Witnessing someone else his size get assaulted was a hard memory for Mason to shake. But at the same time, Mason had loved getting out of the house. He always loved it; venturing into the world, as big and daunting as it was, provided such a powerful boost to his psyche that it overrode the worst aspects of the day. So after watching a YouTube video on their local Tinytown, he decided he wanted to broach the subject with his family.
Tinytowns were the colloquial name people had given to various establishments that were primarily designed to house other people Mason’s size. His condition was uncommon, but there were still a hundred million people like him throughout the world, and the practice of like-sized people living in harmony together was something that had been going on since long before society had coined a term for it. Thousands of years ago, there were Native American tribes that comprised of exclusively tiny people, but the concept didn’t become very commonplace until the late 1800s. Back then, they were informal settlements, built in conjunction with certain towns and offered protection in return for tiny people working occupations nobody regular-sized could do. But the term became popularized in the 1950s, when several companies had sprouted up that created facilities where tiny people could pay to live in (similar to nursing homes and assisted living). Many Tinytowns only housed a few hundred to a few thousand people, but Mason’s city happened to be home to the largest in the region, and one of the most well-funded too: Bayview Creek, home to almost 20,000 citizens who looked just like Mason. Even though it was ran by a private company, Bayview was one of the few Tinytowns that relied heavily on federal taxes to fund itself, which meant it wasn’t a closed-off community like many others. Tiny people from all over the country would come to Bayview to visit or vacation for a few days, so for all intents and purposes, it was seen more as a city within a city.
And yet, despite its international status, Mason had never been before. Because Mason was the only tiny person in their family, and regular people weren’t allowed inside for obvious safety reasons, his only option for living there as a minor would’ve been if he’d gone to the facility’s local boarding school, or if Nicole had surrendered her role as his legal guardian and he got placed with foster parents there instead. But most kids didn’t want to voluntarily go to boarding school, and most parents didn’t like the idea of “giving up” their kids, of course, so like many other kids his size, Mason had been raised at home. Technically, ever since he’d turned 13, he’d been legally old enough to visit Bayview on his own. But his mom had worried that letting him visit would make him want to move there, so he’d never been allowed to go. “When you’re an adult and are old enough to make your own decisions, then you can go as often as you want,” she’d always said. But now he’d been an adult for a year, and he still had never gone. His mother had even gotten a job for the company that ran Bayview (being a parent to a tiny person certainly looked good on her resume), but she’d still never taken him. He hoped that that could change with today.
He made his way into the kitchen on Sunday morning, and tried to avoid staring at Mikayla’s skimpy pajamas. Her short shorts looked like barely more than a thong, and her loose white tank-top, which was supposed to be baggy enough to camouflage her curves, might’ve been too baggy, since it displayed enough of her boobs that Mason didn’t need to imagine very hard to remember what they had looked like fresh out of the shower yesterday. After all, Mason was barely one ten thousandth of his sisters’ sizes, so even though he was almost always home, the household felt 99.99% female. Modesty was already something less important around family members, but with such a tiny brother, covering up felt more like a chore Mikayla needed to constantly remind herself of, and she often drifted towards wearing the absolute minimum.
His other sister was dressed a bit more “normally” at least—Skye had on an old gray t-shirt and red sweatpants—and she leaned over to pick him up and set him on the table. “Good morning!” she chimed through her cereal, causing Mikayla to turn and notice her brother.
“Morning,” Mikayla added, turning back around to focus on cooking her eggs.
“Hey, um… I mean first of all, good morning to you guys too,” Mason said, working his way up to asking his sister the big question. He didn’t know how his mother would react if Mikayla took him to Bayview, but he’d purposefully waited until after his mom had left before coming in the kitchen. “I had a favor to ask you, kinda… about whether—”
“Speak up!” Mikayla interrupted him, turning back around so she could pluck him between her fingers and set him on the counter. “It’s hard to hear you over the pan. Also, you want some of my eggs?”
“Sure,” he answered, speaking a bit louder. “But what I was gonna ask you was if you could take me to Bayview Creek today?” Mikayla didn’t say anything at first; he’d never been before, and she knew her mother wouldn’t take him when they were growing up, but she wasn’t sure how their mom felt about the subject now. “I just think that like, after what happened yesterday at that store, it could be good for me to spend some time around other people my size. I mean, at least a day, you know?”
“What happened ‘yesterday at that store?’” Skye asked. “And you’re not planning on living there, right? Also I wanna come, too!”
“I mean, I’ll probably live there one day, you know?” Mason awkwardly said. “Like I love you guys and all, but I don’t really wanna spend the rest of my life living with Mom. And since she barely lets me head out or meet other people, it’s not like I really have any options for a roommate I could trust or something.”
“You could live with me when I move out!” Skye happily offered.
Mason feigned a smile, but it was obvious he wasn’t keen on the idea. “Yeah… maybe,” he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.
“Well I dunno when I’m moving out, but whenever I do, I definitely wanna live on my own,” Mikayla said. That was mainly why she hadn’t moved out yet; she couldn’t afford her own place, so if she had to live with others, she’d rather it be her family. “So if I were you, I’d wanna move out too. Rent’s probably hella cheap at that place too since you guys don’t take up that much room,” she smirked, lightly shoving him with her finger.
“Sooooo… you’ll take me?”
Mikayla scooped her eggs onto her plate, set her brother on its edge, and then carried it back to the kitchen table. “Sure, I’ll take you,” she told her brother as she looked at him, and then looked over to her younger sister, “And yes, obviously you can come too.” Jeez, that was easy, I thought I’d have to convince her or something, Mason thought. I should’ve tried to ask her on my eighteenth birthday.
“Thanks!” the two siblings responded in unison, so the three of them all finished eating breakfast before leaving to finally take Mason to the tiny-sized utopia.
~
Bayview Creek, like most Tinytowns, had a notoriously strict security policy. The actual “city” itself was only about 500 by 500 feet (to tiny people, it was the equivalent of a little under 5 square miles). It wasn’t the largest in terms of physical size, but it still had more inhabitants than any other facility, and as such, needed ample enough protection to keep the residents safe.
It wasn’t actually possible to see inside for normal sized people; Bayview was technically owned by the city, but it was operated by Tildus, a private contractor. Many people lived or visited Bayview as an escape from how large the rest of the world was, so the mini-sized town was surrounded by concrete walls lined with artificial rocks, to make the residents feel like they were in some kind of mix between a valley and a cave. The ceiling was made out of a thick glass, which meant it never rained. But that was a good thing, since rain drops could be dangerous to most 3-inch tall people. It wasn’t actually possible to simulate rain at a small enough size for the town’s little citizens, so in the interest of wanting to make the place still feel “real,” there were hidden nozzles all around the premises that would initiate misting sessions every so often, sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for several hours. Which meant Bayview’s residents were some of the only people in the world who could rely on weather forecasts that were always 100% accurate.
For the most part, the citizens of Bayview did their own maintenance throughout the town. Electricians, plumbers, garbage collectors, landscapers—hundreds of tiny people filled those roles and more, all working to keep Bayview running just like any normal city. But in case of emergencies, there was a regular-sized door located at the edge of town, blended into the wall to try and not draw attention to itself. It almost never needed to be used though; the last time it had opened was almost two years ago when there had been a fire in the main facility, and the thousands of civilians had had to evacuate the building. Sometimes, if there were problems too big or expensive for Bayview to handle themselves, then a maintenance worker for Tildus would come in and help clean up (like when the artificial river than ran through Cherry Park accidentally overflowed and caused an enormous amount of damage). But most residents wanted to keep interaction with the outside world to a minimum, so unless there was an issue that’d cost thousands of dollars or take weeks to rectify, Bayview preferred to try handling things on their own.
Tildus’ offices were adjacent to Bayview, in such a manner that they practically surrounded the town and acted as a secondary barrier for entry. And the entire property itself was surrounded by tall, barbed-wire fences, with security personnel patrolling 24/7. In a lot of ways, the level of security was comparable to a sports stadium, although it accommodated a lot less people and was laid out over a slightly larger area.
After arriving and parking the car in the unusually spacious parking lot, Mikayla held Mason in her palm as she and Skye got out of the car, and the three of them surveyed their surroundings. The lot was entirely flat, with very smooth pavement, and although there weren’t any raised sidewalks, there were rows of steep curbs that outlined sets of safe walking paths for tiny people. It was hardly even possible for cars to accidentally (or purposefully) bump over the curbs. “Jeez, looks pretty safe,” Mikayla commented, surprised with the level of care taken to protect the safety of tiny people. There was even a red-painted section on the sides of the sidewalks intended for tinies to walk on, so they could keep out of the way and avoid getting accidentally kicked or stepped on.
At the front and center of the building was the entrance to the lobby, with glass doors directly across front of the sidewalk, only 6 inches tall. There were regular sized doors too, but they were pointedly off to the side. Unlike most of the world, a world built for people five or six or even seven feet tall, the goal at Bayview was to make tiny people feel like they were the priority.
Taking the side entrance, Skye and Mikayla were surprised at how many tiny citizens there were walking around inside. Some were even driving cars like the one Mikayla had bought her brother yesterday at the mall. Although the little citizens were less noticeable, there were easily more of them mingling around than there were normal-sized people, so Mikayla and Skye had to be extra careful about where they stepped. Dozens of three-inch-tall people milled around at the two sisters’ feet, although many strayed to the walls of the room out of habit.
Mikayla had to stop herself suddenly as she realized she was about to run into a row of tiny people. There were almost a dozen of them, and they were all in a line helping each other carry two long shoelaces stacked on top of each other, like firemen lugging a giant hose. She had no idea why they were transporting something so silly into the town, so she rolled her eyes and was about to step over them when a shrunken girl below her let out a frightened squeak.
The giant girl stopped mid-step and put her foot back down, as the other girl at her feet started rambling about how rude and inconsiderate Mikayla was being. Mason’s sister scoffed; “What the fuck is she rambling about?” she asked her brother, lifting him up like she demanded an explanation.
Mason was used to his sister’s moodiness (other than her family, she was frequently annoyed by most people, no matter how big or small they were), so he wasn’t easily phased by her quick temper and tried to explain. “Some tinies don’t like when big people try to step over them, since historically, sizist people used to purposefully kill tiny people by squishing them, especially under their feet, right? So some people prefer bigs to step around them instead of over.”
Mikayla scrunched her face up at the proposition. “That’s fuckin stupid. I tease you like that all the time and you’ve never cared, and I was literally just trying to walk. Like honestly… I was walking.” Mason shrugged; he hadn’t expected to change her mind anyways, he was just explaining how the other girl felt.
“You know,” Mikayla sneered down to the girl, “just cuz your body’s fragile doesn’t mean your personality has to be too.” Then she lifted her foot up again and proceeded to step over the line of people, causing several of the girl’s friends to chime in their anger over how unnecessarily rude Mikayla was being. “Oh no, I stepped over you guys, ahhhh,” she said with mock concern. “I sure hope you don’t call the cops on me for my discriminatory method of traveling,” she added sarcastically, and then rolled her eyes and turned back around as several of the tinies cursed the indifferent giant under their breath.