A Small and Tall Collection

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Chapter Eleven | Remedies and Apologies

It took Soren a few minutes in the bathroom to compose himself after witnessing what he did with the miniscule woman. She was so small – so real. She could've been mistaken for being human if she were average height. The minute facial expressions were so clear that Soren could picture them if he closed his eyes. It was lucky that he was so good at reading people after the past few years of training.

Also, the girl didn't have a poker face.

After pinching himself for the dozenth time and realizing this was no dream, he splashed a few handfuls of lukewarm water onto his face before heading for the kitchen. The sight that was waiting for him in the other room, however, made him wish it was a dream.

Dorian and Rey were both crestfallen on the couch. Shoulders were slumped. Eyes glossy with tears. Bottom lips trembling. Both boys sat on their hands and were holding still as they sat. Soren knew the position, since he was the one who implemented it. Well... his mom did anyway...

It was the position of punishment – time out.

When he did something wrong, his mom would make him sit on a chair quietly, usually with his hands under his legs, while he thought about what he did wrong. Soren didn't experience this a lot as a child, but it was an effective method meant for him to reflect on what happened.

What was more astounding was the fact that Dorian and Rey were there. Soren hadn't told them to go sit on time out. He'd just told them to go to the kitchen. Did they do this themselves? For feeling bad for what happened? Soren cleared his throat and both boys glanced over their shoulder, Dorian reaching up and wiping his nose on his sleeve, before looking away. It was a pitiful sight, but Soren was glad that the two of them seemed to recognize that they had messed up.

He walked around the couch and sat down on the wooden coffee table so he could face the two of them. His hazel eyes flicked from boy to boy before he took a breath and said, "Did you two put yourselves on time out?"

Both boys nodded.

"Do you know why you put yourselves on time out?" asked Soren. Both of them nodded before sniffling, their little brows furrowing as they shifted uncomfortably under Soren's gaze. "Care to tell me about it?" Dorian was the first to pipe up between the two of them.

"Because," he sniffled, snot rattling around in his nose. "I hurt the little person. I... I didn't mean to. She was falling off of the desk and... and I didn't think I grabbed her that hard. But... I'm sorry. I'm the one who said we shouldn't bother you." Soren clenched his jaw and nodded slowly before glancing at Rey.

"Rey? Why did you put yourself on time out?" asked Soren. Tears spilled down the cheeks of the young, pale blue eyed boy.

"Because I... I knew I should go get you and I didn't. She was hurting all night because I didn't do the right thing," Rey said, his trembling voice tugging at his oldest brother's heart strings.

Gosh... they've grown up so much. Mom... you'd be proud.

"Thank you both for apologizing," stated Soren softly. "But remember what I said in the other room? I might not be the one you need to apologize to. Yeah?"

"H-how is s-sh-she?" asked Rey. "Is sh-she mad at us?"

"Right now, I don't know. She hasn't said anything as of now, but I think it's just because she's a bit scared; and it's okay to be scared. If you think about how big the world is to us, imagine what it would be like coming from her perspective." The boys nodded in agreement, so Soren continued. "She's doing well right now, but she's going to need some time to feel better and recover. I think she's sick, probably with what we all had, and her arm is going to be sore.