The Morning After

The next eight hours were the most restless hours of Amanda's life. Not only did she find herself restless while she slept, but she also found herself awake every hour just to check on the minuscule boy. 

A million worries consumed her mind.

Was he breathing okay?

Was he asleep?

Did he need to eat more frequently than a normal human? 

What even was he? 

Sprite? 

Fairy?

Figment of her imagination? She hadn't quite ruled that one out yet. 

Had he been abandoned? If so, was his size because of a condition, and that was why he was left alone? 

Or was he lost? 

Where was his family? 

And were they looking for him? 

Worried, Amanda would push herself up onto her elbow, reach over, uncover the small boy, and watch with baited breath to make sure he was breathing. 

Looking at the boy, she was awed by his features. Everything was proportional and indistinguishable from that of a human. The way his nose scrunched as he rolled over to how his little hands curled up to grasp the blanket by his face. Beneath the bruises and the thinned features was a handsome little boy. 

All Amanda could think was how could anyone just leave him behind. He had to have gotten lost or, much to her dismay, something might have happened to his parents for him to be in such a state. 

Heart aching at the thought of someone leaving him or losing him, Amanda decided to get up out of bed and stop wallowing in her thoughts. They were keeping her awake and she needed to keep her mind preoccupied if she was going to stay focused for the rest of the day. Besides, there was no point in tossing and turning any more than what she was doing already. She shoved the sheets and comforters over and shuffled to the kitchen for her morning ritual. 

She brewed her coffee in what felt like record time and washed her face in the kitchen sink since her toiletries hadn't been unpacked just yet. Amanda padded through her new home and quietly gathered her things in the stillness of the morning including her laptop and her meager breakfast. She brought them into her room and curled back into her bed before she began typing away on a report she had neglected to complete the day before. 

She pulled the box over at one point once she got settled and kept an eye on the sleeping boy, which lasted for maybe two hours before the toddler rousted himself. It was his cough followed by a subtle whimper that pulled Amanda's focus to the little boy. 

Seeing his tousled light sandy brown hair now sitting upright, free from grime and dirt, Amanda pushed her laptop away and looked down into the box. The boy reached up and rubbed his eyes with his tiny fists and yawned. Those soft brown eyes, now free of sleepers, gazed up at Amanda. 

Perhaps it was because she was hyper focused on the little boy's eyes, but Amanda thought she glimpsed confusion, sadness, and the slightest apprehension as he met her gaze. 

"Hey there. Good morning," said Amanda sweetly, keeping her voice down as she lowered her hand into the cardboard shoe box. "Did you sleep so good?" 

The little boy surveyed his surroundings, whimpering and huffing as if he were about to start crying, before taking two deep breaths and looking up at Amanda and, for the first time, acknowledged her questions with a nod. 

Her jaw dropped. It wasn't just her imagination. She saw him nod. It was a conscious effort, which only fascinated her more about the thumb sized boy. His little eyes stayed focused on Amanda as she processed what she just witnessed. Then, realizing she was gawking, shook herself from her spiraling thoughts and smiled at the little boy. 

"Yeah? You slept good?" she repeated, as if stuck in a loop. The little boy nodded again after stifling yet another yawn.

So, it wasn't a fluke.

" Good! That's so good. You're so good," encouraged Amanda. The boy glanced around and squirmed uncomfortably as he tugged at his waist. Amanda, not sure what he was doing, went through a quick mental checklist of what this gesture could mean and quickly realized what he was silently asking for. After all, grabbing by his hips and private areas could only really mean one thing. 

"Do you need to go potty?" She asked, still painfully aware of the size difference between her and the hand sized boy. With a little nod, the boy expressed his need. 

Amanda was mostly at a loss of how to help the little boy, but decided taking him to the bathroom would be best and, thankfully, the experience went off without a hitch. Evidently, the boy had been trained which, for Amanda, confirmed her suspicion that the minuscule boy was between three and five years old. 

After washing up, which the little boy didn't quite understand, she brought him to the kitchen and started making a very simple breakfast. He listened timidly to her instincts as he sat by the backsplash with his legs crossed in a little pretzel. Her mind was in a tizzy about what to give him but settled on toast and jam and then a little bit of apple slice for some fruit. 

"Take little bites, okay?" Instructed Amanda as she pinched off just a little piece of toast for the boy, who nodded and began to eat. 

The more Amanda thought about the boy and watched his movement, the more like a very small human child he seemed to become. He was too real to be some stress dream or hallucination. 

Still, how could someone so small exist? 

One thing was for certain – he needed to be looked after, and while Amanda wasn't sure if she was ready to rise to the occasion, she was ready to try. 

First things first was to get him checked out, and Amanda had just the person for the job. One of her friends from college was a pediatrician, meaning she would know more about what the little boy needed in order to get back to full health. Phone in hand, she debated only for a moment with herself about how her friend would react to seeing a boy no bigger than her index finger. It was the little boy's soft cough that reinforced her resolve. Amanda sifted through her contacts, muttering how tech was so inconvenient nowadays, before clicking on the familiar name of her friend – Melissa Hargrove. 

Amanda listened to the dial tone and, as luck would have it, Melissa picked up. 

Must be on break to answer my call right off the bat. She never bothers with her phone when working. Amanda thought as her friend cleared her throat, as she always did, before answering. 

"Hey there Mandy! Long time no call. How've you been girlfriend?" Amanda wasn't quite sure how to answer that question. So many memories and emotions were up in the air mere days ago. All of those wicked words only made her heart twist. Thoughts beginning to overwhelm her, Amanda took a breath and glanced over at the minuscule boy whose soft brown eyes were on her, watching intently. 

"Mandy?"

Choked up and focusing on the little boy's eyes, Amanda nodded and forced out the words. 

"Yeah, not the best. I… um…" she cleared her throat and wiped away some of the stinging salty tears from her eyes before summoning more words. "It's been a while since I updated you. I… could you come over after work? I have a lot to catch you up on and… well… I've got a bit of a situation." 

"Situation? What? Are you pregnant?" asked Melissa. 

"Mel? Please? It's just simpler if you come over. I'll text you the address, and bring your little t-go med kit if you can," said Amanda. 

"Wait, address? Not the old place? Mandy, what happened? You and Brandyn having trouble? And did you say med kit? I swear if this fool laid hands on you…" 

"It's not that. Mel, just…" Amanda interrupted, sighing with the weight of the world obviously entwined in her breath. At this, Melissa seemed to withdraw. 

"Okay, but I'd better get a full explanation when I get there. I get off at five thirty. How long will this… you know what? Never mind. I'm rain checking it. I'll be over pronto. Chat soon! Bye!" said Mel as she abruptly hung up. Amanda knew her friend would be on her way, though guilt did build in the back of her mind at the thought of Mel canceling her plans. 

Why did this always happen? Why was she always inconveniencing others? 

Amanda's insides swirled with nausea, and she leaned heavily against the counter. Eyes closed, she took deep, choked breaths as the flood gates threatened to burst from emotional strain. Just as she felt herself spiraling, she felt something against her finger. It was an odd tapping followed by a brushing sensation. 

Amanda opened her eyes and instantly felt her anxious emotions melt away as she saw the little boy standing by her hand. His infinitesimal hand was on hers, petting and stroking her finger as if to make her feel better. The concern in his altruistic brown gaze held the wisdom and empathy of someone much older than him. He continued repeating the motion until he paused just long enough to smile up at Amanda. 

Biting her lip and awed at this tiny life offering her comfort, she returned the smile and let her tears fade. 

"Thank you, sweetie. You're so kind," mumbled Amanda as she reached her other hand over and carefully inched it toward the little boy until she could rub his back with the tip of her finger. For a moment, he almost looked like he was going to shy away from her approaching finger, but he held his ground and even leaned into the touch. The little boy smiled bashfully before repeating his little patting and stroking motion. 

When Amanda felt the tightness in her chest dissipating, she turned over her palm and offered it to the little boy. 

"Want to go play?" she asked. The minuscule features furrowed in confusion. 

Did he not know what playing was? Did he not know any games? 

As Amanda wondered this, the little boy reached up and rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand as Amanda saw him give the biggest yawn he was capable of. It was probably the cutest thing she had ever seen in her life. She stifled a round of coos and rubbed his little back instead. 

"That's okay," said Amanda. "We can snuggle instead. How about it? Want to sleep a little more?" 

The boy nodded groggily and, after a hesitant moment, pulled himself onto Amanda's hand and curled up by her fingers. Evidently, he still needed sleep and eating a little something had exhausted him. At least this was what Amanda hoped was going on. 

She lifted the boy up and carried him back to her room where she informed her boss she needed to take a half-day due to a doctor's appointment she forgot about and curled back into bed, laying the boy on her chest as she stayed propped up. Fingers resting over him to keep him from rolling off, Amanda watched as he curled up once more and fell back asleep. 

Hopefully, Mel would have some answers about this little guy. Amanda decided, until then, that resting her eyes with the boy wouldn't be a bad idea.