It was a day like any other in bright sunny Sacramento, California. Hannah Valentine was arranging boxes in her home as she was waiting for her boyfriend to arrive. Today was their three year anniversary together and she wanted to know if he was the one for her. She figured after three years together, he was trustworthy enough to know her personal secret. Hannah had a peculiar hobby, as she was a tiny collector. For a few years, prior to meeting her current boyfriend, Hannah had started collecting any tiny humans she would find wandering the ground around her. This wasn’t for any wicked purposes; Hannah cared for all life and wanted to make sure that the tinies had a safe place to live.
As she moved the final box, she looked across the room. On a long mahogany table was a town full of tinies that she had rescued over the years. Whenever Hannah found a tiny, she would bring them home and introduce them to the town. After gaining their trust, she would then ask them if they had any relatives so they could live with them in safety. This town was her prized possession and she would be devastated if something were to happen to it. Soon, her doorbell rang. She quickly got up and closed the door that hid the town from the outside world and ran towards her front door.
Connor Adams waited nervously at his girlfriend’s front door. Today was their three year anniversary and he was ready to take the next step in their relationship. He knew she was the one for him and wanted to do what every boyfriend dreams of doing. He pushed a black box deeper into his pants pocket as he waited for his girlfriend to open the door. After a few seconds, the door flung open to reveal a grinning Hannah.
“It's about time you showed up you goofball!” teased Hannah as she held the door open to let Connor come inside.
“How could I miss our third anniversary together?” said Connor as he walked into her home.
As they went into the living room, the couple sat down next to each other and began to make some small talk. After a few minutes, they fell silent for a couple of moments. They were too nervous to take the next step. Working up their courage, they were ready to tell each other about how they truly felt.
“Hey, may I ask you something?” they both said at the same time. They were shocked over the fact they said the same thing and stared at each other with wide eyes for a few more seconds before Connor spoke up again.
“You go first Hannah,” offered Connor nervously.
“Well Connor…” stuttered Hannah, equally as nervous, “There’s a secret I’ve been keeping from you and I think you should know about it before we take our relationship further...”
Connor gulped and thought “What was this secret that she had been hiding, and why had she kept it from him all these years?” Hannah then got up from the couch and extended her hand to Connor.
“Come on, let me show you my secret,” said Hannah.
Connor grabbed Hannah’s hand and stood up, following her to wherever she was taking him until they suddenly stopped in front of a door.
“Why are we staring at the door to your storage room?” asked Connor.
“My secret is behind this door,” Hannah answered, slowly opening the door.
It was another peaceful day for Sophia and the residents of Hannah’s Haven. Ever since Hannah rescued her from nearly becoming ant food, Sophia and her grandmother had been living a carefree life. They no longer had to fear being eaten by insects larger than they were, or becoming a red stain under the foot of an unaware human nor did they have to scavenge for resources as Hannah provided everyone food, water, and shelter. However, Sophia had an uneasy feeling in her stomach, as did some of the other town members. Hannah told everybody last night about wanting to introduce the town to Connor. While everybody trusted Hannah, there were those who had doubts about Connor. Nobody could expect the reaction he would have regarding a secret town full of tinies, not even Hannah. Everybody was going about their day until the sound of a door opening broke the peace.
“I don’t know what could be so special about this room, there’s nothing but boxes here,” said Connor before he was shocked by the absence of the wall of boxes that would normally fill his view. In plain sight were the mahogany table and the town. Connor just stared at it before Hannah urged him to go towards it. Walking towards it as Hannah watched from behind, he arrived and looked over the town. His shadow loomed over the town, as if he was a titanic creature stalking the town for prey. The town seemed empty, nothing but a playset at first glance. “What’s so special about this miniature town Hannah?” asked Connor.
“Well you see, it’s what's inside of the town that makes it special…” replied Hannah as she walked towards the table, “It's alright everyone, please come out and say hi!”
“Say hi…?” a puzzled Connor asked. The town remained quiet, not a soul could be seen as the streets were empty and all doors were shut. Soon, Sophia and her grandmother were the first ones to emerge from their homes.
“Don’t be afraid, young lady! Go show Hannah’s boyfriend some respect!” shouted her Grandmother’s tiny voice as she nudged Sophia’s back with her cane.
With the sudden appearance of the tiny girl and her grandmother, Connor became shocked at what he saw. He heard about the sudden existence of a tiny race of humans but knew that the government had outlawed any interaction between humans and tinies. And yet there were two standing in front of him, in his girlfriend’s storage room.
“Hannah… what’s going on here?” asked a concerned Connor.
Getting a nod of approval from her grandmother, Hannah picked up Sophia and held her gently between herself and Connor. “You see Connor, my secret is that I collect tinies and bring them to a safe haven that I’ve created,” she glanced down at Sophia and back to Connor who was still awestruck, “I brought you here because I trust you’ll share the same feeling I have for them.”
“Tinies… you mean that species of tiny humans that escaped from top-secret lab experiments…?” said Connor, “The same ones that are illegal to own or keep hidden from the government?”
“Yes…” said Hannah, tightly gripping her shirt from the cold response.
Connor didn’t know how to process what was happening. One moment he was getting ready to propose to Hannah, the next he found out his girlfriend has been harbouring tinies in her home, a home that Connor has visited many times. He could only look at Hannah and the tiny girl she was holding in shock.
“H-hi Mister Connor,” squeaked a very nervous Sophia, trying to break Connor out of his trance, “Hannah has said many great things about you. I-it would be an honor if you could join us.”
“Its okay to hold her Connor, just be gentle with your grip,” suggested Hannah as she offered Connor a chance to handle her tiny friend.
Connor could only go with what his girlfriend was saying as he slowly grabbed the pint-size girl and held her in his hand. This tiny girl had a stunning figure for somebody so tiny. If she was Hannah’s size, her breast would be a solid C cup. To think such a beautiful girl could exist at that size, and the fact she was in his grasp. Connor, already at a weak mental state, slowly moved his free hand towards the tiny girl. He wanted to look into this tiny girl more. He knew that if he desired it, he could make her do whatever he wanted. His eye pierced into her soul like daggers, making Sophia start to quiver in fear. She started to break out in sweats as she became more afraid of what Connor might do to her. But before he could feel her tiny body, he remembered where he was, and who he was with. Hannah was his girlfriend and he couldn’t betray her trust like this, not on this day. He put his free hand away and brought the girl to his face. “Hi, Miss…”
“Sophia, my name’s Sophia,”
“It's nice to meet you, Sophia,” said Connor as he smiled.
Hannah watched how Connor was handling Sophia. Even though he was the love of her life, even she wasn’t sure how Connor would treat her. She saw Connor slowly move his other hand towards Sophia’s tiny chest. She almost assumed the worst, seeing the state of fear Sophia was in before to her surprise she witnessed Connor display a level of self-control as he pulled his hand back. Not only that but he was trying to make small talk with her! She knew at that moment that he was the one she was looking to spend the rest of her life with. She poked Connor’s shoulder, “Having fun there you two?” she asked the two of them.
Connor was surprised by Hannah’s sudden inclusion and quickly turned his head to her, slightly embarrassed. “Oh, um yeah, Sophia is quite friendly.”
Hannah looked over to Sophia, who was still in Connor’s hand. “You better not be trying to steal my boyfriend away with your charming good looks,” she teased her.
“I-I would never do such a thing!” said an embarrassed Sophia.
The trio shared a laugh before Connor carefully placed Sophia back into the town.
After seeing how friendly Connor was with Sophia, the other residents of Hannah’s Haven emerged from their homes and welcomed Connor into their little community. After a couple of hours of mingling with the locals, Connor and Hannah were ready to leave before Connor stopped Hannah. “I never got a chance to tell you what my secret was,” he said.
“Oh that’s right, what was it?” asked Hannah.
“Well, Hannah… I don’t really know I put this into words. So um…” Connor proceeded to get down on one knee and pulled out a small black box, opening it to reveal the engagement ring hidden inside of it. Hannah could only stand there with her hands covering her mouth as the town full of tinies erupt into a frenzy of cheers. “For the past three years, I have spent my life with you, through every hardship we have faced together, our bond has strengthened. For you to have so much faith in me proves to me that decision I’m about to make is the correct one. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and the people you protect. Hannah Valentine, will you marry me?”
With tears in her eyes, Hannah replied with a hearty “Yes!” before embracing Connor with a kiss.
The couple shared a long passionate kiss as they both knew that they had found their true love for each other.