"Good!" she shrieked, clapping her hands together in a quick fashion, the stereotypical cutesy girl way. She was obviously pleased at my relenting, finally getting down and kissing her big toe. You might judge me, but after spending almost 24 hours inside a disgusting slimy shoe, I would do a lot to stop from going back in there. It also seems that her hypothesis about getting used to the smell was right, I was almost complete nose blind to it, which made it easier. "You must be SOOOO hungry. Let me get us some food." she plodded out of the room, her thuderous steps growing quieter and quieter, until they stopped shaking the desk I was on. I looked around; my old room, I guess I would never sleep here again, my posters, action figures, comic books, all of them to large to be of use. This sent a pang of melancholy through me; would I really be hers forever? Become a tiny obedient pet that she would either keep until she died or threw out when she was bored of me? Maybe I should try and escape? It would be daring. The desk was as high as a skyscraper, and I was exhausted, starving. I will attempt sometime today.
"Jie?" I heard the familiar voice of my mother echoing down the hall.
"Yes Mrs Johnston?"
"Have you seen Tom anywhere?"
"No, he must have gone to friend's house" she was lying through her teeth. I felt like yelling, did she really not see me as a person? She talked to me! Acknowledged me as sentient! How could she do this?
"Well, tell me if you see him"
The sound of footsteps approaching, down the hall. The colossal form of Jie walked in the room, still in her pajamas, carrying a bowl of cornflakes. She sat down in the same seat, an office chair right in front of the desk, bringing her giant pale feet up to rest on it. It was still hard to grasp the sight, her feet were the height of huge trees, their imposing shadow blocking most light out, just the tinies orange morning light trickling through her toes. I followed her legs, the green pajama pants with black polka-dots haning loosely over her legs like a tarp covering a fallen tree, only even bigger. Her collossal body was reclined in the chair, shoveling giant bulldozer loads of cornflakes and milk into her mouth, I had to remind myself how small and petite she looked when we met.
"Oh Mayi! I almost forgot, here is your food." She shifted her feet over to better see me, she plucked a single mushy flake out of her ceramic bowl, and brought it over, just above my head. I stared up, the wheaty fibres just held together after being water-logged, or milk-logged rather. Just as I almost reached out she pulled it away. I stared at her angrily, I didn't care if she could crush me, I was starving. In return I got a cheeky grin, she positioned her foot so the five giant toes of her left foot were in my face. She spread them, revealing the sock-lint built up from her rest last night, held snuggly between the steamy digits by her humid sweat, she placed the mushy morsel right between her two largest toes, relaxing and letting it squish between them, milk running out and onto the floor. "Please hurry! It is so cold!"
"Why?! Please, for godsake, why are you doing this to me?" The sight of the lint-covered mushy cornflake was making my stomach churn, did she really expect me to eat it? If she were in my situation I'm sure she would be less than happy.
"Come one Mayi, it is one *tiny* cornflake. It will be good for you, keep you strong!"
"No, that's disgusting!"
"I know this is only your second day, but when you are broken in, you will need to clean my toes when there is no food there. You are lucky, back home in China, many girls make their slaves eat their lint. I am kind." this can't be happening. "When I'm broken in?" she wants me to be her permanent foot bitch? No way.
"FUCK YOU! I'm not going to eat *that*"
"Mayi..." her tone of voice was dire "I am being very calm with you, there are many things I could do to you at that size. And this will be the only food you eat today, maybe tomorrow. Come on, I said you might like being my slave if you give it a try." My stomach was churning... but no! Never. I stood my ground. "Uggh, Mayi, you are so annoying! I guess I have no choice." I turned to see what she was doing when I felt a giant push from behind me. Her finger, as wide as my whole body, pushed me directly into her toe pit, the milky, firbous blob, mixed with lint and sweat covered my whole body. The finger rolled around, pushing me deep between them, agitating the cornflake until it completely dissolved, covering me in the viscous fluid, the finger stopped pushing me around. Panting, I was stuck between her pale toes, the ridge leading to the slope of her foot just above eye level, I shimmy around to see behind me, I can just make out the face of my tormentress in the distance. "Mayi, you are very stupid, you need to listen to me. As punishment, another day in my shoe!" oh god no, anything but that, I couldn't run, I was literally surrounded by... her. In an all to familiar feeling, her giant fingers pincher around me, lifting me by my upper body, she made the few steps over to her sneakers, the closest thing I will have to a home it seems, she dropped me in. I stood at the heel, the dark imprint surrounding me like a crop-circle. I stared up at the disapproving face of the vengeful goddess, really a 17 year old chinese girl. "Mayi, you are very naughty, and I am no longer Jie, you call me Qingfu. Defeated, I walked deeper into the cavern as she stuffed her socks inside, cutting out the light. I began to eat the dissolved remains of the cornflake from my body as I cried.
"VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM" The sound of a vacuum cleaner rumbled my entire world and roused me from my sleep. The noise grew louder and louder, filling my ears, even through the relativly thick walls of the shoe. I realised my mom must be vacuuming.
"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" I shouted the loudest I ever could, who am I kidding? She couldn't even hear me if she wasn't vacuuming. In the pitch black I had no idea where I was, felt the floor, it was relatively fresh so I must be on her instep, felt the gentle slope and followed it, praying it led to the heel. After following it I hit head first into the slightly moist fabric. I followed all the way to the way to the edge of the shoe, hoping to get some purchase on it. Using the delicate netting of the shoe wall as a foothold, I propped myself up and into a fold of the sock, the constant roar of the vacuum cleaer unsteadying me, but not enough the throw me off. Crawling through the wrinkle, I headed to what I assumed to be the exit, the fuzz rubbing off on me, and the stale stech filling my nose, even after my "acclimitisation". I continued on, climbing through folds and wrinkles, moving upwards and along. Slowly the sound of the vaccuum began to die down. "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" I shouted again, out of sheer desperation. I needed to keep going, even though I was pretty sure she was almost out the door. I made one last turn up, to be greeted by a tiny claustrophobic space, I pushed upwards, but the might of the sock was too great for me. I tried to go down, but the entry way must have closed off, I tried to wriggle back down, but I couldn't. I lay down, the tiny, damp, stale, irritating space becoming my prison. As I heard the muffled sound of the vaccuum become fainter and fainter, I tried to warm myself up, I would need to wait for Jie... I mean Qingfu.
"Huh? Mayi where are you? Oh, here you are, how did you get inside my sock? Trying to escape? Hah, never mind, today I will teach you about being inside my shoe WITH my foot! It will be fun!"