Friends Apart

Chapter 2

Wendy stumbled while going back to her home. She was still recovering from everything that had happened, the fall, hurting her wrist, almost being crushed in a hand bigger than her entire body... The residual shaking from the close call hadn't worn off yet. 'There's no way that's really Peter... It's been at least eight years since I saw him last. Why did he come back after so long?' It was just such a foreign thought that her childhood friend would come back to this house after all this time, she couldn't let herself believe it. 'And I'm too small...' The thought alone was painful. It had been years since she'd thought that way.  She growled in frustration, she needed some answers... Peter was still sitting on the floor, staring down at his hand ten minutes later. He carefully flexed the fingers, remembering how it had felt, holding the tiny person in his hand. The odd feeling of little arms and legs struggling hopelessly for freedom. Small bones more fragile than a baby birds. So darn delicate... Ever since hearing that quiet voice utter his name, sounding as shocked as he felt, all he had running through his mind was 'No way, not possible. They looked everywhere for her. I looked everywhere for her...' And yet, a few minutes ago, he'd been holding a tiny woman, no more than four inches tall, with a face that was so familiar... And knew him by name... "Wendy..." Peter uttered forlornly. He drug his hand over his face, holding his eyes closed. 'My friend, I might have had my own friend in my hand and the first thing I do is almost crush her... How is any of this possible? If that's Wendy, how the heck is she only four inches tall? And why couldn't they find her all those years ago? Why couldn't I find her? I should have been able to see her.' A few more minutes like that passed, with Peter drowning in regret. If only he'd handled it differently, hadn't tried to crush the little girl, had tried maybe talking to her. But he'd been so shocked all he could do was let go of the tiny body, not wanting to hurt her anymore. 'And that worked out so well,' he grumped to himself. He'd forgotten that he'd been holding the girl a few inches off the ground. When you're only four inches tall, those extra inches had to hurt to fall down. And the way little girl had been holding her hand, like it'd been injured... Super. Might have finally found your friend after all these years apart and the first thing you do is hurt her. Some friend you are. Stellar performance, Peter. She'll probably never come back now... who would for a block-head like you...' When the little girl ran from him, it took everything ounce of self-control he had left to not grab at her again. Stop her from running away. But if it was his friend, the last thing he ever wanted to do was scare her more, or accidentally hurt her if he grabbed too hard. Considering she was barely the size of a finger, that could happen far too easily. And he'd seen the fear in Wendy's eyes when she'd glanced up at Peter after being released, backing away fearfully, like she was afraid to take her eyes off Peter for a second. So Peter just sat there, watching her dart back under the bed, not even chancing a look behind her to see where Peter was the moment she ran. By the time Peter had thought to peer under the bed to see where she'd gone, there was no sign of anything out of place, as though he'd imagined it all. Stubbornly pushing away his self-flagellation, Peter hauled himself to his feet. His heart lurched when he thought about how he must look to the tiny girl, standing up. Like an actual giant from the fairy tales. She'd been so small it was hard to believe it was even possible she was Wendy. 'Like it matters what you look like standing. She already ran from you when you were leaning on the ground. Of COURSE she'd run from you standing.' His shoulders slumped down, knowing how unlikely it was he'd ever see the girl again, whether it was Wendy or not. Who would want to go back to the place where they'd almost been captured and crushed?
He pushed the bed away from the wall, dropping back to the ground to see if he could find where the girl had escaped to. He ran his fingers over the ground carefully, finding nothing out of the ordinary for a few moments. Spotting an almost invisible line on the wall, he leaned in closer. It only stretched up about five inches from the floor. His fingers turned out to be too thick to be able to grip it, sliding harmlessly off. With a grunt, he rolled onto his side and using a sewing pin he found, he managed to slip it under the tear, prying it free. His eyes widened as he got a good look inside, staring into a tiny dark tunnel that stretched on into the insides of the house. Curiously, he reached his hand inside. It only slipped a few inches in before getting stuck in the tiny area. 'What the heck is going on with this house?' He thought. 'Was this here the last time I visited?' He let the tiny flap close up. Standing up, he stared down at how small it was. If he blocked it off, he might not see the little girl again. Something inside of him cringed at the thought of it being his childhood friend, but something in him wouldn't give up the idea, the possibility of seeing Wendy again. If it wasn't Wendy, he'd handle it then. He pushed the bed back against the wall, leaving the tiny opening alone. He knew where it was. For now that was enough. He wondered if there were any other entrances into the bedroom... he would have to check out the rest of the room, make sure there wasn't any other secret passages in or out. In the meantime, he still had the rest of the house to check out. And maybe the little woman would come back while he was working... Peter felt his heart leap at the possibility that after eight years Wendy was still alive even after all this time... "Wendy...."