I woke up to a plain white ceiling, just like every morning. I got up, messed with my short blonde pixiecut in the mirror and rub my purple eyes. Seventeen, and living alone in a house that I managed to buy. My parents and I never got along, and so I left. I dropped out of high school, knowing that my parents will never pay for my college. I have a job at a borrower pet shop, and that's my whole life. I love it though.
I threw on my work shirt, changed into jeans from sweatpants, and grabbed an apple before leaving. I don't have a car, so I walk everywhere. I don't mind it, even if it is winter. The sky is a mix of blue, white, and gray during the winter. Dreamania is weird like that. In the region I live in, it's just normal life. Other regions might be hectic or full of zombies. So, I'm fine walking in the cold instead of running from the undead.
The pet shop isn't too far from my place, so it doesn't take long to get there. I live in a small house in a small neighborhood in town. When I go in, my boss, Simon Locust, is at the counter. His long black hair in a ponytail and stubble giving him a rather intimidating look. He's also very loud, which startles the borrowers. And me a lot.
I go to the backroom to prepare breakfast for the borrowers we have. We buy borrower-sized food from the store, and I'm left to plate them. It's difficult, but I manage. After playing up some borrower-sized pre-made bowls of cereal and placing two cartons of milk on each small tray, I lift up the big tray which holds the smaller ones.
Along the walls are glass containers, which are almost like dollhouses. They're two floored, with wood floor on each. The bottom floor has the bathroom in the back, with a shower. Above is the bedroom with multiple beds. There's also books their size for them, and some coloring books for the younger ones. I had to beg Simon to give the borrowers these, because before they were just sitting in the cages with nothing. I also had to pay for them.
The sides of the dollhouses, given the fact that the front is made of glass, are white plastic. Some walls have drawings from the little ones on them. There's a small door made of wood in front of each container, along with a small porch. Yeah, I had to lose part of my paycheck the last three months to pay for these upgrades.
I click the button that unlocks all the doors, and watch as the borrowers slowly wake up and come for breakfast. After passing around food, I collect the trays and plastic bowls.
"Alright, time to return to your houses." I said, feeling bad. The older borrowers sigh, and the younger ones whine to them about not wanting to leave. After all of them get into their homes, I have to lock the doors. Once I was done with that, I flipped the sign outside to say "Open" and went to wait at the counter after Simon leaves to the backroom to make sure all the cages are ready for when someone buys a borrower.
Today, a girl with her father walks in. She had short red hair and green eyes, looks like she's nine or eight, which worries me. Children never take care of a borrower. But I force a kind smile on my face. For some reason, unlike many of the kids that come here and leave with a borrower screaming in their hands which makes me feel so guilty, she's quiet. Almost depressingly quiet.
"Welcome to our humble shop, how may I help you today?" I asked. The dad seems to force a weak smile.
"My wife just left the other day. And my little girl hasn't been taking it so well. So I thought that maybe a new friend would help her." He says. My heartaches for the girl, but that doesn't push away my worries.
"Well, I can happily help you find a perfect borrower friend. Are you looking for someone young like her or maybe a more mature one?" I asked.
"It doesn't matter." The father answered. Usually they want borrowers that are the same age as their child, which makes my heart crack even more when I hear about the child killing the borrower. So it's weird that the father doesn't care what age the borrower is. I swallow a lump in my throat.
"Well if you follow me, I can show you who we have here." I said. The girl doesn't shriek with excitement, or even run to the homes. She just follows her dad with a straight face. I go up to a home, and unlock the upper door that's meant for when I need to take out a borrower. I gently take out a woman, who was once a mother herself. She has brunette hair which was in a bun, and blue eyes. She doesn't freak out in my hand, but when she sees the girl, she starts to panic. The little girl just looks up at her with her soft green eyes.
"Her name is Katelyn, and she was once a mother. I'm sure she'd be a better mother than the one that left." I said. Then I realize that I could have offended the father. He can see the worry on my face, and shakes his head.
"My ex-wife was not a good mother in the first place. So don't worry about offending me." He said. I nodded my head, and looked at the girl.
"Cup your hands so you can hold her, little one." I said gently. The girl sighs and cups her hand. I take a deep breath and gently set Katelyn into her hands, watching the panic grow on her face. "Be careful not to drop her, borrower are like us. They can get really hurt from falling from tall heights." I told her. She just looks at the borrower in her hands.
"She's scared of me." The little girl said quietly. "Am I scary? Is that why mommy left?" She asked her father.
"Of course not, baby. This borrower is just a little scared because you're a stranger." Her father said softly. I'm just shocked at how calm this girl is, and the fact that she doesn't want to scare the borrower.
"Try talking to her." I said. "It may help her calm down." The girl looked at me, and then Katelyn. Then she just shook her head.
"I'm too scary..." She said quietly, trying to hand back Katelyn.
"You're not scary. She's just scared because you're a stranger." I told her. I looked at Katelyn. "She has no mother, Katelyn. And you lost your child. I thought that maybe you could help this little girl out." I told her. She seemed to calm down a bit, and I could tell she now felt bad for the girl.
"You're momma left you?" She asked. The little girl nodded, seeming a bit shocked that Katelyn was talking to her.
"She didn't even say goodbye..." She told her sadly as tears fell. Katelyn looked up at the girl with sincere care.
"Don't cry..." She said calmly. I moved the girls hands to her cheek when Katelyn stood. Then she gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I won't leave without saying goodbye." She said. The little girl looked at her, and sniffled.
"But you're scared of me." She said. Katelyn shook her head.
"Not anymore. If you can promise to not harm me, I'll promise to never leave." She told her. I smiled feeling my heart warm up. The father smiled too.
"I wouldn't hurt you even without a promise." The girl said, a small smile finally forming. She looked at her father. "Can I take her home, daddy?" Her father smiled at seeing his little girl smile.
"Of course, Lily." He told her. He looked at me. "How much?" I took a risk and walked up to him.
"You can have her for free, as long as you promise to make sure Lily doesn't hurt her. I hate when people kill borrowers." I said quietly.
"Lily is an angel, she'd never hurt her." Her father replied. "But thank you for letting me have her for free." He said quietly back. If my boss knew, he'd scream. And I know nobody in the shop wanted to hear that.
"No problem. I'm sure she has a dollhouse that Katelyn can stay in. I could sell you a borrower sized bed, or a whole house if you'd like." I said. He looked at Lily.
"Do you want to get Katelyn a house, baby?" He asked. She nodded, gently letting Katelyn into her coat pocket.
"I want her to be happy." She said. I couldn't help what came out of my mouth next.
"Awwww!" I exclaimed. I covered my mouth, causing Lily to giggle. If my screw ups made her laugh, then she's obviously a sweetheart. "I'll just go get a house from the back for you." I said before heading to the back room. I passed Simon, and picked up a box that had a fully decorated home. Then I went back out and handed it to the father. "I will have to ask you to pay for that though. It's fifty dollars." I said guiltily.
"That's fine, here you go." He said with a smile, handing me the money.
"Thank you, lady. I feel happier now." Lily said.
"I'm so glad that you're happier, Lily. Just make sure to treat her nicely, alright? And hey, you're welcome to come back and visit here any day you'd like. I work here everyday from eight to five." I told her.
"Okay!" She replied cheerfully. They then left, making me feel all warm and fuzzy. I had a good feeling that Lily wouldn't be a little brat and hurt Katelyn.
I turned around to walk back to the counter, and nearly slammed into Simon.