Lilli

It occurred to me that the world was much, much larger than I presumed.

A Lilliputian in a world so vast, so advanced... it was no match for a creature of my size. I became visibly overwhelmed. Why did I leave the comforts of my derisory old barn, and the loving embraces of Mr. Rib and Betty the Bull? Who was I to think I could wander this extraordinary land alone, in search for a better me, in hopes for another family? I began to panic, and my vision blurred. Everything went black.

Spool back to the First Quarter, when I had begun my long-awaited journey to find people of my kind, I had been far too thrilled. Even received the go-ahead from Betty, and the courage from Mr. Rib. I was sad to leave my lily-pad, the only home I had ever known, but I needed to find my people. There had to be more Lilliputians out there. For the better half of my stable mind, I packed everything I could possibly carry; for I didn’t know how long this journey would last, and I certainly didn’t know where I would end up.

I like to believe the civilization I came from were phenomenal architects of the sort, creative beings that lived off the land to benefit our needs. It only made sense, since we’re not human, and we do not have the same human luxuries. Though we were able to learn from their technologies - in small doses of course. We were of those who created our own homes from branches, pebbles, and leaves; held together by mud and clay from the very ground beneath our feet. The clothing on our backs made from cotton that grew in the fields - spun on wheels of bendable twigs and “rubber” from pressed trees sap, sewn together by the needles of evergreens. Our pillows and blankets filled with the donated feathers of neighbouring birds. We harvested our own foods and made Lilliputian delicacies from the meats of bugs and our own tiny vegetables grown in the smallest of gardens, in the richest of soils. It’s not easy being the size of a grasshopper, but we surely know how to get by.

My rucksack which was created from Earth’s lightest of fibers, consisted of sartorial attire, hand-picked materials that I mended together myself. Sustenance had been picked from my very own garden but undoubtedly I would have to hunt while on my journeys; survival items that I had found scattered around the old barn such as matches to light the way at night, small pieces of glass that I had enveloped with old rags and made into knives. Last of all, I could not forget my spear that doubled as a walking stick, carved with etchings of years passed, my family - Betty and Rib, carvings of lily-pads… and mom and dad, held nearest to my palm and closest to my heart. I would have to succumb to the elements and build my shelters along the way, for I can’t carry much being the size of a bean.

Furthermore, I travelled a long time, and came upon many dangers on the way. Some instances I was fortunate to walk away with my life unharmed, body still intact. I could just see Betty’s hysterics now; she’d have my head! But oh, it would be so lovely to be back at home in the comforts of my derisory old barn. Away from the turmoil that is this barren land, lonely and bitter. I just hoped someone would come to my advantage, someone small and friendly, like me.

When I had awoken from what must have been me fainting, I came face-to-face with a boy.

“What the-,” I began to sit up, only to be pushed back down and ushered to stay still.

“Woah there young lady, you just took quite the tumble, you’d better lay down for awhile!” The stranger said, “don’t want ya to have another power failure!”

Young lady?!

“Ill have you know I am merely on my 27th trip around the sun, don’t you “young lady” me, young man!”

Where on Earth did that come from? Since when did I care who called me young? Most importantly, where did this boy come from? After a long moment of calming down and coming to, I let him lower me back onto the cot. Where was I?

He laughed, “I guess we were born near the same time then, and clearly the same height range!”

My tiny eyes widened with tiny delight. I found them. I FOUND THEM.

I leaped up with tears flowing down my face, clutched him in the biggest embrace I had ever given anybody, shrieking, “I found you, I found you, I found you!” over and over, until he finally realized what the heck was going on.

“Woah, woah, woah little miss, please, your head!” he demanded.

I felt dizzy. Fell back to the cot, “you don’t understand, I’ve been looking for people of our kind for months...”

“You mean to tell me; you have never seen people of our kind?”

I shook my head, distraught. A grin stretched across his dirt-strewn face.

“Well Miss, welcome to Southampton, United Kingdom… or as I like to call it, City of Thieves!” as he motioned to the outer reaches of what my brain had clearly been disregarding for the entire banter. People hustling and bustling in all places, people of our size in the streets living like those that I had only seen in the tiny Lilliputian manuscripts. People, Lilli’s... picking up young kids and saying goodbye to old grandparents. Kids walking to schools... schools! Adults going to work, going to markets, and construction workers... working! I could only assume that is what this young gentleman was, for he was covered in soot. It came to my realization that perhaps my parents wanted to hide me from this type of living. It seemed extreme, and chaotic. My mind was overflowing with thoughts. I couldn’t breathe.

“Deep breaths Miss, I realize this is a lot to take in.” He grabbed my hand as I took a couple breaths.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

“Where did you come from?” He asked, “Good lord, where are my manners? My name is Jackson, Jackson Doherty, Miss, and you are?”

“My-my name is Lilli… born on that of a lily-pad, I grew up in a derisory old barn on the rolling hills of what I can only imagine is the countryside of this magnificent city, this… city of thieves?”

He bellowed deep with laughter, “we tend to take what the humans don’t use, so technically we’re just small recyclers. But thieves sounded a little swankier to me,” he winked.

“Ah, I see. I feel like I’ve been torn from my birth right. My people. I’ve been stolen from a life of prosper and real connections…” I began to feel an ache in my heart. I’ve been lied to my entire life.

His lame expression from my tales seemed to have turned into something of curiousness, “Miss... I mean, Lilli. Would you like to come see something neat?”

Confused as I was, of course I wanted to explore the encrypted lands of our people, “I mean, I only just got here, but it’d be nice to have a chauffeur to show me around town!”

His eyes beamed, “stay here, I’ll be right back!”

“But-.” But he was gone.

Fifteen or so minutes later he came back with a couple bags and handed me a coat, “your clothes seemed a little ratted so here. It gets cold at night.”

I took them and gave him a nod of thanks. It was very appreciated; my clothes had begun to stink and fall apart on my journeys here. To be honest, I was embarrassed and unsure what to say.

“We aren’t the richest of these parts, but we get by in these here slums.” He said.

He showed me to the restroom where I could get dressed and get washed off. It appeared to me that we were in the open boundaries of what seemed to be stacked apartments, it seemed these people shared most living quarters, like one big family. Did the humans know of them down here?

I’ve never had a bath like this before, it was warm, and oh so soothing. I had only ever bathed in the pond, or streams and rivers. This was divine and it took me every ounce of effort to get out of the water. When I finally did, I had put on the clothes given to me. A beautiful flowy black dress and an emerald bonnet with matching shoes. I’ve never had such luxuries. I threw on the gray coat and went outside to see Jackson waiting patiently.

“Lilli, wow. I mean... goodness you’re stunning. I mean, my god, shall we get going then?” Jackson flustered.

“Yes.” I giggled. He put out his elbow for me to take and we were on our way to whatever it was he had wanted to show me.

The metropolis was even more extreme then I had seen from the slums. I’d never seen anything like it. We scurried through the streets like mice, it had all passed so fast I didn’t know which way was up from down. Finally, we came to halt.

“There she is.” He said beaming up at what had to be the biggest structure I have ever laid eyes on, bigger then the tallest trees, sitting on the biggest pond my eyes could ever care to wander, it went on for miles into the horizon. It was a ship, the humans were humming around it like bees, loading up boxes and suitcases, sailors coming and going as they were getting ready to take to the sea, for her maiden voyage. Jackson gripped my hand tight, he seemed entranced, spellbound by its grace. I could just make out the giant letters with my tiny eyes:

T-I-T-A-N-I-C