You kneeled on the kitchen floor, reaching under the cabinets for something you dropped. Your fingers brush dust, a crumpled receipt… and then something moves. You freeze.

Two tiny hands grip the edge of the baseboard.

A boy climbs out.

He’s no bigger than your thumb, maybe smaller, with messy blonde hair and a backpack made from a folded piece of cloth. His eyes go wide when he sees you.

“You’re…?” you begin to whisper.

He opens his mouth like he wants to answer

THUMP.

Your cat lands beside you, the boy panics. He runs across the tile floor, his little feet slapping like raindrops. The cat crouches, tail flicking. A giant paw slams down right where the boy was a second ago. He dives behind the leg of a chair like it’s a boulder.

You call out to the cat, the cat ignores you, stalking forward, nose inches from the boy. The borrower pulls a pin from his belt—like a tiny sword—and points it at the cat

“Hold on!” you grab the cat and lift her away just as she tries to swat again placing her outside the kitchen door

The boy collapses against the leg, breathing hard. His eyes flick up to you.

“You… helped me,” he says, voice small but clear. You lower your hand to the floor, careful not to scare him.