The Borrower Arrietty 2: Chapter 01

A new, re-written version is available! Chapter 01: Rewritten: fav.me/d5cxcmg

Arrietty had moved out of her old home for about 6 months now. She spent her life searching the wild bushes and forest for berries and nuts. It was quiet, but too quiet for her. She terribly missed Sho, and even Spiller couldn't make her happy. She knew that while Spiller would probably be her best partner, she couldn't deny that she liked Sho more than Spiller. He had been so nice to her when he had found her. Leaving him was one of the saddest moments of her life. He was her first friend other than the crickets and bugs. She worried day and night if his surgery went well. She wanted to visit him so badly, but she couldn't let her parents worry.
One night, Pod was sitting at their table. Arrietty was cutting up the bread, while Homily was pouring out soup. Pod spoke gravely, "The humans have come near." Homily looked up, worried. "They haven't found us, but we may have to stop scavenging for a few days. We should have enough."
Arrietty did not say a word, but Pod still glanced at her. "Arrietty, do not go out and expose yourself again. You will definitely cause our demise."
Arrietty nodded, but whispered "Not all humans are bad, dad."
Pod slammed his fist against the table. She jumped. Pod had rarely ever gotten this mad. "Humans caused our race to die!"
Arrietty yelled back, "Did all of them kill us? Or did just a few?"
Pod lowered his voice. "They are all evil. Sho was a sick boy, that's why he couldn't do anything to you."
Arrietty shouted, tears in her eyes, "That's not true!" and ran out the door. She had had enough of his constant criticizing of humans. They aren't all bad, she told herself. She kept running toward the city that they were near. Spiller was out on his own borrowing expedition, so he wasn't there to stop her. Evening grew darker, and her legs began to ache. She was still wearing her house dress, and its color perfectly matched the ground around her. She climbed up a tree, a fell asleep, crying. In the distance, she heard her parents calling her name. "I'm not going back." She whispered to herself, before finally crying herself to sleep.

She woke up with the sun, whose beams shone right into her eyes. Her parents had given up searching for her, and the forest was silent. Arrietty would soon be in the city. She had her first borrowed item, a pin, with her. She never let go of it. She sat on the tree branch, imagining Sho and how he would be different. He'd be a bit taller than before. Maybe his eyes wouldn't look so tired anymore. Maybe… A bird swooped down, narrowly missing Arrietty. She ducked, and then climbed down quickly before the bird tried to attack again. Scurrying through the grass, she spotted human junk. She dashed past the piles of trash, and she remembered what Pod said about humans. Her eyes welled up with tears again, but she wiped them away and kept running toward the city. She was a Borrower indeed; she could run long distances without tiring. But she was a mini human nonetheless; her stomach began to growl not long after she began to run again.

She had skipped last night's dinner, and now she regretted it. But it was too late to turn back now. She spotted some berries that she had eaten with no harm before, so she picked a few and enjoyed the sweet berries. Once she was done, she got back on her feet and kept running. She walked sometimes, then jogged, then ran, the walked again. After a long day of travelling, she looked up and she saw the city. It wasn't that big of a city, but there were stores, cars, apartments, and a school. Night fell soon after, and she explored the dark and empty streets. She found an alleyway that was small, cozy, and hidden. She tip-toed into the alley, and glanced around. Food was readily available; a small crack in the wall led to a supermarket next door. She was peeking through the crack when she felt something behind her. She whirled around to stare into a rat's eyes. She had a flashback of when Pod told her not to mess with rats, or it could get really bad, really quickly. She pulled out her pin and held it like a sword. She would fight them because she could. She had to fight to stay alive now; she couldn't rely on anyone else. She held the pin out for a few seconds, before the rat retreated. She breathed a sigh of relief, but gasped. The rat hadn't retreated; it had brought help. The first one advanced on her, and she thrust the pin at it. It stuttered backwards a few steps, and then leapt at Arrietty. She didn't want to kill it, but she didn't want to die either. She stabbed its paw and it tumbled behind her, unmoving. The other 4 attacked together. She managed to dodge 2 and stab another's foot, but the third one swiped at her arm. 3 long gashes appeared immediately on her right arm, and she cried out in pain. She stabbed the last rat and ran into the supermarket, clutching her bleeding arm. She tripped over a crack on the tiled floor, and stayed on the floor, crying. After a few minutes, the pain subsided and the bleeding stopped. She looked at her right arm. It hurt when she tried to move it. She sighed. It was nearing midnight, and she needed to get some good sleep. She peeked out the crack into the alleyway, and the rats had all deserted. She cautiously slipped out and climbed up some cardboard boxes. She didn't have tools and her right arm was badly injured, so it took a lot longer than usual. But she was still determined to climb up, and she eventually did. She lied down on top of the box, and fell asleep almost immediately. She was exhausted from a day's travelling.
In the middle of the night, she suddenly woke up. She had heard someone say her name. She didn't know who, or where, but she was positive she heard someone call her. She heard it again, and this time she could tell it was Spiller. His voice was anxious, and Arrietty could tell he was worried about her. She faintly called back, "I'm here…"
Within seconds, Spiller was by her side. He saw her wound, but Arrietty told him she was fine. Spiller delivered the message that he was told to.
"Pod says that he is sorry for what he said about Sho, and for you to come back immediately." Arrietty started to cry again, but she held back the tears.
"Tell him that he is forgiven, but that I will not return. Not until I find Sho. I must know how he is doing."
Spiller tried to change her mind. "We don't even know if he's still here or not. I'm pretty sure he is alive, but he might be halfway across the world. If he is even a city away, you'd never get there."
Arrietty stayed firm. "I will find him. If he is dead, then I might as well die with him."
Spiller sighed. "Alright. I'll tell Pod and Homily. If you ever need help, call for me. I will hear you." With that, he leapt off the boxes and scurried into the night.
"Good-bye, Spiller." Arrietty whispered, before returning to sleep.

The next day was uneventful. Arrietty stayed in her alleyway for the most part of the day, except when she needed to get food. Several times, humans came near, and she would dash behind the nearest box. A little after noon, another human came by. This couldn't be anyone other than the Sho she was looking for. He caught her running out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head, but she was no longer there. He wanted to call for her, but he was walking with his friends, and he couldn't let them know. Even though he really wanted to brag about having a tiny person as a friend, he knew Arrietty wouldn't like it; nor her father. Sho made a final glance before leaving. At the same time, Arrietty wondered if that was Sho. She had seen the human's dark hair, and his eyes for a second looked just like Sho. But she had hidden too early, and she wasn't sure. For the rest of the day, Sho couldn't focus on anything. Even though it was a Sunday and he was out with his friends, his thoughts kept turning to Arrietty. Arrietty was the same; she stumbled a few times while climbing up the boxes at night. She kept longing for Sho whom she might have met today. Monday rolled around the corner, and she was up by the time the sun came up. She heard the voices of lots of children grouped together. "It must be school," she thought to herself. She peeked out her alley, and spotted the same boy. He was too far for her to be able to tell if he was Sho. She quietly hurried toward the school. But by the time she arrived, the students were all in class. She was more scared than she had ever been. This was the first time that she had actually come out during the day for an expedition. This was a big risk; she was in a city or town. But the hallways were seemingly empty, so she scurried about, trying to find a good hiding spot. She settled behind a recycling bin. There was a space between it and the wall. When she heard the bells ring, she peeked out. But she didn't see Sho. Every time the bells rung, she would try to find Sho. But she didn't know that Sho's classrooms were on another hallway. For 2 whole weeks she kept hoping to see him. But by Friday, she had given up. She had wasted 14 days to find him, to no avail. She sighed, sinking by the wall. Maybe she was wrong; maybe Sho wasn't here.

For 14 days, Sho searched. He once entered the alley, but he couldn't find Arrietty. The rest of the time, he searched the hallways of his school, knowing that she'd probably be looking for him too. On Friday, he had already completely given up, and he was working on a project with his friends. He entered the hallway which Arrietty was hiding. Arrietty heard him talking to his friends, and her eyes welled up with tears. It was definitely him. She peeked cautiously out behind the bin, and Sho immediately saw her. His eyes widened at finding her, and he nodded slightly. His friends didn't see this slight movement, but Arrietty did. When he walked past, he bent down to tie his shoes, his pocket open. She looked around, then hopped into his pocket. As he stood up, he felt a feeling in his heart that he hadn't felt before. He was happy, happier than he had ever been. And Arrietty, in his pocket, began to cry. She had finally found him after half a month of waiting and searching.