Everything that I would usually bring with me. Though it is a little dark, so I bring this little side lamp,” confirmed the Borrower. At this, he remembered why he originally came out and ventured into this apartment. “Actually, Watney, would you mind if I borrowed some batteries? My light is running low, and I don’t think it’ll last the journey home.”

“Oh, yeah! Of course! Um… is it okay if I get closer?” asked Watney who was already in the process of standing up, hesitating for Hero’s go-ahead.

“Sure, absolutely. You’re the one helping me,” said Hero. “Thank you.” Watney stepped forward, keeping his movements slow and obvious like he were moving in slow-motion and opened the drawer.

“What kind do you need?” asked the auburn artist.

“Um… the round kind?” In all honesty, Hero didn’t know there were so many different kinds of batteries. He knew what they looked like and which ones worked, but not what kind they were. Watney fished out a literal handful of different batteries and laid them on the desk a few inches from where Hero stood. The Borrower’s eyes widened, knowing this many batteries undoubtedly would power their home for several months. Still, he couldn’t bring all of them home. He found a couple disks for his side lamp and one of the bigger kind, called AA, and slipped them into his bag.

“Thank you so much. This really helps,” said Hero.

“Anytime Hero,” said Watney. “Hey, um… if it’s not weird or anything, do you think I could draw some sketches of you?” Hero had to think about it for a moment before making up his mind.

“Um… as long as you don’t make them look too much like me it should be okay. Remember, w… er… I’m supposed to be a secret. If you do, just… make sure you close your book when you’re done?” The request seemed to be a reasonable one and it thrilled Watney.

“Awesome! Well, you’re welcome back anytime little man. Oof… sorry. Was that weird?” asked Watney. Hero smiled and chuckled.

“No, it wasn’t weird… big guy… Hm… maybe it is weird.” The joke, seemingly well received, left the two boys laughing for a few seconds, before Hero elected to make his exit. Watney seemed like he wanted to offer Hero a literal hand but was showing tremendous self-restraint as he watched Hero descend the line.

Watney waved good-bye, knowing Hero wouldn’t want to show where the hidden entrance to the walls was, and stepped into his room. Hero waited until he heard the door click before heading back to the bookshelf.

This new information about “Littles” opened up a whole new world of possibilities for the young Borrower. If humans already knew about little people living in the walls and weren’t already setting traps, maybe Hero was right all along and humans weren’t always capturing, rampaging, and trapping Borrowers. Maybe, just maybe, they were also being let go and befriending the giants they lived with.