She stared at him, her eyes sad. She shifted her feet on the wooden sticks. The slippery green stems under her feet. His eyes seemed bittersweet, his bluish hair swaying slightly in the wind.

"I have to go" She muttered, turning away slightly. Shō nodded, his eyes portraying more of his emotions. This was hard for her. She had become extremely fond of him during their short experience together. His story pained her. His family, his heart. How sad to think of life as a place that is not meant for exploring. As a plain canvas, waiting to be ripped. He extended his hand out to her, and she grabbed his finger, bringing to her forehead.

A thousand emotions rushed through her, her face was hot, and her eyes were watering. Her chest was tight, and her knees were weak. Tears leaked out of her eyes. Why couldn't they be together? Have a wonderful time together? No, she was a borrower. Borrowers didn't associate with beings. Humans. They were dangerous. No Shō wasn't dangerous was he? She knew that, her mother might know that. Her father…well…she assumed he understood. Spiller..Eh, she didn't understand anything about him.

Why was she leaving again? Right, her family. They needed to move. Somewhere safe. She wished it wasn't the case that she could stay with this beautiful blue eyed boy forever. She supposed it was a deeper emotion than friendship, but she wasn't in the mood for sentimental feelings.

Her tears gathered, sparkling slightly. She sniffed, and she felt the warm pulse in his finger. She brought it closer to her face, until it was almost touching. Her tears began to gather, began to fall. It was a quiet sob, but a sob nonetheless. He smiled sadly. He didn't want her to go either.

Arrietty was probably the only girl he had ever met, who was so…brave. He had crawled her way into his heart, making it strong again. He had been afraid of his surgery before, his life before. He knew death, he had felt it breathe across his face countless times. Like the time he passed out in class, or in gym. The time the doctor sat him down, and told him that he just might die before he reached sixteen. Those were scary times. He had learned to accept death, accept pain. Accept lose. He didn't need any more grief, worrying, caring, it was just too hard.

Or so he had thought. Arrietty had scolded him for such words, stomped her small foot against the rock and yelled. She had hidden under the floorboards of his Great-Aunt. She had climbed the treetops to see him, stole sugar from the room. She was strong, she was fierce. He knew that, he loved that. He decided that he needed to learn from her.

As she pulled his finger towards her, he saw her eyes glisten. He knew this hurt, he felt it hurt. His heart was still pounding from his stressed run over here to see her. His finger felt wet. So she was crying. Shō felt almost guilty.

But this couldn't have been avoided, they were from two different worlds. Completely. Entirely. And they both knew it.

Ding. Some bell rang off in both of their ears as his finger touched her forehead, as her tears dripped down.

Something warm was against her forehead, she brushed it off as the warmth from him. Wait, this was a different kind of warmth. Something different, something new. It was warm, no hot. No fiery! She opened her eyes. Something shone on her forehead, almost glittering. Shō saw it too, but he kept his finger in place. Hope slowly starting to grow in both of their hearts.

Arrietty felt her heart speed up. What was this strange sensation? Why did her face feel so hot? Was this love?

Shō felt the warmth under his finger, it burned. Eventually he pulled it away, to Arrietty's disappointment, and watched from a distance. Her forehead was glittering. She looked up at it in wonder, her small hands clenched. It happened so fast, he barely caught it

A creak, a snap. A loud, high pitched scream. A flurry of red and orange, a large blur of light. He lifted his hand up, shielding his eyes. Arrietty squeaked again, and Shō felt something very hot in front of him, warming his hand slightly.

A loud stampede of dirt, rocks, and sticks were heard tumbling down the small hill that they were on, splashing into the rocky waters below. He swore he heard little cries for help.

He moved his hand down, opening his eyes slowly.

He gasped.

Arrietty sat flustered, life size. Her dress seemed to have expanded with her, it's red color a bright sight to behold. Her small clip had fallen off though, making her hair fall down into her face. Her boots had as well, making her feet covered in dirt. Broken remains of the small bamboo fence she had been standing on were scattered around her. Her face was bright red as she stared at him. He remained frozen, refraining from gaping. He spotted some of her family peak out from the cliff, gasping as he did.

She lifted up her hand, bringing it to her face. She turned it around a few times, and then she looked past it, towards the trees.

They were all smaller than her, the leaves, and the grass. Niya stood, astonished at her feet. As big as her thigh now, and about a heavy as her arm. She moved down to pet it, feeling him. She was amazed. Everything was so big, green. Her size!

She looked up at Shō, he was gaping. His faced dusted in a faint pink. Her mind was spinning. Did this change anything? Could they be together now? Was this a sign? A hopeful glimmer of light?

But what about her family, her small friend? They needed her. But she wasn't a borrower anymore, she was a human. A tall, strong human. Was it safe now? For them to stay?

Her chest tightened again. Could she be with Shō now? Could they be happy? Even with his problems?

Shō eventually closed his mouth, putting his hands at his sides. "Arrietty.." He breathed out.

She took a deep breathe, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Yes?"