Rey ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He couldn’t believe what was happening. He had just seen Ashlynn again. They needed to move, sure, but they had a way to do it safely.

There was a twinge of guilt in the back of his mind for not updating Ashlynn on everything that had happened since she was gone, but then again it wasn’t for him to tell. He couldn’t think about that now. What he could think about was the exciting news he was about to share.

He climbed up one line and slid down the next, following the old lines he once relied on so heavily and the few lights that remained on in the halls. He balanced across the beams and then began the climb up the nail ladder in the wall joist. Hand over fist, Rey willed himself to not slow down until he reached the top. Their home was just ahead past the rafters beyond the balance beam.

~~~~~

Back at their home, Soren was taking time to mend some of their fraying lines. He hooked the thread onto one of the nails and had is laid out from one end of their home to the other. The line was old and it had been months since they had replaced it.

It was one of the reasons Rey had volunteered to go out borrowing for thread and meal supplies. Borrowings had gotten slim recently and it took all of them searching both inside and outside of the apartments just to survive anymore.

It took a lot of time for Soren to let his youngest brother go out on his own. It was a big step every time, even though Rey had proven to be a natural much like himself. Soren still harbored a fragment of apprehension each time his brothers went out borrowing without him.

Some of it was because of his nature of being an overprotective older brother. The other element was because of the accident that happened years ago where they were almost snapped by a mousetrap. Soren could still see it happening if he closed his eyes.

Dorian reaching for the food on the mousetrap. Soren pulling Dorian and Rey away in time to save them, but not save himself from tripping and getting caught beneath the metal bar. Him being left behind to a human, which – at the time – meant certain death.

Who would have known at the time that this encounter between human and Borrower would lead to one of the best friendships known. Soren rolled his aching shoulders and readjusted his stance on his leg. Ever since that time, his leg had been slightly sensitive to things like the change of weather and overuse over the course of several days – and he had been on his feet a lot.

He heard Dorian in the other room shuffling and working away on drying out some of their fresher supplies. Listening to the sounds of their homemade pots and pans clanging in the other room made Soren remember his early days with Ashlynn – his human friend. Ashlynn would be in the kitchen cooking or preparing things for his broken leg, Those early days, though terrifying, helped build trust between them – seemingly two very different people. It was quiet days when he was working on some menial task that he missed Ashlynn.

He looked back on their days together fondly. Soren tried to not talk about her on the occasions where Ashlynn could be mentioned since they went back to their original rule of not interacting with humans. Still, he did think of her from time to time; especially when he dreamed of her.

All of those dreams seemed so real and vivid, taken from memories and thoughts. Some nights he woke in a cold sweat or his heart elevated, pounding in his chest, from the imaginary encounter; each time being forcefully pulled from a pleasant slumber by something from the waking world. Soren hadn’t mentioned these things to either of the bobbins, but he admitted to himself that he did miss their once human companion.

So much had changed in the years Ashlynn had been gone… especially with…

“Soren!” Rey’s sudden shout coming from the front room followed by his rapidly pounding footsteps sent an unnerving chill up Soren’s spine. Immediately, he seized his razor blade and ran to the door. He saw Rey sprinting forward as fast as he could, obviously out of breath.

“Rey!” Soren shouted as he jogged out to meet him, heart beginning to pound in his chest. What on earth had Rey worked up? Was he seen? Were there new humans moving in? New Borrowers who were hurt? His senses seemed to open up as he made it to Rey’s side.

“Soren… you’ll… never…” Rey panted as he collapsed to his knees in front of Soren.

“What? What’s going on?” asked Soren as he knelt and habitually began inspecting his brother for injuries on his arms and back. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” panted Rey. “It’s… She… She’s back…”

For a moment, there was a horrible pang in Soren’s heart before Rey finished.

“Ashlynn is back!”

Soren felt his entire body still and go completely rigid. His heart pounded in slow motion, sending his head reeling. His vision even blurred and he had to brace himself with several deep and calming breaths before his mind could even conceive its first thought.

Ashlynn? She was back? She was here?

“A-ar… are you sure?” asked Soren as he tried to shake the numbness in his body. Rey looked up into his brother’s eyes, blue against hazel, and gave him a disbelieving look.

“I just came from seeing her. She’s here and in her old apartment,” panted Rey. “And we have a lot to talk about.”

At this point, Dorian poked his head out and walked forward toward the other two brothers. Soren hated to admit it, but Dorian sometimes looked a little too much like his father, Brady, who had succumbed to injuries given to him by a human years ago. From Dorian’s jawline, the way he parted his hair, and even some of his mannerisms, he could have been a ghost from the past.

“What is going on? Why are you shouting? I just managed to get…”

“Stop complaining and celebrate! Ashlynn’s back!” cheered Rey, interrupting his brother. Dorian visibly stiffened at hearing this news and his step hesitated before he stopped approaching them.

Both Soren and Rey noticed Dorian’s hesitation, but Soren was so wrapped up in his thoughts that Rey beat him to the punch.

“What’s wrong? You remember her, right?” asked Rey as he finally caught his breath and stood up.

“Of course I remember,” said Dorian, quietly and stiffly. Rey looked at his brother in confusion.

“So, what’s the problem. You mean you’re not excited to see her? Ashlynn’s back! She’s been doing great,” said Rey.

“Sorry that being seen by a human doesn’t do it for me,” muttered Dorian. At this, even Soren’s ears pricked up. He knew Dorian had always been uneasy; but had the time really changed his perception of their beloved human companion?

“What are you talking about?” scolded Rey. “It’s Ashlynn! I thought you’d be a little excited to see her after everything that happened.”

“Look, we had some good times with Ashlynn and I’m glad you’re excited,” said Dorian, who had now folded his arms across his chest. “It’s just that she left us. She’s been gone. We’ve been here. Also, if I remember correctly, we vowed we wouldn’t go back to being seen by humans. Humans are dangerous and uproot everything. Besides, I thought we were going back to the way things were.”

“This isn’t just some human – it’s Ashlynn,” argued Rey. “Just because some humans are bad doesn’t mean they all are. You’re just upset because…”

“Guys! That’s enough,” scolded Soren, finally finding his voice. Rey stared at Dorian defiantly before both of the teenage Borrowers turn their attention to Soren who pushed himself to his feet. “Both of you need to take a breath. Okay?”

The boys huffed, but obeyed their brother and took a few deep breaths to clear the air.

“Now,” directed Soren. “What’s this about, Rey? Ashlynn is back, but why? She’s been gone for years. Did she tell you?” Soren watched Rey give Dorian one more quick side-eye before nodding.

“Yes, and it’s not exactly the best thing,” said Rey. “Ashlynn said we had to move as soon as possible.”

“What?” asked Dorian, his folded arms dropping to his sides. “See! I told you! Humans are dangerous! It’s a threat!”

“It’s not that!” argued Rey. “She said that a bunch of humans are coming here in three days to make new homes for other humans; but, to do that, they have to tear these buildings down. They’re going to destroy the whole area and said we need to leave as soon as possible.”

Soren, hearing this, felt his heart clench in his chest and nerves shot through the roof.

“She’s asking us to relocate?” asked Soren quietly, mind reeling as he immediately started mentally gathering his thoughts and everything that needed to happen. Rey nodded.

“Yeah,” acknowledged Rey quietly. “But there’s good news! She said that she can help us move. She’s willing to take everything we want and bring it back with her to where she’s living. She even thinks there may be some Borrowers living in her apartment so we wouldn’t be all alone.”

“Don’t you hear what you’re saying?” asked Dorian. “Relocate? Not only that, but having her relocate us.”

“Well, it’s that or get crushed to death when all of this is torn down. Soren? What are you thinking? You’re being really quiet.” Rey directed his attention to his oldest brother.

Soren’s head was reeling. He didn’t know what to think. There was excitement for seeing Ashlynn but an instinctual fear of immigrating. Moving to a whole new location was always nerve wracking.

This time, however, something was different – the best something actually. Ashlynn.

Ashlynn was there to help with the move. They would be close to one another again, which brought about enough conflicting feelings to fill anyone with crippling uncertainty.

So much had changed… and yet nothing at the same time.

“Soren?” Rey’s tiny voice brought Soren back to the present. Soren shook his head free of his thoughts. He couldn’t think about that now. There were a few things he did need to do, and there was only one way to go about it.

“Sorry,” Soren apologized as he looked back to Dorian and Rey. “Dorian, I know you’re apprehensive with everything that happened, but I expect you to treat Ashlynn with respect. She’s the reason we’re even alive. She could’ve ended me – any of us – in a heartbeat but instead she quite literally got me back on my feet and got us back to normal. I know what happened was hard, especially for you, but we know Ashlynn and she would never do anything to hurt us.”

Soren had to take in a deep breath before looking over to Rey, the youngest of the teens.

“Rey, what did you tell her about us?” asked Soren. Rey, not believing what he was hearing, opened his mouth before Soren cut him off. “I’m not scolding you. I just want to know if… if you told her about Mayzie.”

Rey shook his head slowly after a moment.

“No, we didn’t get into anything. Besides, it’s not really mine to tell,” said Rey softly. Soren felt his chest constrict and then release in fluttering nerves of relief as he bit his lip and nodded slowly. He then looked to his youngest brother and smiled reassuringly, placing his hand on top of the boy’s head and ruffling his hair gently.

“Thank you,” Soren muttered. “You’re wise beyond your years.”

“Ekk, you’re calling me old? Gross!” teased Rey as he playfully smacked his brother’s hand away from his head.

“Yeah, you are old. A crotchety old man,” teased Soren back.

Soren looked past Rey to the dark ladder descending into the chasm of the wall. Heart fluttering nervously, he knew what he needed to do.

“I’m going to go see her. In the meantime, start packing. Did she say when she would be ready to leave or how much we could take?” asked Soren.

“No. I mean, she said she would be here and ready until we sent her away,” said Rey. “Can I come with you? I don’t want to pack.”

“Sorry Rey. I need to go see Ashlynn on my own for a minute. Besides, between all of us, I think you have the most stuff,” replied Soren as he ducked inside and grabbed his line and an emergency bag for safe measures. He was almost to the chasm when he heard Dorian’s voice call out to him.

“And what about Mayzie?” asked Dorian. Soren paused in his step and steeled himself before turning back to his brother.

“Let me worry about that. Just go on and start packing,” replied Soren.

With that, he grasped the line and descended rapidly into the darkness below. The eldest Borrower’s heart was pounding unforgivably hard in his chest. He could hardly breathe, and his vision swam as he finally touched down and began walking along the familiar path toward the place where it all began.

What was he going to say about Mayzie? What was he going to even say to Ashlynn in general? Had she changed? Had anything drastic changed in her life?

Utterly nerve wracked, Soren stared at the line that he arrived at far too quickly that led up to the counter of Ashlynn’s old apartment. Was he even ready for this?

Soren shook his head, dismissing his doubts. This was Ashlynn, regardless of how much time passed between them. He ascended the line, noticing the way his hands shook in excitement and nervousness. He lifted himself up onto the ledge and stared at the all too familiar sight of the back part of the electrical outlet which was still propped open from where Rey had undoubtedly left it open for their return.

Well… here goes everything.

Soren approached and, not bothering to check first, stepped out onto the counter, instantly finding the familiar form of Ashlynn standing nearby. His chest tingled as he attempted to breathe normally, but knew immediately his nerves were trying to get the better of him. He was barely five steps out of the wall when Ashlynn turned her head toward the electrical cover and Soren once again found himself under the gaze of those eyes.

Those beautiful, stormy blue-grey eyes instantly took in his form and he knew, instantly, nothing had changed.