In the wall by the stairwell on the fourth floor, Tuesday afternoon

[borrowedwalls.livejournal.com]

Arietty had thought she understood loneliness when she was stuck under the floorboards with only her parents for company. She thought she understood the dangers of the world after having to rescue her parents from Professor Mildeye. She'd thought she knew so much and was so worldly.

She had no idea.

Loneliness was living in the walls of a school building with no one but mice and insects for company. Danger was being surrounded by beans who happily hurt and killed each other, much less a borrower like Arietty. This wasn't what she'd thought her life would be like when she set off from under the clock last Christmas.

As she darned her sleeping sock in the light of one of her last borrowed birthday candles, she started to ( sing. )

Anyone coming by the fourth floor stairwell today might hear her tiny voice, singing sadly through the drywall. Arietty knew when she was about to be seen, but these days, she was a little less worried about when she might be heard.

[ooc: identity of the singer is NFB. NFI, though reactions are perfectly cool.]