Shrink Me Now
By Astrogator
 
 
 

 "Thank you for helping me, Roger," Lindsay said. "It is good of you to give up your sunday afternoon to help me clean out the attic."

 "It’s okay, Lindsay," Roger said. "I am glad you called. I really wanted to see you."

 Lindsay laughed. "I am afraid it’s not much fun, but at least we can keep each other company while we work. Take those boxes down to the back porch, would you?"

 "Yes, Lindsay, right away," Roger said. He picked up a big box of books and lugged it slowly down the attic stairs.

 It took a couple of hours, but finally all of the junk from the attic was stacked on the back porch. "What are you going to do with all this stuff, Lindsay?" Roger asked.

 "I am going to put them back in the attic," Lindsay said, smiling.

 Roger’s jaw dropped open. "You don’t mean...."

 "Don’t worry. Wait till you see the latest household appliance. It will make things easy ." Lindsay walked to a large white box that resembled a refrigerator. "Look what this does," she said. She opened the door. "Just put as many of the boxes in here as you can," she said.

 Roger lugged the boxes a few feet and put them inside the big white box until it interior was stacked with big heavy boxes. "What is this thing? A trash compactor?"

 Lindsay grinned. "No, watch." She closed the door and pushed a red button on the door. There was a humming sound which lasted a few seconds. Lindsay opened the door and looked inside. "It worked," she said. "Look at that."

 Roger looked inside. The interior was empty---no, there was something on the floor. He looked closer and saw that it was the boxes he had stacked inside, but now shrunk to one tenth their orginal size. "Incredible." He picked one up. "They weigh practically nothing now. But what if you want to read one of these books."

 "It’s simple," said Lindsay. "You close the door and push the green button. All of the shrunken objects inside are returned to normal size." She gathered up the little boxes and said, "You go ahead and shrink the rest of them. I’ll take these back up to the attic. You see how it works?"

 Roger nodded. It was really amazing, and quite fascinating.

Lindsay started into the house, but at the door, she turned and came back. "Don’t shrink these jars," she said, pointing to one of the boxes. "I’ll need them later."

 Roger set the box of jars aside and Lindsay took the shrunken boxes back to the attic.

 When Lindsay returned, he had all of the boxes shrunk and he was holding them in his hands. "Put them down on the table for a minute," Lindsay said. "I have an idea."

 "What’s that?" Roger said.

 She glanced downward, shyly. "Why don’t you go inside the machine and let me shrink you."

 "God no!" Roger said.

 "It’s okay," Lindsay said. "There is no danger."

 "But something terrible could happen to me while I was shrunk," Roger said. "It’s too dangerous."

 "Nothing will happen," said Lindsay. "I’ll be right here."

 "No, I don’t think so," Roger said, shaking his head.

 "Just for a minute," said Lindsay. "Just one little minute. Then you can go back inside and I’ll unshrink you. It is perfectly safe."

 "Famous last words," Roger said. "No, we better not do it."

 Lindsay pouted. "Oh, come on, Roger. Won’t you do it just for me? I thought you liked me."

 "I do, Lindsay," Roger said. "I like you a lot. But it is just too dangerous."

 "But wouldn’t it be fun?" Lindsay said. "Wouldn’t you like to see what I would look like as the fifty foot woman?"

 Roger pondered. That was an intriguing idea, but.... "No, it’s too risky, Lindsay."

 "Just for one little minute," Lindsay said. "Only sixty seconds. You don’t even have to come out of the box. I’ll just open the door and look at you, then close it and unshrink you. How could anything go wrong?"

 "Something might go wrong with the machine," Roger said. "Then where would I be? Sorry, Lindsay, I really would like to do it, just to make you happy, but it would be just too stupid."

 Lindsay heaved a sigh. "All right. If that is the way you want it. I’ll prove to you there is nothing to be afraid of." She opened the door of the machine and stepped inside. "Go ahead, Roger. Shrink me. Now."

 "No, Lindsay, I can’t."

 "Please."

 "No."

 "Pretty please."

 "No, don’t do this, Lindsay."

 "If you do as I ask, I’ll have a nice surprise for you tonight," Lindsay said, smiling.

 "Tonight? What about tonight?"

 "Well, I was thinking that tonight, you could come over and have dinner with me and then, well, maybe you could mmmm, hang around?"

 "Tonight?" Roger said, his mouth suddenly dry.

 "Tonight, Roger."

 He swallowed. "Are you just doing this so I’ll let you shrink me?"

 She opened her eyes wide with dismay. "Of course not. I have been watching you for a long time, going in and out next door everyday. We are both lonely people, Roger. It’s about time we got together. Wouldn’t you like that?"

 Roger licked his lips. "Yes, I would...."

 "All right, then, close the door and shrink me," she said. "Then open the door and see your little girl friend. You’ll have to look quick though, because after sixty seconds, you will close the door and restore me to normal size. Then, I will do the same exact thing to you. Is it agreed?"

 Roger said, "Allright."

 Lindsay started to pull the door shut, but Roger stopped her. "One condition--"

 "What now?" she interrupted, a note of warning in her voice. Hastily, Roger said, "I’ll go first."

 "No, no," Lindsay said. "I’ll go first, just so you will know there is no danger."

 "It’s not necessary," Roger said. "If your not afraid to do it, then I am not afraid. I insist on going first."

 Lindsay pouted again. "You are so stubborn, Roger. All right, if you insist on playing the hero, you can go first." She stepped out of the machine and stood watching him.

 Roger stepped inside. "All right, let’s get it over with."

 "It will be over before you know it," Lindsay said, and closed the door. It was pitch black inside.

 Roger was startled at the loud huming noise that suddenly began. He felt nothing, except a sense of lightness, but the huming noise go louder and deeper. After awhile, the sound stopped and he stood in silence. Nothing had happened, it seemed. Then Lindsay opened the door. A seventy foot shaft of light appeared first and then everything was fully lit. Lindsay stood in the seventy foot door way looking down at him, a fifty foot giantess. Roger simply stared at the incredible sight and Lindsay stared back at him. He began to feel dizzy. "That’s enough, Lindsay," he shouted. "Close the door and unshrink me."

 Lindsay did not answer and she did not close the door. She bent down and put out her huge hand. "Lindsay don’t!" Roger shouted. "Don’t fool around!" He tried to avoid her hand, but he was cornered and she caught him and lifted him up.

 Roger fought against panic as he was suspended forty feet in the air, his legs hanging beneath her hand. "Careful! Don’t drop me! Don’t drop me!" he yelled.

 Lindsay reached into a cardboard box and took out a jar, then lowered Roger inside. She stared down at him with a cool, possessive stare.

 "What are you doing? Stop playing games!" Roger yelled up at her, as she gazed down at him, unsmiling and calm. "Put me back in the machine. Unshrink me, please!"

 Lindsay said nothing. He saw her huge hand come down toward him holding something big, flat, and round. "Why," he bawled, as she lowered the lid onto the jar. "Why?"

End