Jumko was falling, he couldn’t see the ground. Everything was black. Was he in a cave? He felt air rushing past him. His arms and legs flailing helplessly. His hands gripping at the blackness, trying to find something to catch himself onto. A shape started to appear below him. He was moving at an immense speed towards it. The shape grew and grew and began to become clearer. It was a face. It was a girl’s face. It was his sister’s face. She looked at Jumko as he was falling towards her. She was getting bigger and bigger. Jumko was shrinking as he was falling.

“You failed bro”, she teased him, “you failed and now you’re a Gulaka.” She smiled mischievously as Jumko was falling towards her mouth. “Come to my mouth Jumko, let me eat you”, she suggested. Rachel opened her mouth wide and thrust out her tongue to accept Jumko’s tiny body. He flew right into the middle of her gapping maw. Her teeth passed behind his head as he watched the length of her tongue pass his eyes. Right into her throat he fell. He was panicking. Was this it? Was his sister really going to eat him? Out of her throat he dropped and now Nadia’s face appeared. She looked angry.

“You promised me!” she cried. “You broke a promise to me! I don’t ever want to see you again.” Jumko was mesmerized by her size. She was huge. He focused on her lips. He was heading straight for them. He panicked. He screamed. “Nadia! No!” he shouted. “This is goodbye forever!” she pronounced and then opened her mouth wide. Her eyes fixed on Jumko’s falling body, watching it disappear below her nose as he fell into her mouth. Like before Jumko passed straight through her throat. He couldn’t make sense of what was going on. It felt like his heart was trying to pound its way out of his ribcage. Suddenly, the face of his mother appeared. Jumko was beyond scared, he was mortified. Was his own mother going to eat him?

“I’m so ashamed”, Yuli cried, “how could you let this happened? You have brought me so much shame”, she continued. Jumko felt heartbroken at those words. He felt dejected, demoralized, depressed and above all, immensely afraid. “I wish you had never been born”, Yuli professed, “let’s fix that, let’s pretend you never existed. Come to mommy”, she cooed, “come feed your own mother. Let’s put your body to good use.” Jumko was in hell, he needed to escape. “Mom, please, don’t eat me!” he pleaded. He fell into his mother’s throat, however, this time he didn’t fall through it. He landed with a thud on a hard surface. Was he inside his own mother’s stomach? Why was it so hard? He was immobilized, he couldn’t move his limbs. Had he broken his back? Suddenly, a giant Xanthe appeared before him.

He was at her feet, lying on his back, staring up at the expanse of her body. She was huge. She was wearing a short white dress and she was smiling down at him. It was an evil smile. A playful smile. “Awwww”, she cooed. “Poor Jumko, you didn’t become a warrior”, she teased. “Nobody wants you, your sister doesn’t want you, Nadia hates you and you shamed your own mother.” Jumko tried to move. He needed to get up and run, but his arms were glued to the surface. His legs refused to obey his brain signals to move. He wasn’t going anyway. “Let Xanthe fix this”, she continued reassuringly as she began to raise her right foot.

Jumko’s breathing quickened. The fear within him rose. He was transfixed on Xanthe’s foot as it rose. Her arch was a marble white, but the ball, the heel and the pads of her toes were a reddish colour. It looked as though she had just scrubbed her feet. Higher and higher it rose. Her toes twitched as she tried to maintain her balance. “Let me put you out of your misery” she suggested, “It won’t hurt, I promise, just one quick step and it’ll all be over.”

Xanthe began to lower her foot. She continued smiling that sick, crazy smile as her foot slowly made its way down. She began to cock her head sideways to maintain a view of Jumko as her descending foot blocked the view. Jumko tried to move. His limbs failed him. He was immobilized. “Xanthe, please,” he pleaded,” Please don’t squish me!” “Shhhhhhh”, she replied, “It’ll all be over soon. Just relax.”

The ball of her foot made contact with Jumko’s chest. He could no longer see her face. He was starting at the underside of her big toe as it began to flinch at the touch of Jumko’s heaving chest. Her foot felt warm… and wet. It was incredibly wet. There seemed like an ungodly amount of sweat pouring out of the ball of her foot. His entire chest was now wet. Xanthe lowered her big toe and the pad rested heavily on his face. The toe was very wet too. Warm water seemed to pour out of her toe and drench his entire face. The skin of Xanthe’s toe covered Jumko’s nose and mouth. It felt like a warm, wet cloth and Jumko was struggling to breath.

“No!” he shouted as he tried to push against the toe. Yuli jumped back in surprise and the cloth covering Jumko’s face flew off as she clutched it close to her chest. Jumko opened his eyes and in the dim light realized he just had a nightmare. He could make out the silhouette of his mother. He felt the cool dampness of warm water evaporating off his chest and face. He felt the restraints around his wrists and ankles prevent him from moving his limbs. He was tied down to a board in the dining room of his home. “Finally, you’re awake”, Yuli exclaimed in relief, “I was getting worried you’d never wake up.”

“Mom?” croaked Jumko, “What’s going on? What happened?” he asked.

“Oh honey”, cooed his mother as she placed her palm on his forehead to comfort him. “You don’t remember hey? You lost honey, you lost the fight.”

“What?” Jumko responded in confused disbelief.

“Ziv, he beat you honey.” Yuli continued, “He knocked you unconscious.”

“Where’s Nadia?” Jumko asked.

“Poor thing”, his mother answered, “she’s absolutely distraught, wouldn’t stop crying.” Yuli looked down at her son lying on the board on the dining table. His arms sprayed out and fastened down. His legs were side by side and secured at the ankles. She continued to rub his forehead in a reassuring manner. “Try not to worry Jumko”, she said, “get some rest and we’ll discuss things tomorrow. We need to have a chat.”

Jumko tried again to raise himself up, but his arms were tied down at the wrists and legs fastened in place.

“Mom, why am I tied down?” he asked.

“You know why honey”, Yuli responded. Suddenly, Jumko realized his predicament. Perhaps the blow to his head had knocked out a few brain cells. But he suddenly clued in to what was going on. He had lost the bought. He was going to be a Gulaka. That’s why he is tied down. It’s to prevent him from escaping.

The Empire carries out harsh punishments on people who allow Gulakas to escape. If he ran away, his mom will probably be banished from the village or demoted to a labourer. Most Gulakas are more than willing to be shrunk and eaten. It is considered an honour and as many believe, you don’t die. The Gulaka’s spirit is cleansed and reborn to live again on Earth as the first born offspring of the young woman who ate him. Some though, have different thoughts and against the religious teachings and ancient traditions, have a hard time accepting their fate. A Gulaka who runs away denies a young woman the chance to have a strong warrior son.

Jumko had another more troubling and urgent revelation. He was not going to be marrying Nadia. He wasn’t getting fitted out for his war attire. He was not going to be drinking the wedding wine. He was not going to be making love to Nadia. Instead, he was going to be shrunk and eaten. This realization suddenly filled him with immense dread and fear. He had never considered what it would be like to be a Gulaka. The thought had never occurred to him and now this nightmare was just beginning. He had to get out of his house. He needed to run away. He did not want to be eaten.

“Mom”, he cried as tears welled in his eyes, “I don’t want to be eaten.”

“Shhhhhh”, his mother whispered, “let’s not focus on that right now, get some rest. We’ll discuss everything tomorrow.”

“Please untie me”, he pleaded.

“You know full well I can’t do that darling.”

“Please….”, he begged.

“Oh honey, I know you’re upset. You’ve had a rough day. Let me get some sleeping salts to help you sleep.”

“Just untie me mom,” he asked, “I promise I won’t run away.”

“Jumko,” she began sternly, “you know full well I can’t do that. You know what would happen to me if you ran away?” she asked rhetorically, “I’m afraid I can’t take that chance. I hope you understand. Now please stop begging. It is beneath you as the son of a warrior.” Yuli walked towards the shelves to fetch the jar of sleeping salt.

“This isn’t fair” Jumko proclaimed, “I’m better than Ziv, I should have won. I slipped. He was done. He got lucky.”

“Honey, warriors don’t make mistakes”, his mother reminded him. “A warrior is always surefooted” she added, repeating an ancient training expression. “Warriors who make mistakes get killed in battle.” Yuli grabbed the jar and shuffled back to the table.

“Besides,” she continued, “Ziv finished 5th overall. You were defeated by a very good warrior. Nothing to be ashamed of. I’m incredibly proud of you.” She opened the jar and starting digging her fingers in.

“This isn’t right!” Jumko protested, “I’m supposed to be a warrior, not him.”

“Jumko!” Yuli shouted, “Your arrogance astounds me. You lost the fight. You need to accept that. You need to respect the rules of the ritual. This is the whole reason for the Empire, our existence and our victories against the God of War.”

Yuli grabbed a pinch of sleeping salt between her fingers and began to rub it on Jumko’s upper lip, just below his nostrils. “Now get some sleep”, she demanded, “We’ll discuss everything that’s going to happen tomorrow.” She caressed his forehead to try to calm him down as she waited for the sleeping salts to take effect.

“Mommy”, Jumko pleaded, using a word he hadn’t used since he was ten years old; “just please untie me and let me go. I don’t want to be eaten.”

“Shhhh. Shhhh.” Yuli cooed as she continued to caress his forehead. “I’m not going to untie you Jumko, so don’t ask again. Okay honey? Now get some sleep.”

Jumko smelt the salts as he inhaled. A type of burnt coal mixed with a lemon basil smell. His eyelids where getting incredibly heavy and he was finding it increasingly difficult to focus. He felt the reassuring strokes of his mother’s hand on his head. He looked up at her and she just smiled back down. “Shhhh. Shhhh” she repeated rhythmically. Jumko closed his eyes and he fell into a deep sleep.

It was a bright sunny day and Jumko was in the jungle. A strangle jungle with tall, green tree trunks all around him. Jumko squinted and realized that the tree trunks were blades of grass. Massive blades of grass. He heard a booming voice behind him. “How dare you run away from me!” he heard his mother shout. He turned to see his giant mother standing in the distance. He could only see from her waist up. She was huge. Actually, he was tiny. “There’s going to be hell to pay when I get my hands on you”, she warned as she began to walk briskly towards him. Her eyes locked onto him like a hawk on its prey. Jumko turned about and ran through the tall grass. The green stalks were thick and numerous. He struggled to move through them. It seemed as though he was constantly climbing through gaps barely big enough to fit through. “I will NOT let you get away!” his mother bellowed, “You’ve really pissed me off!” Jumko glanced back to see his mother was much closer. He could see her shins. Each footstep shook the ground and rattled the tree-sized grass around him.

He was getting short of breath and really struggling to move through this claustrophobic jungle. “Do you know what I’m going to do to you when I catch you?” his mother said in a threatening voice. Suddenly, the grass was too thick to move through. Jumko was face to face with a wall of grass in front of him. No gaps to pass through. The ground shuddered beneath his feet as he turned to face the giant toes of his mother resting a few yards from him. They flinched as Jumko followed up her long legs and straight up to her face.

His mother smiled back evilly as she brushed hair out of her face. “You’ve got nowhere to run now”, she informed him. “You’ve really disappointed me” she continued, “I can’t have you running off again.” Jumko watched in fear as she lifted her right foot high into the air. A blade of grass peeled off the ball of her foot and fell to the ground. Her heel and toes were slightly brown from walking on the bare ground. Jumko raised his arms, palms outwards.

“Please mommy,” he begged, “please don’t step on me.”

His mother cocked her head to one side and raised the corners of her lips into a slight smile.”Shhhhh. Shhhhh.” She whispered reassuringly. “Everything’s going to be okay. Mommy’s going to squish you now. Okay?”

Suddenly, his mom disappeared. The grass disappeared. The ground become soft, fleshy. It was a pink hue. It was skin. Jumko was standing on skin. His feet sinking into it. He saw a belly button. He looked around and saw two huge breasts. The nipples perked on the apex of each one. He was mesmerized. Suddenly a face rose between the breasts. Like a rising son. It was Xanthe. Jumko was standing on her soft abdomen. He was tiny. “Hey” she squeaked in delight. Jumko turned around to run, only to be stopped in his tracks by the thumb of her left hand. Her index finger pushed on his back creating a vice grip. He was lifted into the air and spun around to face her.

“I’m going to paint my toenails with your blood”, she informed him as he was being drifted past her breasts and held above her smiling face. “You’re going to make my toes look so pretty.” She studied him as he was hanging in her grip. “But first I want to taste you. You look sooo delicious.” She cooed as he was slowly lowered into her mouth. Her lips parted as his flailing legs entered between them. Her piercing blue eyes maintaining a watch on him. Her lips closed around his legs and he felt her warm, sticky tongue lick the left one. “mmmmm” she moaned in delight. Jumko looked down past the giant thumb on his abdomen to see Xanthe’s lips encased around his hips. He placed his hands on her thumb and tried to lift himself out of her warm mouth. Her tongue was relentlessly lapping his left leg.

Jumko started to rise as he was being lifted out of her mouth. Her lips applied a soft grip on his legs as they were rising. Almost trying to prevent them from escaping the warm mouth, but failing against the strength of Xanthe’s hand. Jumko looked down as his feet popped out from between her lips. His left leg was coated in the thick, sticky fluid of her saliva. Xanthe pinched it between the fingers of her right hand. Her nails dug into his shin. “Hmmmm,” she said “Let’s paint my nails with this leg.” Xanthe pinched and pulled to dislocate his lower left leg from the rest of his body.

Jumko screamed out in pain as he opened his eyes. It was morning and the sun’s rays were penetrating the windows to light up the dining room. He looked down the length of his body to see his mother holding a strip of wax coated with leg hair. He noticed that a similar size patch of hair was now missing from his left leg. His sister was standing beside his mother stirring a bowl of hot wax.

“He’s awake”, Rachel noted.

“Oh, I’m so sorry honey”, his mother apologized, “Rachel dear, will you give your brother some sleeping salt.” Yuli placed her hand on Jumko’s left leg. “Darling, I’m going to put you back to sleep for a bit while I get rid of your hair. That way it won’t hurt if I do it while you’re sleeping.”

Rachel placed the bowl she was holding down at Jumko’s ankles as she fetched the jar of sleeping salt. Jumko’s mother picked up the bowl and began to liberally apply some more hot wax to his left leg. “Why are you getting rid of my hair?” Jumko asked.

“It’s part of the process”, his mother responded. She hummed as she began to spread the wax along his leg. Jumko continued to stare at his mother, waiting for the full answer. In the meantime, Rachel had obtained the jar and was walking over to the side of the dining room table that Jumko was lying on.

“We need to get rid of all your hair”, Rachel said, sensing Jumko’s impatience with his mother’s response. She rubbed his bald head. “We’ve already gotten rid of your hair hair.” She added. Jumko felt his sister’s hand on his now bald and cold head.

“Why!?” He asked angrily.

“It’s so you slide down our throats easier”, his sister answered, “a hairy Gulaka might get stuck.” Jumko turned his head and looked at his sister with shock. “Speaking of which”, she continued, “have you thought of who you’d like to eat you?” He was shocked at his sister’s nonchalant why of asking such an upsetting question. Perhaps Rachel didn’t think the question was such a big deal, but Jumko was still coming to terms with his fate.

“…Cause Rara told me that Nadia doesn’t want to eat you”, Rachel added after her brother’s long pause.

“Don’t worry about a thing Jumko”, his mother piped in, “I’m going to have a talk with Nadia after this and I’m sure I can convince her to have you as her Gulaka. It only makes sense that she should have you.”

“Well…”, his sister continued, “…If Nadia still says no…then perhaps…I should eat you…hmmm?”

“Rachel!” Yuli shouted as she looked at her daughter, “I don’t think that is appropriate.”

“Why not? Vera’s doing it. She’s going to eat her brother.” Rachel looked down at her brother’s face as she continued to rub his bald head. “Think about, if I eat you, then your spirit stays in the family. You’ll become my son and mom will then become your grandmother…and I’ll become your mom. We’ll still be family.”

“First of all”, Yuli chimed in, “Vera’s family has always been a little weird and second of all, I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to eat your own brother. I’m going to chat with Nadia and she’ll be eating Jumko.” Yuli then returned to smothering the wax along her son’s leg.

“Well, if Nadia says no, then I should get to eat Jumko” Rachel protested. She then looked back down at her brother’s distressed face. “Don’t worry bro, either me or Nadia will eat you…you’re not going to be THAT Gulaka that nobody wants.”

“Rachel, stop confusing your brother and give him some sleeping salts…Not too much though, I don’t want him to sleep for too long.”

“Stop!” Jumko finally spoke up. “Please stop what you’re doing”, he pleaded. Jumko looked up at his sister: “I don’t want to be eaten by you …” the he looked at his mother: “…and I don’t want to be eaten by Nadia…I don’t want to be eaten…please stop waxing me. There has to be some way out of this. Aren’t you guys upset that I’m going to be gone forever.”

Yuli threw the spatula back into the bowl of wax and forcefully place her hands on Jumko’s ankles as she leaned over the table and peered at him angrily. “You’re…NOT…dying”, she stated in a staccato fashion. “Your spirit is going to remain in this world. A warrior who dies on the battlefield dies. A Gulaka is reborn.” She paused to inhale heavily. “Your attitude is starting to disturb me.” Jumko gulped as he started to feel dread from his mother’s words. She continued, “There is nothing to be ashamed about. A Gulaka is an honorable title. Now…” she leaned in a little closer to highlight her next words: “I want you to drop this pathetic attitude of yours and start accepting your role in the ritual. You failed to become a warrior…” Those last words stung Jumko’s chest. “…so stop making excuses and start being a team player. Stop thinking about yourself and think about the Empire, about us, about Nadia. You have a very important part to play…now play the part!”

Jumko started back at his mother’s piercing eyes. It was as though she wasn’t even blinking. There was an awkward silence. Perhaps she was waiting for her son to apologize. “Have I made myself clear?” she asked her son sternly. Jumko gulped.

“Yes”, he croaked.

“Good! Rachel… put Jumko to sleep. We’re falling behind schedule already.”

Rachel smeared some of the sleeping salt on the underside of Jumko’s nose. She leaned in to whisper to her brother: “You better listen to mom”, she began, “you might be bigger than her now, but in about 2 days she will be a lot bigger than you, who knows what she’ll do if you piss her off.” Jumko absorbed the words and looked at his mother, who was vigorously stirring the wax in the bowl.

“Listen to your sister! She’s a very smart girl. I’d behave if I was you.”

Jumko’s mother continued to stare at him as she stirred the wax. She was indeed angry. She had a very stern expression. Jumko was gazing back at his mother, looking for any sign of sympathy. He saw none as his eyes closed and he fell asleep again.