Kate came back home in a hurry, closing the door behind her with an unusual force. She removed her shoes and socks, went up the stairs and locked herself in her bedroom, this time treating the door with much more gentleness, because she knew her behavior downstairs had already attracted too much attention from her family. Unless they weren't home yet, which she hoped. The last thing she needed right now was a so-called ''family roundtable'' where she had to lie and pretend that her mother, father and sister's insights were actually helping her.

She took a kleenex with her left hand and dried the tears hiding behind her glasses. She sat down on her computer chair and started to immerse herself into the virtual world, making a desperate effort to make the memories of the day disappear from her mind.

Games, news, chatting, forums, cute kittens on Youtube, - anything would be better than...

Sure enough, it took less than an hour for the images and words from the previous afternoon to come back with a vengeance.

''Freak show'', one voice said.

''Total nutcase. She'll do anything for attention'', sneered another.

''Nice dress, fattie.''

And then the laughter. Oh, the laughter. About a dozen voices giggling at her, each second of it hurting like a punch to the gut, then and now. But it wasn't even the worst part. The worse part was an apology.

''I'm sorry Kate, I'm so sorry. They made me. I didn't think it would be like this...'', whispered Delilah, her best friend. Tears were starting to appear in her eyes, but she brushed them away. ''And you know... you're not fat.''

The young woman cried even more. Like the jokes on her slightly above-average weight were what mattered.

''Yeah, suuure. I got humiliated, my best friend betrayed me, I'll never be able to look at any of these girls in the eyes ever again, but hey, I'm not fat! That's something to be happy about! Why am I complaining, really ?'' cried Kate at her computer screen, wishing she could have said it back to Delilah at that moment.

She was now sobbing harder than ever, the Kleenex box besides her. The reality of the situation was truly hitting home. She was alone, again. No best friend (in truth, no friends at all). No group. Nothing to look forward to. The next few years of college were going to be just like the previous ones, who were just like high school. A lonely, sad purgatory full of boredom and the occasional bully, who always appeared at the precise moment when she thought her life was starting to get bearable.

There was never going to be any rest for her, she thought. It's true what they say, she thought: Hell is other people.

After she stopped crying, she took a quick hot shower, put on her pajamas, then laid on her bed for a few moments, trying to relax. If navigating the Internet was not going to work, then maybe emptying her brain without any distractions could. She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on her heartbeat, then on her breathing.

It was actually working better than her computer. She almost felt at peace for a moment.

Then the unbelievable happened. Something - someone - touched her cheek. It was a tiny hand, easily small enough to enter her nostril. She opened her eyes. A tiny man, about 5 inches tall, was standing on her bed. He looked about the same age as she was. He didn't seem to mind that he was completely naked, nor the fact that Kate was more than twelve times his size and infinitely stronger than him. However, his voice did shake a little when he finally spoke.

''Um... Hi there. P-Please don't scream. I'm not sure my ears could take it.''

''What the...''

Kate sat up immediately and put herself as far away as she could from the small creature she just saw while staying on her bed. The sudden movement knocked the tiny man off his feet. She watched in awe as he slowly got back up, checked if he had any bruises or injuries, then dismissed it by a wave of his hand, as if to say ''I'm okay!''. Then he spoke, in a voice that Kate had trouble understanding, even though she was only a few feet away.

''I'm sorry. I must have startled you. My name is Mark. You must be Kate.''

Kate answered, still in disbelief. ''Oh my God. You're totally real. I'm not dreaming or anything. What happened to you? Are you even human? How long have you been like this? How do you know my name? Why...''

''Please Kate,'' he interrupted gently. ''I know you have a lot of questions, and I'd be more than happy to answer them, but I'm not quite comfortable doing it here, since I basically have to yell for you to understand me. Maybe you could take me to your computer desk, and we can talk there more easily.

''Sure.'' She slowly approached her hand towards Mark. She started by touching his head with her finger, then slowly descended to his chest and arms.

''I still can't believe it. You're real.''

''Yeah, you've said that before,'' he replied, smiling. Kate let out a nervous laugh.

''I'm afraid of hurting you if I grab you. Here, maybe it will be easier like this.'' She opened her hand in front of him, and he quickly got on her palm. ''He can fit in my hand'' Kate thought. ''This is insane...''

She sat down on her computer chair and let Mark climb down from her hand to her desk. ''Can you hear me okay?'' Mark asked.

''Yeah, much better now.''

''Good. So... I believe you have a couple of questions for me. And I do owe you an explanation for being in your bedroom.''

Kate was beginning to feel more relaxed. Looking at Mark, however, it didn't last.

''Oh dear... you're naked! You must be cold, and you must want something to wear. Let me check.'' She began to get up, but Mark interrupted.

''No no, don't bother, it's fine. I don't mind being naked.'' When he saw the giantess raise an eyebrow, he quickly added ''...Well, not anymore. I mean, I've been stuck like this for months now. To be honest, the fact that I'm naked completely slipped my mind. You just forget about it after a while... But I understand it makes you feel uncomfortable. I'll cover myself up, no problem. I'll make myself something to wear... Do you have a Kleenex I can take? And a needle?''

''What? Oh, sure.'' She answered. She already had the tissue in hand, and just happened to have a few spare needles in one of her drawers. ''Here you go.''

''Thanks. Now, let's see if I remember how to do that...''

After a few minutes of folding and ripping, and the occasional help from Kate, Mark was now wearing a perfectly acceptable loincloth made of one third of a Kleenex, the needle safely tied to his side.

''This may come in handy,'' he said, looking at it. ''In case a cockroach or a spider attacks me when you're not around.''

''Yeah... So, you still haven't explained what you were doing in my room,'' Kate said, smiling.

''Oh, sorry about that. As I've said before, I've been like this for a few months or so. Or at least it felt like months. I've tried to survive in the streets, with varying degrees of success. Then I decided that, tiny or not it would be safer for me to sneak inside a house. Best decision I ever made!'' He smiled.

''I figure. Food must be a lot easier to get. And there's much less critters. So how long have you been in our house?''

''About two weeks, I think. For the first week, I've stayed downstairs. Food was abundant for sure, but I was always afraid your parents might discover me. They aren't the nicest people, are they?''

''Well, actually, they're not that b... No, you're right, they're not,'' Kate replied grimly.

''Sorry about that. Anyway, after a while I managed to catch a ride upstairs on your little sister's foot. Took all the strength in my body to hang on. Fortunately and almost miraculously, she did not notice me. I stayed in her room for about two days, until I found out she wasn't allowed to bring food into her room. So I moved in yours, so to speak.''

''Wow. That must have been pretty bad. I hope you're eating well here.''

''Are you kidding? You almost never eat downstairs. I always had plenty of crumbs to eat from.''

''I don't know if I must take that as a thanks, or as a sign that I'm a pig when I eat, making a huge mess.'' She laughed. ''So, I'm still curious... How did you shrink?''

Mark began to answer, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

''Kate? It's me! Coming!''

''Oh no... Mark, it's my sister. You've gotta hide.''

Kate looked at Mark's tiny form, who seemed unable to move. Without thinking, she grabbed him and put him inside her pajamas' left pocket. The door opened.

''All right Kate, mom and dad want you to come down. One of those family meetings they love so much.''

''Great. Can't you tell them I'm sleeping or something?''

''We all heard you talk to your Internet friend or whatever. Couldn't quite make out what was said, but they know you're not sleeping.''

Kate sighed. ''All right. Coming.''

She put her hand inside her pocket and rubbed Mark's back with her finger. Then she went down the stairs to the dining room where her parents were waiting for her, walking as slowly as she could, partly because of concern for the person she was carrying, but also because she really, really didn't want to be there. Her plump, short-haired mom greeted her.

''Evening, darling. Sit down, we need to talk.''

''You mean, you need to talk to me, and I must listen if I know what's good for me,'' Kate thought. She wished she had the guts to actually say it.

''We let you choose which school you wanted to go to,'' began her mother. ''We also let you choose which program you wanted. You can't say we didn't give you free roam on this. And what do we learn? That you hate it, it seems. You don't go to your classes most of the time, and you don't even listen when you do. You don't do your homework. You basically waste your days at the library or the cafeteria. Now, I hope you understand this isn't appropriate behavior, especially from a fine young lady like you.''

Kate nodded unenthusiastically.

''Are you even listening to me?''

''I... um... ''

''You see, Kate, life isn't just about leisure and free time. We expect you to study in order for you to choose a career. You are very, very lucky. You know that, right? Your family is pretty well-off. You know, to pay for things like food, clothes, rent ?''

''I know, mom. I'm not stupid.''

''Don't talk to me like that. It would be nice of you to at least act like you're thankful to us, and everything we did for you. Isn't this worth a little something? What do you think?''

''I... I...''

She wanted to say so many things, but couldn't. Fear was gripping in her stomach, and tears were starting to form in her eyes.

''Oh, no. Don't start this with us.'' Her mother rolled her eyes and started playing an imaginary violin. ''Listen. It never worked with us, and never will. Don't play the big drama queen.''

Anger started to mix with the fear and sadness. Unable to take anymore, Kate got up and ran back to her room, smashing the door behind her.

When she was back on her computer chair, a rush of fear and guilt passed through her like a sword. She reached for her pocket, picked up Mark and put him back on the computer desk. He sat down, looking slightly confused.

''I'm sorry for running! Oh geez, are you okay?''

''Yeah, I'll be fine. Felt a bit like a roller coaster. Remember, I climbed here on your sister's foot. I'm used to hanging on. It's you that I'm worried about. You gonna be okay?''

Kate was wiping her tears. ''... I guess. She does that all the time. You'd think I'd be used to it by now''

''I'm sorry.'' He got up and walked to her hand, a few inches away from where he was. He sat down again, then put his hand on her thumb. ''I wish I could hug you. You really need it right now.''

''Thanks... We can talk more about it later, okay? I really need to think of something else now.''

Mark nodded. ''I can understand that. So... You asked me how I shrank, if I remember rightly?''

Kate's face quickly shifted to a curious look. ''Yeah. It's like the weirdest thing I've ever seen. Is it magic? Someone cursed you?''

''That's about right. It's magic, and it's a curse. However, you may be surprised to learn that... it was me who did the curse. Voluntarily.''

''Y-you did that to yourself? But why?''

''I was sick of my life. I couldn't take it anymore. I think you know that feeling. Well, for me, this was an escape. ... The funny thing is, I didn't plan to shrink myself. The spell was supposed to permanently turn me into a mouse.''

''...Wow. So what happened?''

''I tried modifying the spell. You may know this, mice only live a few years, tops. So, with my limited knowledge of magic, I tried to turn myself into a mouse that had the life expectancy of a human. It worked, at least for a while. But after a few weeks or so, the spell did a weird thing. It changed me back to human form... but not to human size.''

''Incredible... Is there any way to reverse the spell?''

Mark looked suddenly uncomfortable. He looked around the room for a moment, then replied ''Not that I know of. Remember, I was planning to spend the rest of my life as a mouse. There might be some way to change me back, I guess, but I don't know it.''

''Oh. I see. Well, thanks for the story, Mark.''

She yawned.

''I think I'm going to go to bed now. I don't have a bed for you, but let's see...''

She pulled a few tissues from their box, folded them and placed them in front of her tiny friend.

''This will have to do for now. Sorry, all my doll houses are in my sister's room. I guess I could ask her to borrow one of them, but it would sound weird, wouldn't it?''

''Agreed. Don't worry, your Kleenex bed is perfectly fine for now. Um... Do you mind if I remove my loincloth for sleeping? I just don't want to accidentally harm myself with the needle during the night.''

''Oh, no problem. See? I'm already not looking.'' She turned off the lights, then got on her bed, looking away. ''Good night, Mark!''

''Good night, Kate!'' yelled Mark, just to be sure she heard him.

''Mark did this to himself,'' Kate thought, lying in her bed. ''In some sense, I admire him for doing that. I wish I had the courage to do the same. I wish I could just... Escape.''

After these thoughts, she fell asleep.

Kate was opening the school doors. Her head was held down, and her clothing was the usual t-shirt and jeans duo. For some reason, she was feeling like something wasn't quite right. The air she was breathing smelled weird, the fabric of her clothes felt unusual and she was a bit dizzy. She pushed her glasses up and walked to her locker.

Suddenly, someone poked her from behind. She turned around and saw her former friend, Delilah.

''Hello.'' she said, smiling.

''Don't talk to me,'' answered Kate. ''Did you forget what you did to me yesterday?''

Delilah laughed.

''Oh, boy, no, I remember *perfectly*! And if you think what happened to you yesterday was bad, believe me, today I'll give you something you'll never fucking forget.''

''W-w-what do you mean?''

''Oh, poor little Kate, haven't you noticed yet?''

''What...?''

Kate looked down to see her pants had dropped to the floor. Her glasses also fell from her nose - she just barely had time to catch them. She looked up, way up, to see Delilah's face looking down on her. Her panties followed her pants to the floor as her breathing accelerated. Horrified, she finally realized what was going on: She was shrinking.

''So... Have you figured it out yet?''

She started running away, but tripped over her shoes and socks, which were now way too big for her. She got back up and started screaming as Delilah picked her up.

''Oh, look at you, you're so cute'' she said, delighted. ''You're no bigger than a five year old. I'm sure Cath and the girls would love to see you like this.''

At this point, Kate panicked. There was no way she was going to be seen like this. She struggled with all her strength and managed to free herself from Delilah's grip. Now only wearing her t-shirt, Kate ran as fast as she could, looking for somewhere to hide.

As she was running, however, it became apparent that she was still dwindling by the second. Her only piece of clothing was now becoming heavier and heavier. It was slowing her down. Her face red with embarrassment, she decided to leave all modesty aside and take her t-shirt off. She looked around and figured she had to be less than 2 feet tall, and still shrinking.

She ran to the ladies' washroom. It wasn't perfect and could be disgusting, but she felt it could be a decent hiding place. She hid behind a trash can, her nude body shivering with both fear and cold.

It didn't take long for Kate to be reduced to about 3 inches tall. She was shaking from head to toe, with terrifying thoughts about shrinking down to nothingness. Then, something quite weird happened - not as weird as her shrinking, but still. Delilah walked into the washroom. It was not, however, the same Delilah Kate escaped from a few minutes ago. She was wearing different, brighter clothing and seemed slightly thinner. Her black hair was also quite longer, arriving down to her waist. She seemed to know exactly where Kate was. She went down to her knees right in front of the trash can.

''I know you're there, Kate'' she said. Her voice was also different. It seemed calmer, nicer and, strangely enough, younger. ''I know what happened is my fault. I'm very, very sorry. I led you into a trap, now you need my help and I want to give it to you. Just come out, and I'll get you out of here.''

Tears were appearing in Kate's eyes as she lost another inch. She didn't move, however. She still wasn't trusting Delilah.

''I'm sorry, Kate. I'm so sorry!'' She started crying and ran away, her footsteps echoing in the tiny woman's ears like small explosions. Kate looked around. If she was going to keep shrinking, she needed to find help, and fast. She began to run back to the hallways, praying to encounter a teacher she could trust.

Then a horrible yet familiar feeling surfaced. She was engulfed in a massive shadow, then lifted many stories high in a split second. She looked in terror to see a gigantic face smiling mischievously at her.

''Hi there, Kate. I guess we can't call you ''fattie'' anymore, can we? ''Microbe'' would be more fitting now.''

The shrunken girl looked around and saw about half a dozen giantesses staring at her, some of them smiling, others laughing. Embarrassed, terrified and humiliated, Kate tried to cover her nudity with her hands.

''How cute. You don't want us to see your boobs, microbe?'' one giantess asked. ''Or maybe it's your ass you're shy about?'' Saying that, she poked the tiny girl's exposed rear. She burst into tears.

The female colossi started to sing an insulting song to Kate, but she didn't hear any of it. Shrinking faster and faster, she coiled up in a fetal position and wept silently, now less than half an inch tall, the giantess's hand now as wide as a gymnasium, the laughter still ringing in her ears, her tormentors, although less than two feet away, now looking like distant mountains...

-----------

She woke up in sweat, breathing heavily. She touched her chest and waist to make sure she was still wearing her pajamas. After making sure she was the same size as she was when she went to bed, she took some deep breaths, then got up. She sat down on her computer chair to look down at Mark, who was still sleeping. Overcome with sympathy and affection for the tiny man, she started touching him as slightly as she could in order not to wake him up. She whispered:

''Thanks for the nightmare, little man.''

She then realized he was naked, his loincloth lying a couple of inches away from him. Unlike the first time they met however, it did not embarrass her to see him unclad. On the contrary, she felt even closer to him. She gently turned him on his back and gave him the softest kiss she could muster on his tiny chest. It did not wake him up. With a sad smile, Kate went back to her bed.

''You know, Mark, I was thinking...'' she thought just before going back to sleep, ''I must be so big to you. If only you knew how small I feel... How small I am everywhere else.''

For the following three months, nothing much happened, though Kate and Mark's happiness levels rose significantly. Kate would go to school and tell Mark everything that had happened there when she got back home She was still bullied regularly, but having ears that actually listen to her was soothing in a way Kate couldn't even put into words.

However, one thing was bugging the student's mind. Coming back home that day sad and confused, Mark knew exactly what happened.

"Again?" Mark asked rethorically.

"What do you think."

"It's the sixth time this month I think?"

"Eighth time, in fact", Kate responded, throwing a familiar-looking piece of paper on the table in Mark's direction.

Mark looked at the piece of paper as large as he is. It read the same two words as usual: "Sorry!!!! - Delilah".

"I just don't know what to think, Mark... She hurt me more than any of the friends I've had in my life... Should I forgive her?"

"I don't know if I'm the most qualified to advise you about that."

Kate smiled.

"Oh, I think you are. You're my best friend."

Mark was at a loss of what to say. He ended up not saying anything, but part of him was truly moved by what she said. This voice in his head was saying, in disbelief, "...  We're friends?"

The tiny man thought for a moment as Kate's giant index finger stroked his back. He was being ridiculous. They have been talking every night for the past 3 months, of course they were friends! "I guess my brain isn't good at picking up the signs?" he pondered internally.

"Mark? You okay?"

"... Yeah, yeah, sorry, lost my train of thought. Anyway, I think the best thing is to trust your gut. Do you want to give her another chance?"

"... Yes." Kate sighed.

"Do you trust her?"

"I don't know..."

"Don't ask your head. Ask your heart. Do you trust her?"

The giantess' eyes filled with tears.

"I... don't. But I want to! I want my friend back. I'd do anything... If only there was a way to know if she's sincere or not without risking..."

"Humiliation," concluded Mark.

Kate cried for a few minutes. When she stopped, Mark started speaking again in an hesitant tone. He stood up to make himself look more confident, which failed miserably both due of his size and because his tissue loincloth fell to his feet as soon as he stood up. He considered picking it up, but decided against it. He wanted to be as vulnerable as possible with his friend, perhaps to compensate the fact that he was about to reveal that he sort of lied to her. Naked as the day he was born, he stepped over his loincloth and looked at his friend in the eye.

"You know, Kate, there might be a way to test her trustworthiness. There's... something I haven't told you... There is a way to break my curse. Well, not for me, I made sure nothing could get me back to normal size... But I am able to do something to help you."

"... I'm listening," Kate said with a hint of fear in her voice.

"... I can... give my curse to someone else. Make them shrink down to my size."

Kate's mouth lay half-open.

"You can... shrink other people?!"

"And animals. If a cat threatened me, I could just have shrunken it to bug-size.  A good defence, But yeah... " Mark put his tissue loincloth back on. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before now... I was worried of how you'd react..."

"It's okay, I understand. ... But..." Kate blushed. "Can I admit something to you too?"

"Sure?" The shrunken man replied. skeptical but curious.

"Since I met you, I've had dreams about shrinking almost every night. At first they were nightmares - I dreamed of being ant-sized while Cat and the others bullied me... but lately they've been different."

"Different how?"

"... I was with you. Being small isn't so bad when I'm with you... Last dream I had, we were living as roommates in a dollhouse, and my sister provided for the two of us. It was... pleasant. It wasn't a nightmare anymore... I'd even go so far as to say I loved it. I guess what I mean is... If you can... Can you shrink me?"

"What!?!?" Mark shouted, in disbelief.

"You can reverse it, right?"

"I won't put you in danger like that!"

 

"Can you reverse the spell or not?"

 

"Well, yes, yes. Of course. But I..."

 

"Then there is no danger, Mark," Kate replied with an unusual assertiveness. "We're not on the street. We're in my room. You shrink me, I see how it feels like, then you grow me back. Simple as that! There's no danger."

"I don't know..."

"How about this: I want to give you a real hug. Not just you hugging my finger. I want to be held in your arms... I want  to hug my best friend. Is that too much to ask?

This hit home deep for the tiny man. "I'll admit... this is a compelling argument. But still... It's weird to think that I gave myself the ability to shrink living creatures only for self-defense reasons... and now I'm going to use it on my only friend in the world, Are you sure about this, Kate?"

"...Yes, I am" answered Kate with a shaking voice. "So... how do you do it?"

Still somewhat reluctantly, Mark said:

"Give me your finger."

She extended her pinky towards him. The shrunken man grabbed it with both hands, and let the magic flow within him towards his friend.

"It might hurt a little... or just feel weird. I'm not sure how the transfer feels."

"It's weird... kinda like little electric shocks in my bones... Hey! I think it's working! My clothes feel a bit loose..."

And indeed Mark could see that the giantess was quickly losing inches. Her glasses were the first thing to fall off, followed by her pants dropping to the floor. A few moments later and Kate was disappearing in her  shirt.

At that very moment, Kate's door flew open.

"Kate! You here?" A child's voice yelled. "It's family roundtable time again!"

The younger sister then noticed the pile of clothes on the floor... And that something was moving inside it.

"What the...?"