It was a world that looked exactly like ours, but we could say it existed in an alternate timeline. The main difference was the people living in it. Of course, there were humans, since they were the main people populating the world, but there were also other “people” who looked like humans but were “different” from them because of their size.

They were called the “tinies” by the humans not only because they were almost 3cm tall, but also because the humans hadn’t really cared to give them any other name. Their lives weren’t the easiest since the humans used them for many purposes from small toys to, in the worst cases, their little “candies”…

Lea was one of them. At 2.7cm she was lucky enough to reach her current age of 22 without being caught and feared humans just like any other small one. She had long black hair and blue eyes. Since the small people couldn’t always find something to wear, her clothing consisted of just a piece of silk covering most of her body with some small holes for her head and arms. Lea was tired this night from walking around the streets in search of something to eat and, as always, she had to hide from the wandering humans.

There was some trash near the small girl and she thought that she could perhaps find something there. Sometimes she had to eat rotten food but it was the hard reality of her everyday life. Her blue eyes suddenly opened wide; there was actually something on the ground just near the trash, a small piece of a sandwich. Lea carefully looked around; this might be a trap set up by some human wanting to “hunt” small ones, but her tiny belly was hurting her… After taking a few careful steps, she didn’t see anyone nearby and knew that she would be safe.

There was some ham and cheese in the bread and the sandwich was tall enough to feed maybe 15 people like Lea.  With her small hands, she ripped a tiny piece of ham and bit into it. She couldn’t help but to smile from the taste, it was actually way better than what she ate the previous days. After several minutes she was full and wanted to take some food with her for her long walk in the city. “I wonder if I’ll find something…” Lea said while pondering where she could sleep; she was now far enough from the last tiny “hideout” she had visited some days before and sleeping safely in the city wasn’t easy not only because of the humans, but also because of the giant stray animals. Taking a small bag from her side, she started to put some food into it, but was perhaps too focused on her thoughts…never noticing something looking her over.

“Well… Looks like I found something interesting~” said a loud voice behind Lea, who dropped her small bag on the ground with a strong shiver. Turning around slowly, she now faced a giant human girl who had a naughty smile. Lea, with a fast move, took something from behind her back and placed it in front of her to protect herself; it was a small needle. “Do you really think that you’re going to hurt me with this?” the human girl asked.  With a move of her hand, she made the small needle “fly away” from Lea’s hand and then picked Lea up between two fingers.

“Stop…you’re hurting me!” Lea coughed from the pressure on her small body, but was soon placed in front of the girl’s giant face. “Hmpf… always the same with you tiny ones…but I don’t plan to leave you there; I have some customers after all…” the human said, making Lea shiver again while she tried to escape from the girl’s grasp.  She knew that being caught here would be the “end” of her life. “Leave me…please!! I beg you!!” Lea screamed as the human girl took a small box from her bag. “No way,” said the human, who suddenly dropped Lea inside the box.  Lea screamed when she hit the “ground” and was then trapped in complete darkness. Lea now felt exhausted; she tried many times to open the box or find an escape route but there was nothing. Sitting on the ground, she could feel some tears flow out of her small eyes…she was at this human girl’s mercy.

It was now maybe 2 or 3 days later and Lea was still sitting in a corner of the box, listening to many voices outside.  The small box where she was trapped moved many times, probably from being handed to the people who would “sell” her small self. She had seen some of these human shops before, where they could just buy their small toys and dispose of them the way they wanted. Lea cried a small tear that rolled down her cheek; soon she would probably be dead, too.

Almost another full day had passed when Lea’s box moved again and she fell on her side many times.  She heard two voices, one of them telling a “price.” And it was done; Lea had been sold just like a tiny living toy and she was now being carried in her small box by some random human. Lea noticed that her box wasn’t moving much; in fact, she never fell during this trip…was this human being a bit careful with her tiny body? “In the end, it will end the same way…” Lea whispered. After some time that Lea couldn’t keep track of, the box stopped moving. She could still hear voices outside, but Lea wasn’t really listening to them and after several minutes, a side of the box opened and Lea could now hear a human voice “calling” her.

“Can you come outside, please?” asked a loud voice near Lea, the tiny girl refusing to do so…it might be a trick. The voice asked again in a different tone that sounded a bit sad; again Lea didn’t move, too afraid to face this human. “Ho no…don’t tell me that they starved you to death…” the human girl said while taking the box with one hand and opening it from the top. Lea shivered intensely…she didn’t want to look, but now she had no choice; the top of the box “flew away” and the sides fell apart…leaving the small shivering girl on the ground facing what she feared the most…a human girl.

With a fast movement, Lea jumped to her feet and started to run away…not really looking where she was going…but the human girl looked a bit surprised.  “Wait… Not there!” Said the human girl while putting a hand in front of where Lea was running. Lea screamed and turned to run in another direction, not noticing that if she had continued on her previous path, she would have fallen from the edge of a table… “Stop, please…” said the human again, trying to calm down the small girl who was still screaming from fear. But because she was tired from the past few hard days, Lea fell to the ground, her legs not allowing her to run anymore. She put her hands in front of her face “Don’t hurt me, please!!” Lea yelled, but the human didn’t move.

“I don’t plan to hurt you,” said the human girl, who put her hands behind her back. “See? I tried to stop you before because you were about to fall and I didn’t want to scare you…” Lea listened to this human girl, but tears were still pouring from her eyes. The human girl noticed that the tiny girl was crying and felt bad… Taking a small bag from her side, she pulled out a cookie and broke some pieces off it before putting them on the table. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have much more to give you… You can have some, if you want,” the human girl said, looking at the small one, who started to stand up. “And you’re planning to eat me after, right? You’re a human, how am I supposed to trust you?” Lea said while wiping some tears from her eyes.

The human girl looked a bit sad now. “No, please… I really don’t plan to hurt you. When I came to this place, I saw one of those stupid shops selling small people and you were the last one… I didn’t want you to be sold to any cruel people…” the human said, Lea now looking carefully at her. “If you want to go, well… I won’t stop you, little one, I just wanted to save your life, but I don’t plan to keep you if you don’t want to stay. If possible…can we talk a bit?”

Lea’s blue eyes opened wide… She looked at this human girl carefully; the girl had long blonde hair, green eyes, and was probably one year younger than her small self. Lea put her hands on her chest and started to talk. “Why? Is that a game of yours to play with me?” The human girl didn’t move, just shook her head. “I…don’t understand… am I really free? I mean…why would you do that for me? It’s the first time that I’ve seen a human who cared about us…” The human girl bowed her head. “You know, even if there aren’t many of us, we’re still doing our best. In fact…since I was young I was always ‘fascinated’ by many creatures… Fairies…Giants…and small ones like you. The thing is, I always wanted a small friend, but each time…I failed because I look like a ‘monster’ to the people of your kind, but…I really don’t want to hurt you, tiny one…” The human girl now looked really shy. “My name is Emily; may…I ask you your name, please?”

Lea was now really surprised…but started to feel something inside her small heart; sitting on the table, she listened carefully and nodded. “My name is Lea.” Still looking at the giant girl in front of her, she continued. “It’s because of your size, I guess…look at you; I’m even smaller than your thumb and if you wanted you could end my life easily, but…you’re different,” Lea said while extending her small arm in the direction of the human girl. “Nice to meet you, Emily.” The human girl was a bit surprised that this small girl somehow trusted her.  Putting her hand near and extending a finger to “meet” the tiny hand, she answered, “Nice to meet you too, Lea. If you would like, I could tell you more about me and…us, but only if you want too.” Emily put her hand on the table upside-down so Lea could climb onto it.

“Is this a good idea? She didn’t hurt me and I feel that I could really trust her…” Lea thought. Indeed, Emily hadn’t done anything.  The small girl took several steps, climbed onto the gigantic hand, and sat in the middle. Emily could feel Lea’s tiny feet tickle her skin and bowed her head to watch the small girl on her hand. “Thank you, Lea…I didn’t expect you to trust me, but…you’ll be safe,” Emily said while standing up and approaching a door. Opening it, she went “outside,” then started to walk down a white hall. Lea looked around; it seemed like a hotel, but without a roof.

While Emily was walking, Lea could see into some open rooms with different creatures and people inside, but none of them looked dangerous. She saw real “fairies,” some people with half the body of a snake, and some other creatures that were covered in fur but walked like humans. Finally, Lea asked, “What is this place, Emily?” The human girl moved her hand a bit upwards so they could talk. “We’re actually all ‘size’ fans, to put it simply, but we’re all different too. It was a bit hard for me to realize it, but even if we don’t look the same, we all love the same thing. I knew that there were people like me in the world, but I never expected to meet many of them here, too.” Emily paused to take a breath. “Actually, I wanted to ask you something, Lea. Last year, we started something that never happened in the world before; we created an “event” for all of us…There were tiny ones like you, humans, and even giant people. You may not notice them from your size, but believe me…to them, I’m as tall as you are to me…and they’re like me, too; they won’t hurt anyone smaller. Even if we’re so different due to our sizes, it was our wish to be “equal” during this time and even well after it.”

Another human was walking in the hall and Lea could see a small girl sitting on this human’s shoulder. The other small girl waved happily at Lea. That made her really think about this whole thing. “Emily…I know that it’s really crazy, but what you said before and everything I experienced with you, even if we just met…I feel like I’m dreaming…I mean, how is this possible…I didn’t know that something like this would be possible…” Lea said while looking at the smiling girl. “To tell you the truth, I was a bit afraid that you would be too scared to talk with me, too, but I’m glad that we could share this,” Emily answered.

Both of them were now in a different room with many other humans around. Lea was now watching many other small people just like her on different tables talking with sometimes 2 or 3 humans and some of them were also laughing at jokes. Lea was now smiling; this place was indeed something different and she started to wonder again if every human on the Earth would also accept her for what she was as a tiny and not the small toy she felt like before. Emily took a few steps towards a table and then put her hand down. “There you go, Lea, feel free to take anything you want,” Emily said as Lea discovered something amazing. Displayed on some small shelves were many different clothes sized for the small ones. There were also some small cabins besides the shelves for Lea to change in without being seen. She happily grabbed a tiny pair of jeans and a blue shirt before going into a small cabin. Inside, Lea examined the clothes and she noticed they weren’t just doll’s clothes like she had previously thought. They were actually clothes handmade by the humans for small ones like her. Lea’s cheeks turned a bright red before she removed the piece of silk she was wearing to put on the clothes.  They fit perfectly.

Soon, Lea exited the small cabin and took a few steps towards Emily, who was smiling. “They look good on you,” the human girl said while resting her hands on the table. Lea was now in front of the girl and smiled as well. “Thanks a lot; we don’t have much to wear sometimes so it really means something to me, Emily. I really want to thank you for all of this, but, well, I don’t have much to give you…” Lea said, feeling a bit shy. Emily shook her head. “Don’t worry, if I can help you with anything, it would be my pleasure. I was wondering, maybe…if you wanted to come with me to this event? In fact, everyone here is going too; here, take this if you want to know a bit more about it,” Emily said while offering a small piece of paper that was actually printed in a size that Lea could read.

“Hmm, that’s right, you told me something about this before,” Lea said while taking the small paper in her hands. “Let’s see…SizeCon, a gathering for size lovers…in New York? I heard about this city once, but isn’t it on the other side of the sea?” Lea asked, a bit confused. Emily nodded. “Yes. But actually, it won’t take long before we’re there. Remember what I said before? There’s also some giant people going, too, and even if they’re so tall, they care for us. In fact…one of them is carrying this whole ‘building’ to New York. From your size you can’t really see her, but she’s really kind to help us, too.” Lea’s eyes opened wide…now understanding why this place was “different” from any other house she had visited. She read the paper she was holding in her hands again…”A place where we’ll all be ‘equal,’ even if we’re so different…” Lea raised her head to give her most beautiful smile to Emily. “Yes… I want to go there with you, Emily! And if you want, before our arrival, I would be glad to share more of my tiny life with my new friend!” Emily smiled back, now having fulfilled the wish she had when she was younger. She let Lea climb onto her hand once more before walking carefully back into her room.

Two days passed and the two girls now trusted each other like best friends who had spent many years together. Emily was on the balcony of the building, holding Lea in her hand close to her heart so the small girl wouldn’t fall. Lea suddenly opened her eyes wide, staring at something that was now in front of them, a giant girl with a deep meaning, standing on a rock, holding a golden flame in her hand: Lady Liberty. Emily smiled. “Yes, we’re finally here,” Emily said before explaining the significance of this statue: a symbol of freedom and equality for all the people then told some other facts about the city to Lea…

Both of their hearts were now beating faster as they approached their destination, knowing that soon, they would meet many more amazing people like them and that they would enjoy a special time that they would remember forever.

The end.

 

See you at the SizeCon 2017!

Kreeyz.