I could move my entire body again, thank God, but that was about the only reassuring thing to have happened to me overnight. My old clothes were now far too large for me to wear and my whole body could easily fit through my shirt’s collar. The blankets above me had similarly expanded in size and it was only with difficulty that I could crawl out from under them. Then I looked up and saw the bars of the baby’s crib I was in rising over 70 feet above my head, and I knew I had been shrunk down a lot more than I thought I’d be. The gaps between the bars were now amply big enough for me to slip through, but I was too frightened to do so, not knowing how far I’d fall to the floor below. I was feeling pretty terrified, lost in this massive new environment, but help was on the way.

My mom appeared above me and her incredible size amazed me. A gigantic arm reached down into the crib and the enormous fingers on the end of it gently curled around my naked body. I wanted to protest, but I was honestly too stunned by the scale of everything around me to do so. Mom was careful to not injure me, thank goodness, and I was soon placed in the centre of her palm, where I curled up and tucked my knees under my chin. I still felt cold, exposed and afraid, but seeing Mom’s gigantic face smiling at me helped a lot. I waved timidly up at her and she gave me a little wave back.

“Good morning, my dear little Ben!” she said. “Well, you’ve certainly changed quite a bit overnight, wouldn’t you say? I assume everything must look pretty terrifying to you at the moment, but don’t you worry, I’ll make sure you get used to your new size in no time. So, tell me, how does it feel being as small as my thumb?”

“N-not bad,” I whimpered. My voice sounded faint even to my own ears, but I was glad to see that my mom could clearly hear me. She held me up a little closer to her face.

“That’s good to hear, sweetheart,” she replied. “Do you feel a need to use the bathroom right now?”

“No, thanks,” I said, a little more confidently, though it still sounded like a whimper. “I’m just really hungry, that’s all. And really cold…and naked.”

“Yes, that last part I can see,” she chuckled. “Of course, I’ll help you with breakfast soon, but you know the drill by now – I’ve got to measure you first. Yes, I know it must feel degrading to be measured like this, but it’s necessary, as I’ve told you before.”

“No, it’s fine, Mom, really. Just…please be careful, okay? You…you look so huge…”

Her expression changed to one of empathy.

“I understand,” she said. “And I know you trust me, so I’ll do my best to make it quick and painless. Now, I don’t want Emily to see you yet, or else she’ll be clamouring to get her hands on you all the time, so I’ll take you down to my study in secret. How does riding in my coat pocket sound?”

“Sounds great,” I replied. Mom placed the tips of her thumb and index fingers on either side of my miniature body and delicately picked me up, pinning my arms against my sides as she did so. She was wearing a grey tweed coat with a large breast pocket, which she dropped me into. It was a soft landing and, to my delight, it was a lot warmer in here than outside. I was too short to see outside her pocket, but I could see her giant face above me, looking down at me and confirming I was okay. I waved up at her to show that I was fine, then lay down on my side in a corner of the pocket and relaxed. Already I was feeling a lot more secure and at ease, despite my miniscule size and the fact I had nothing to wear for now. But Mom would take care of that, like she always did.

“This week could actually be even more fun than the last one,” I thought to myself as Mom began to walk to her study. “I can’t wait for Kara to see me like this. She’s gonna freak out completely, I know it.”

Once we were in her study, Mom shut the door behind her. Then she sat down at the desk and opened up the pocket to look inside. With her other hand she reached inside and took me out, then placed me down on top of a large book that was lying on her desk. I immediately curled up again, still much too embarrassed to let her see my whole body naked. But she insisted that I lie down at full length.

“You’ll just have to cover yourself with your hands, I’m afraid,” she said. “I’m sorry, but I need a full-length measurement.”

I grudgingly agreed and did as I was told. She took out a strange instrument from a desk drawer, which I realized was a metallic pair of callipers for taking measurements. Mom told me I was now too small to measure accurately with a normal ruler. She opened the jaws of the callipers and placed them around me, then began to slide them towards each other.

“Just tell me when you can feel it touching both your head and the soles of your feet,” she told me.

I yelled “Stop!” once I could feel the calliper’s jaws touching me, and she then recorded the total length.

“51.1 millimetres,” she said. “That’s…just about exactly two inches, I think. Quite a big difference from sixteen inches, huh?”

I was taken aback when I heard just how little I now was. Two inches…that used to be the size of my little finger. Mom also figured out how tall she looked to me now and she told me that it was a little over 200 feet. Yesterday she’d been less than three stories tall from my perspective, but now she was much taller than the Statue of Liberty.

Now it came time to weigh me and my mom carefully picked me up again and put me down on her electronic scale. Again, my littleness came as a shock to me. I weighed just under two grams, about one-fifteenth of an ounce. Even a one-penny coin outweighed me now. But Mom, as usual, saw all the benefits of this situation.

“You’ll barely need any food at all during mealtimes,” she said. “In fact, I’ll probably just buy enough groceries for myself and Emily this week. You won’t need more than a fraction of a gram of food a day. And you’ll be a lot easier to carry around. We won’t need any more baskets or baby seats, or anything like that.”

“Yeah, thank God,” I agreed. “But what about clothes? And where am I gonna sleep? I could barely move the blankets this morning, I felt like I was being crushed!”

“Oh, we’ll find a way to fix that, and any other problems, I’m sure of it. We’ve got the whole of today to get you sorted out and settled into your new lifestyle. Let’s begin with breakfast. You said you were hungry?”

“Yeah, very. Um…can I ride in your pocket again? It just…well, it feels nice and cosy in there.”

“Really? You wouldn’t rather ride on my shoulder? I bet the view from that high up would be great! But I guess the pocket is a lot safer, and that’s the important thing. Come on, I’ll put you back inside.”

I was returned to the warm confines of her coat pocket, where I lay down on my back and waited for Mom to finish her work and take me to breakfast. The shock of being just two inches tall was beginning to wear off and I was starting to familiarize myself with my new world. Soon it’ll all feel normal, or so I hoped.

I was thankfully spared Emily’s attentions at breakfast time, as my little sister was still in her room. Mom made me a jam sandwich and cut off a tiny bit of cheese and a small chunk of an apple for me as well. The miniscule scraps food on the plate she handed to me were still way more than I could eat in one sitting. I picked up the cheese and apple chunks and nibbled at them, marvelling at the change in texture and the way they tasted more intense than usual. As for something to drink, I was given a teaspoon of orange juice – which was at least forty or fifty gallons to me. I was amazed by how little I now needed to eat and drink.

“Isn’t it incredible?” Mom said, after I had finished the world’s smallest breakfast. “Your body mass – and therefore your food requirements – have decreased by a factor of more than forty thousand. I probably eat more food per day than you’ll need for the rest of your life, if you were to stay this small. Now, let’s find you something to wear, okay? If Emily sees you all exposed like this, she might be a little bit distressed.”

She carried me upstairs after breakfast, with me lying curled up and content in the palm of her hand. Her four fingers formed a protective covering above me. Each individual finger of hers was longer than my whole body, and even her little finger by itself was probably stronger than I was. I was truly as small as an insect now. Back in Mom’s bedroom, she put me down on her vast bed and began rummaging through her drawers, looking for something she could clothe me with. I ran up and down her bed, occasionally jumping and falling down on the bouncy surface. I knew that I was acting like a little kid, but it was too much fun to resist. Besides, with me being so light, I felt like I was actually able to jump proportionately a little higher than when I was big. Mom soon finished looking and sat down on the bed next to me. She scooped me up in her hand and put me down on top of her skirt, where I curled up into a ball again to hide my private parts.

“I’ve got something for you to wear – but I don’t know if you’ll like it,” she said with a mischievous smile. “You can stand up, arms and legs spread out, please.”

I did as I was told and she presented me with my new, makeshift article of clothing. It was a bright red velvet hair ribbon, about three-quarters of an inch wide, which Mom told me she rarely wears anymore. I was so taken aback by this idea that I didn’t even have time to protest before she began wrapping me up in it. She wound it several times around my chest, waist and buttocks, then began looping it around my legs, tying them together. She wrapped it several more times around me until I was covered from shoulders to knees in soft red fabric, with only my head and two arms poking through the folds of the ribbon. Then she brought the two ends of the ribbon behind my back and tied them together, forming a neat bow with two loops. When she was done, she began to giggle at her handiwork.

“You look like a little birthday present!” she laughed as I stood there and fumed with embarrassment. “Oh Ben, don’t make such a fuss! You look great, and as long as you’re warm and comfortable like that, then it’s all good. Besides, I think it’s the perfect look for you. That’s what you are to me, after all – a priceless gift. You and Emily are the two greatest gifts in my life.”

She pinched the loops of the ribbon behind my back and hoisted me high in the air. Then she drew me in close to her and pressed my whole body against her bosom. I was held tightly against her chest, the soft fabric of her coat cushioning me. It was a wonderful feeling. I was suddenly reminded how much my mother loved me and cared for me, and how much I appreciated her. I also knew I wanted to do something to show my appreciation for her years of love and support, but I’d probably have to wait until I was back to my proper size.

After that, Mom decided it was time for Emily to meet the new me, so she carried me over to my little sister’s bedroom. Emily was sitting in bed, reading a storybook, but she leapt up when she saw my mom enter the room. I was tucked away inside Mom’s coat pocket, unable to see anything happening outside, but I heard Emily’s excited chatter clearly enough.

“Did you bring him, Mom?” she said anxiously. “Can I see him, please? Please? How small is he? Is he smaller than a bug now? He…he’s still okay, isn’t he? He didn’t get hurt or anything, right?”

“Hey, one question at a time, okay?” Mom answered. “Here, let’s sit down on the bed. Don’t worry, little Ben is perfectly fine and unharmed. He’s just had breakfast and I’ve found something to clothe him in, so you’re free to have a look at him now. Hold out your hand like this, and I’ll give him to you.”

Mom and Emily sat side-by-side on her bed, and Mom took me out of her pocket, again using the ribbon’s bow to pick me up with. I was dropped in an open hand, smaller and softer than Mom’s, and looked up to an astonishing sight. My sweet little sister was now a 150-foot-tall colossus. I lay on my back in the palm of her hand and waved up at her. The look of shock on her face was priceless and I actually began to laugh. Mom was sitting next to her, an even bigger giantess, her arm across Emily’s shoulders.

“Well, aren’t you going to greet your brother, dear?” Mom said. “Hah, I almost said ‘your big brother’ just now, but we can’t really call him that anymore, can we?”

“Ben? Is…is that really you?” Emily stuttered. “You…you’re…you’re tiny! You’re…what are you wearing?”

“A hair ribbon,” I said, feeling acutely self-conscious. “Mom’s idea. If you’ve got something better for me to wear, please tell me! Just…not another doll’s dress, please!”

“Ha-ha, your voice sounds so soft and little!” she said, her expression of shock turning to one of mischievous amusement. “You’re such a little pipsqueak now! I can barely even feel your weight in my hand. Oh Mommy, he’s perfect! Even more perfect than he was before! I can keep him for today, right?”

“Certainly…as long as he’s comfortable with it too. In fact, I’ll leave Ben in your capable hands today, as I’ve got to start writing a report on my shrinking potion’s latest results. I’ll come and collect him later this afternoon. Ben, are you okay with being with Emily today? I don’t want to leave you somewhere on your own, you’re too small and defenceless right now. Just tell her if there’s any emergency or anything you need. I’m sure she’ll take good care of you.”

“Yeah…okay,” I sighed, accepting my fate. I would rather have preferred some time to myself – but maybe hanging out with my sister will be fun after all? Emily, of course, was overjoyed and treated me to a nice, long hug. My miniature body was pressed between her hand and her chest; luckily, she was wearing a woollen sweater, which cushioned me somewhat. Mom gave us both a little kiss on the head, then left us to ourselves.

Emily immediately headed over to a little dollhouse in the corner of her room, removed its roof and placed me inside the house’s bedroom. It felt bizarre being surrounded by brightly-coloured walls, furniture and household items, all made of plastic and all about twice as large as they ought to be compared to my size. I lay on the little pink doll’s bed and looked up at Emily’s huge face and upper body, looming above the walls of the room.

“You can stay in here for a bit, tiny Ben,” she said, winking. “You’ll be safe and alone, just like you want. But later, you and I are gonna have some fun, okay? Don’t try and escape either. I’ll see you and catch you!”

“I won’t,” I promised. “Thanks, Emily, I…well, I appreciate this. And I don’t mind hanging out with you, really. It just feels…weird, you know, being this small, and seeing my little kid sister towering over me like a giant.”

“It feels weird having my big brother be a teeny-tiny little dolly too,” she said. “Actually, I don’t think any of my dolls are as small as you. Too bad. Looks like you won’t be wearing any cute little dresses today!”

“Thank God,” I muttered as she replaced the roof of the house and left the room to get her own breakfast. I was now by myself in what was essentially a huge plastic mansion to me. With my legs being wrapped up as they were, it was pretty much impossible for me to walk, so I had to resort to hopping in order to move around. I went through all of the upstairs rooms, amazed at how detailed the place was – I almost felt like I was in a real house, despite everything being coloured pink and violet. I headed downstairs into the kitchen and dining room, and there was even a little doll-garage filled with brightly-coloured plastic toy cars. Unfortunately, the cars all had doors that were fixed shut and were impossible to climb into. I headed back to the dining room and took a seat at the oversized table, then reflected on how surreal all of this was. I’d never have dreamed two weeks ago that I’d be sitting inside my sister’s dollhouse, two inches tall, wearing nothing but one of my mom’s hair ribbons.

“This is gonna be a weird week,” I thought.