The rain pounded against the ground with unrelenting force. Hat Kid huffed as she ran between the blades of weeds that towered above her. She needed to find shelter. She remembered Tim and Thor telling her of Borrowers who had drowned in heavy rainfall.
Peeking out from underneath a dandelion, she could see a house in the distance. Thunder boomed behind her, causing the small girl to squeal and run ahead. The backpack jingled and clinked with every terrified step.
Before she could reach the house, she slipped and fell in a puddle of mud. Groaning, she wiped the mud off her eyes and hands, trudging forward. She approached the front, seeing a large sign. Staring at it, she said aloud; "This sign can't stop me, because I can't read."
Searching the edge of the house, she tried to find a way in. These old houses always had some way in...aha! A grate! Hat Kid easily climbed in, taking shelter from the rain. Sitting on a brick nearby, she wrung out her hat and searched through her bag. She still had her sewing supplies thankfully, but her rations were ruined!
She'd have to 'borrow' from this house then.
Hat Kid placed her lucky hat back on her head and moved forward. She was in her element in the crawl space, jumping off nails and boards. She could already picture herself living here, inviting Bow over for tea, or maybe Timmy! But...it had been a while since they were separated…
Before she could think too hard, she could feel the walls shaking. Gasping, she looked through a crack in the wall. She could see a Human Bean's feet, stomping and pacing in an furious gesture. "Ah can't believe it's raining! We can't film in this!" the Bean's voice was loud and irate, with an accent Hat Kid had never heard before.
She had to get closer.
Finding a larger hole in the wall, she hesitantly poked her head through. Luckily for her, this hole was underneath a large piece of furniture. Unless a Human Bean was intentionally looking underneath it, they'd never see her.
"Face it old man, you can't control the weather any more than you can control time, space, or your rampant alcoholism." another voice chimed in.
Hat Kid looked up at the angry Bean. She could see he was wearing a very dark suit of some kind with gold buttons and a purple tie. His hands looked worn with age, covered in wrinkles and some blonde-gold hair. But she couldn't see his face. "What did ye say to me?! Ye no good lazy bum! Tell that to me face!" without the wall to muffle his voice, the Bean's voice was absolutely loud and terrifying.
Looking over, Hat Kid could see another Bean, but more obscured. She could only see his feet, which were in a pair of dark purple shoes. "I have a job you moron, you just don't listen-"
"Oh, is yer job digging through the trash? Ha!"
Shrinking back to the hole, she gulped. This house certainly was...lively. Maybe living here wasn't such a good idea. But it would be good shelter from the rain at least.
Returning to the safety of the space between walls, she continued to crawl and jump around. But she missed a nail, loudly gasping and grasping the next one. That was close!
"Wait - did ye hear something?" the angry Bean said, his tone suspicious.
"Hear what?"
Hat Kid froze, holding onto the nail she was dangling from. She could hear loud footsteps come closer to the wall. "I'm not sure, but I heard something."
"Was it your heart? You finally kicking the bucket old man?"
The stomps turned around, getting farther away. "Ye know what? I'm about to come over there and KICK YER ASS-"
Sighing in relief, she climbed back up and continued on her way. She tried to remember what Thor had told her, where was it that Human Beans almost never went? "The Attic!" she whispered to herself.
Human Beans often used the attic as a place to store old objects, and almost never went in there. It was perfect for her to hide out in. But first things first, she needed food in her belly. Her rations were ruined by the rain, and she was getting hungry.
Human Beans always stored food in the kitchen, so that was what she had to look for. Sniffing around, she followed her nose to..something that smelled good. Following her nose, she found light pouring out out of a crack.
The crack showed a warmly lit kitchen. There was a large lady at the stove, turned away from the crack. There were lots of pots and pans on the stove, bubbling and cooking. This Human Bean had darker skin, which white patches. Her hair was a bright red, and she was wearing a olive green shirt. She hummed as she stirred the soups and other foods.
Hat Kid gulped. She had to be careful. Any loud noise, game over. Scanning the kitchen, she saw a sugar dish full of sugar cubes, and a large piece of sourdough bread. Fixing her hat, she slowly ventured in. Taking careful steps, she took precaution not to make any sounds.
She froze in place as the Human Bean muttered, "Cookie you've done it again!" she chuckled, tasting something from the pot. Seeing as how she was not being captured right now, Hat Kid continued. Reaching the bread, she took off her pack. Breaking a tiny chunk off, she stuffed it in her pack. Once she had some bread, she moved to the sugar container.
Moving the lid slowly, she set it on the ground and grabbed a sugar cube. She let out a quiet gasp as she heard the Cookie Bean start to move. Hat Kid dashed to the crack in the wall, still holding the sugar in her hands.
"This soup could use some...oh?" Cookie paused, looking at the still open sugar container. She smiled wide, recalling the stories her mother would tell her. Stories of Little People, who lived under the floorboards. "Oh.." she whispered to herself. "We have a guest!"
Hat Kid heaved a sigh of relief in the safety of the wall space. She took a big bite of the sugar cube. She loved sugar, probably a bit too much. She continued heading upwards towards the attic. The air grew colder, and the light faded into shadows. Yep, she was in the attic.
The attic was cold and dark, the only light coming from a singular window. Hat Kid watched the rain for a moment from the window, before continuing to search for dangers. There were lots of boxes and other odd shapes, all with a layer of dust.
Feeling confident, she stepped into the attic with her sugar cube. The dust tickled her nose, and she sneezed.
"Bless you." came a voice from the darkness.
She froze. Slowly turning around to see the same purple shoes the Angry Bean was talking too. Looking upwards, the Purple Bean wore a tattered suit and pants, also a deep purplish blue, but not the same hue as his shoes. He had pale skin and black hair, and bright golden eyes. He grinned at her. "You. Are. Tiny."
Hat Kid whimpered in fear, tears spilling from her eyes. The Purple Bean stopped smiling. "Hey hey, kid. I'm not going to hurt you. Geez what do you take me for?"
She couldn't stop crying. This was like something from a nightmare. A Human Bean finds her and...poof. She's gone. The Purple Bean sat down, in some attempt to be closer to her level. "Hey c'mon, kid. Stop that crying. I'm not going to hurt you."
"A-All..humans say that..." she sobbed, stepping back. The sugar cube fell from her hands.
"Well not me. Trust me." he leaned forward, and she winced, closing her eyes. When she didn't feel the life being squeezed out of her, she opened one eye. He was holding her sugar cube between his index finger and thumb. "You dropped this, kiddo."
She stared at it, then back at him. He smiled at her. Hesitating, she took the cube back. "I-I was always told...to stay away from Human Beans."
He snorted, trying to hide his laughter. "Did you just call me a Bean?!"
"Yeah! Humans are big as beanstalks! Human Beans!" she explained, feeling defensive. This is the first ever human she's talked to, and he laughs at her.
"That's adorable! You're super tiny and you call humans beans?!" he had to stop himself from howling with laughter. "OK, OK let's move on before you kill me, Kid. You can call me Snatcher. And you?"
She fixed her hat. "Hat Kid, at your service!"
"So, Kid, have you always lived here and I'm just oblivious, or..."
Her smile faded. "Um, no. My family and I were relocating and...I got separated. I'm on my own now." she sniffled, thinking about the terrible rainstorm that separated them.
"Grab my hand!" Timmy held his hand out to her. But the water had made the tiny stream into a river by now. Their boat had started floating without her. She was being left behind.
"C'mon! Reach! Reach!" Bow held onto Timmy to make sure he didn't fall. Tim and Thor were trying to stop the teapot from moving with sticks. Just as Hat Kid grabbed Timmy's hand, the sticks snapped and the teapot jolted. Screaming, she fell in the river and was washed away. Her family cried her name as her head went under…
She heard snapping. "Kid, kid you're crying again." Looking up at Snatcher, she sniffled.
"I'm sorry, I just..miss them." she wiped her eyes with her sleeves in an attempt to stop the tears.
He held out his hand for her to step on. She climbed up, and he moved his hand closer to him. "I know how you feel, kid. One day you have everything you want. But then something happens...and you don't." shaking the bad memories out of his head, he turned to the tiny girl in his palm. "So, feel free to stay as long as you want."
Hat Kid gasped, smiling. "You mean it?!"
"Well sure! I mean my uncle owns this apartment, and so it's kind of like I run-"
"Wait, apartments?" she didn't know what apartments were. She thought this was just a big house with strange people living in it.
"Yeah, apartments. We take this big, big house and divide it up so different people live here." he explained, setting her on a desk and sitting in a chair nearby. "I live in the attic. But there are..." he paused, counting his fingers. "At least three other guests in the house. Possibly four. I lose count."
"Like the angry bean?"
Snatcher was silent for a moment, before bursting into laughter. "A-Angry bean?! Oh my god, you mean the old man- Oh my god I am not not calling him that now!" after he settled down, he explained. "You're referring to 'The Conductor'." a flash of realization hit his features. "I-In the wall, was that you, kid?!"
She nodded. "Yeah! That was me!"
"Wow! Conductor thought it was mice."
Hat Kid slowly nodded, yawning. Snatcher hummed in thought, standing up and moving to the boxes of abandoned items. "Let's see if we still have it...aha!" From the shadows, the human dragged out a massive dollhouse. "How's this look, kid?"
She tilted her head. "A tiny house?"
"I was supposed to give it to my kid. Well," he shot a her a grin. "that didn't exactly work out. And I think you could use it more than my nonexistent kid." Walking back over, he carried her to the dollhouse. He opened up the walls, and she gasped.
"Everything is me sized!" she exclaimed, hopping inside to explore. The furniture was exactly her size and somewhat functional; sure drawers didn't work but she could sit in chairs and the couch, and the doors were actually doors to other rooms. The bed was made with soft blankets and had some sort of mattress. She set her pack on a chair, climbing into the bed. "It's so warm!"
"Is that going to work? No one comes up here except me, so no one should bother you." he said, with a dismissive hand raise. Snatcher had no idea why he was helping this tiny girl so much. Perhaps, she reminded him of himself when he was young.
"T-Thank you so much! I can't thank you enough!" she blubbered, trying very hard not to cry again.
"You can thank me by not crying so much." he sighed. "I'm going to bed. I'm closing this now." He closed the dollhouse back up. She waved at him from the bedroom window, before laying back down in the bed to sleep.
Hat Kid woke up to sunlight streaming through the attic window. On the floor of the dollhouse bedroom was a sugar cube, and a small note. Rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes, she shuffled forward and looked at the note. "Hey Kiddo! I had some clients to see, things to do. I'm not here, obviously. You should be safe, I'm pretty sure no one would hurt you if you're seen...Pretty sure. -S."
She gulped nervously, immediately thinking about the Angry Human she saw yesterday. She certainly didn't want to meet him. But, maybe he wasn't as bad. Snatcher wasn't that bad, he was rather nice! And maybe the Cookie Bean was nice too?
Stretching and crawling out of the doll bed, she nibbled on the sugar cube. She wanted to explore the house more-
Hat Kid heard banging from downstairs. Angry yelling and stomping caused the attic to shudder and shake. Quickly grabbing her pack and hat, she went to investigate. Traveling through the cracks in the walls, the shouting grew louder and more clear. Something about 'Peck Neck' and 'taking the good recording spot'. She could also hear a smoother, deeper voice try to reply. But the shouting drowned him out.
She found the crack from yesterday; the one under the furniture. The Angry Human was pacing around the room, screaming about movie sets and recording setups, terms Hat Kid had no information on. She still couldn't see his head or shoulders.
There was another Human Bean in the room, somewhat following the pacings of the Angry One. He had shoes that made him look much taller, blue pants, and a huge red coat that was very sparkly. His skin was darker than the Angry One's.
"Darling, you need to relax-"
"YE DON'T TELL ME TO RELAX, GROOVES. YE KNEW I WANTED THAT SPOT, BUT YE HAD TO TAKE IT FROM ME!"
"I had no say in what spot, and does it really matter?"
Hat Kid covered her ears as he continued to angrily rant; wow he was loud! The Angry Bean- no. That wasn't his name. "Conductor." she whispered to herself. "That's his name." She recalled Snatcher mentioning his name last night. And the Shiny Bean was named Grooves.
Snatcher, Cookie, Conductor, Grooves. Four people in the house, one borrower. Surely no one would mind if she took a couple things here and there. She saw another crack in the wall, a little big past the furniture she was hiding under. It'd be risky, but what was life without risks?
Holding onto the straps of her pack, as to minimize the rattling, she darted to the crack, squeezing inside.
Meanwhile, in the middle of one of his rants against his business rival, the Conductor paused. "Did ye see that?"
Grooves frowned. "See what?"
Conductor moved closer to the wall. "I-I saw something movin'...over here. I saw brown-" he knelt on one knee, looking at the crack in the wall. He blinked, leaning down. "...how did tiny mud specks get all tha way over here?"
"Darling it's been raining for days. It was probably tracked in." Grooves sighed.
"No, ye peck neck, something else is going on." Conductor angrily waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "I heard something in tha wall's yesterday...do ye think we have mice?"
"It's certainly possible. This is an old house."
"...I'll get some rat poison."
Hat Kid peeked from the crack in the Cookie Bean's kitchen. She didn't see Cookie anywhere, and the kitchen was dark. Well, mostly.
On a counter was a small, single candle and saucer. On the saucer was an assortment of goodies; sugar cubes, grapes, small candies, cheese cubes, circular cereal pieces, and other small food items.
There was a small piece of paper nearby, and it simply read; "For our little guest, Cookie."
She frowned. Tim and Thor had both told her that these 'offerings' were traps. Once you'd take it, the Beans would know you exist. And the more Beans that know about you, the worse off you are. It only took one human to ruin a borrower's life, or worse.
But...It'd be rude not to…
Picking up a grape, she bit into it. It was really sweet, and no poison-y taste. Everything she looked for in a grape!
There was a very loud knocking sound from behind her, followed by rapid footsteps. "Coming! Hold on!" it sounded like the Cookie Bean.
Thinking quickly, Hat Kid hid behind the candle, peeking out behind it. The door was right next to the kitchen unfortunately, so she was trapped. Cookie appeared, wearing a chef's outfit and a chef's hat. Opening the door, the little borrower listened closely.
"Morning, lass. Er - I have an odd favor for ye." It was Conductor. Hat Kid gasped, hiding behind the candle, but still looking out.
"Morning! C'mon in! Wait in the kitchen, kay?" came Cookie's reply. She started to walk into the apartment, letting him in.
Using the utmost caution, the little girl looked at the normally irate human. Using Snatcher as a reference, he was shorter than she expected. Being a few inches tall really skewed the concept of height. She was finally able to see his face. He had blonde hair sticking up behind his ears, sideburns, and some hair on his chin. He was wearing a hat that unfortunately hid his eyes. He had his arms behind his back, and he was standing up very straight; he looked like a very serious man.
His head turned to the candle, and she quickly hid, praying he didn't see her. He stepped forward. "Why do ye have a candle in yer kitchen?"
Cookie Bean's footsteps came closer. "Have you heard of Borrowers, Conductor?" came the chipper reply.
He scoffed. "Borrower?"
"Little people that live in the walls and floors! They're harmless, but very shy and fearful. I just wanted to make them feel welcome! My mama would tell me stories about them."
He laughed, then said in a mocking tone, "Lassie, I think ye mean rats! Leaving sugar out like this is just gonna attract rats and other vermin. Oh! That reminds me, Ah think we're getting mice. Probably because someone is leaving food out." he said this with an upset tone. "Do ye have any poison?"
"No! I don't believe in that!" the Cookie Human was obviously disgusted. Hat Kid heard footsteps moving farther away.
"Well, I thought I'd ask." he said, a little disappointed.
"Now I need to get to work, if you please…" the sound of the front door being opened.
"Of course. Have a good day, Lass." and then the door was closed.
There was silence in the apartment. Hat Kid could hear her heartbeat. "I know you exist. And don't worry. I know how scared you must be." Cookie Bean said in a gentle voice. "If you ever need food, or shelter, or warmth, I'm always here for you. Your secret is safe with me."
Taking a deep breath, Hat Kid slowly stepped out behind the candle. The two stared at each other for a moment. The Human smiled at her, and the Borrower gave a small nod before running back into the crack in the wall.