STAFF ONLY!!!!
The tiny man, known as Elio, shivered in the corner of the stark, tiled room. He was a prisoner, not of walls, but of perspective. The “STAFF ONLY” sign on the door felt like a cruel joke; the staff here were giants.
A shadow fell over him. It was Lyra, a towering woman with a soft face but a daunting presence. She was one of the “staff,” and her size made Elio feel like a mouse in a pantry. She sat down, the floor rumbling slightly under her weight, her gaze fixed on the cowering man.
“Cold?” she asked, her voice a low hum that vibrated through the tiles.
Elio just wrapped his arms tighter around himself, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and awe. He had been captured from the “normal” world, a place where people were all the same size. Here, he was a specimen, a novelty.
Lyra reached a massive hand towards him. Elio flinched, expecting the worst. Instead, she gently placed a folded piece of cloth near him. It was a blanket, a tiny thing by her standards, but a comforter for him.
“You’ll catch your death,” she said, a hint of genuine concern in her voice.
Elio hesitated, then cautiously reached for the blanket. He wrapped it around his small frame, the warmth a welcome relief. He looked up at her, a silent question in his eyes.
“Why are we here?” he finally whispered.
Lyra sighed, a sound like a gentle breeze. “That, little one, is the real mystery.” She smiled sadly. “We are all just waiting for something, aren’t we?”
In that moment, the power dynamic shifted slightly. They were both trapped, one by her size and the other by his, both confined to a world that didn’t make sense. Elio realized that even a giant could feel small.