Greg awoke, but laid on his bed for several minutes. He had had the same dream again, with the same voice calling out to him. Except it seemed to have become a little clearer. Very peculiar; was it a trick being played on him by one of the Witches?

In any case, there was no use of him laying there and trying to figure out the meaning behind it. He looked to his side, at his digital alarm clock, and saw that it was 8:21 in the morning. He threw his bedsheet off of his body and stepped onto the floor of his room.

Having showered and thrown on some simple clothing, Greg walked across the hallway to the room on the other side--Heidi's room. He peeked inside and found it empty. In fact, after a quick search around the house, he found that he was left alone inside of the dollhouse.

"What a relief," Greg said to himself. "Glad I don't have to deal with her right now."

He walked into the kitchen and began to microwave a dozen frozen pizza rolls, after which he consumed each one. No doubt that--after the stunt with his hamburger the day before--if Heidi had seen this, she would have "vegefied" his breakfast. After devouring his breakfast, he opened his refrigerator and pulled out a large bottle of ginger ale, twisted off the cap, and began to drink directly from it. Seconds later, he placed it back into the refrigerator and closed it.

He quickly looked around. There was no sign of Heidi anywhere. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"She probably would have had a heart attack if she had seen me," he half-jokingly remarked.

With his hunger satiated, he walked out of his illuminated house and into the darkness that engulfed the underside of Parvati's bed. Beforelong, he made his way outside to the open floor of Parvati's bedroom, illuminated by the sunlight shining in through the windows.

He looked around as he walked further away from the bed. There was no sign of life in the room; Parvati was not on her bed or at her desk, and both doors--one to her bathroom and the other to the hallway--were open. However, from the hallway he heard voices. Listening closely, he could easily tell that they belonged to Parvati and Trish. However, as he continued to listen to them, it almost sounded as if they were arguing with each other.

More than likely it did not concern him, but his curiosity once again got the best of him. He quickly headed towards the doorway and then made his way across the hallway. As he drew closer to Trish's room--its door nearly completely open--he could hear what the two Witches were arguing about: the state of Trish's room.

"...Yes, I know it's your room," Parvati said, "but I've been telling you for months to at least pick up the clothes around here, and you haven't even done that!"

"I told you I can find what I want to wear easier this way!" Trish responded.

"That's complete nonsense! They get dirty from being on the floor all day, every day. It's not good hygiene to wear them like that."

"I wash them before I wear them."

"If you would just pick them up and put them away, you wouldn't have to waste time doing that."

"I don't waste time! Remember, I have magic!"

Greg heard a sigh from Parvati. "And I'm amazed that you never even used your magic to clean this place up."

"Give me a break, Par!" Trish sounded agitated. "I have more important things to worry about than how my room looks! Besides, it's not like anyone except you, Heidi, and the Runt will ever see it!"

"What about Cynthia?"

"You know she's not allowed in here."

"Not until you tell her who you really are. Assuming things are going to get serious between you two, do you intend to tell her that you're a Witch?"

"Of course! I mean- We're really into each other, so why wouldn't I tell her?"

"All the more reason to keep your room tidy."

At this point, Greg had stepped into the room. Parvati was standing a few feet from Trish's bed, on which Trish was laying upon. As was stated, Trish's room was as messy as it had always been, perhaps slightly moreso.

"Okay," Parvati said. "I hate to sound like your mother, but here's what's going to happen. I want you to clean this room. Today. Right now."

The look on Trish's face changed to a mix of both shock and annoyance. "What!?"

"Oh, and no magic, either. You have to clean it the old-fashioned way."

"You're killing me, Par," Trish said with little enthusiasm.

"You have to learn that you can't use your magic for everything." Parvati turned towards the bedroom doorway, and noticed Greg walking inside. "Oh, and what luck! He can help you."

Trish also looked in Greg's direction. "What can he do?"

"Clean up under your bed, for one," Parvati replied.

"Whoa, wait a minute!" Greg exclaimed. "How did I get recruited for this? What if I don't want to help her?"

"Well, you COULD not help Trish... ...But then you won't be able to-"

Greg interrupted Parvati before she could finish her sentence. "Stop. I know... You won't let me play with your feet."

Parvati smiled. "You're finally learning."

Greg grunted. He hated how easily he could be manipulated by Parvati and his love of feet in general. However, considering the alternative of going for another period of time without access to Parvati's body, he figured that assisting in the cleaning of Trish's room was a relatively small price to pay.

"She'll be doing most of the work, anyway," Greg mumbled to himself.

"What did you say?" Parvati asked.

"Nothing," Greg replied. "I guess I'll help her."

"Wonderful!" Parvati said in a cheerful tone. "This way, Trish will get her room spick-and-span in no time!"

"He's not going to be of that much help, Par," Trish commented.

Parvati started to walk towards the bedroom door. "Well, I'll just leave so you two can get started." She walked directly towards Greg--he was especially eyeing her feet enamored in her red flip-flops. However, she deliberately stepped over him; after what she had said to the two of them, he knew that as a fact.

At the doorway, she turned around and flashed them a smile. "I'm expecting big things from you two. Have fun." And thus, she walked out of the room, closing the door as she left into the hallway.

Greg turned towards Trish, who sighed heavily as she rose from her bed. "Man..." she said. "I love her like a sister, but Par can be pretty annoying sometimes."

"All you have to do is pick up your clothes, right?" Greg asked.

"Knowing her, she probably wants me to sweep and mop in here AND in the bathroom and stuff."

Trish took a few steps to her left, where several articles of clothing laid upon the floor. She looked back toward Greg.

"You can sweep and mop under my bed," she said. "I don't keep anything under there anymore, so it should be easy for you."

She aimed her index finger towards the floor near the bed, after which a bolt of magic shot from her finger and impacted the spot at a high velocity. As the magic faded, Greg could see a broom, dustpan, mop, and bucket set out where the magic had been, as well as an empty garbage bag.

"Get busy," Trish ordered, before she herself started to gather up her clothing from the floor.

"Riiight..." Greg made his way towards the utensils that Trish had conjured up, as she continued to pick up her clothes all over the room. "How did I get myself into this?" Greg mumbled to himself. Of course, he knew the answer to his own question. Curiosity always kills the cat.

As he neared the tools, and as Trish walked nearby with bunches of clothing in hand, Greg soon took notice to a large shadow surrounding him. He looked upward, and saw the clothes that Trish had been carrying descending upon him. Before he could react he was completely buried underneath her clothing.

"Bull's-eye!" he heard Trish exclaim through the clothes.

"Not cool!" Greg yelled, though he was unsure if she could hear him. He then began to claw himself out from the pile, before the entire mass was lifted from his body.

He looked up and saw Trish carrying the clothes to a hamper on the other side of the room near the bathroom door. As she dumped her clothing inside, Greg stood up and eyed the much smaller mop and broom set that laid upon the floor a few feet away.

"...Let's get busy, then," Greg said to himself as he took hold of the broom and dustpan, and made his way underneath Trish's bed.

~~~

From the kitchen, Parvati stepped outside into the yard. The wind blew softly through her hair as she looked upward and saw the large white clouds that lined the blue sky.

She looked to her left, and saw Heidi sitting on the grass, with her legs crossed; it looked as if she was meditating or at least deep in thought. Of course, considering that Heidi had been with them for several days now, this was not anything out of the ordinary.

As if she sensed her presence, Heidi came out of whatever trance she was in and turned towards Parvati.

"I didn't mean to interrupt you," Parvati apologized.

"No, you didn't interrupt anything," Heidi replied. "I was just listening to the wind."

"I see..."

Parvati stepped closer as Heidi looked towards the sky herself.

"It's going to rain today," Heidi said.

"Yeah," Parvati said as she reached her. "They said on the weather report."

"Many years ago, people did not have television or meteorologists to tell them what the weather was going to be like. They could tell just by looking at the sky." Heidi sighed. "I miss those days."

"Really? What was it like back then?"

Heidi turned back towards Parvati. "It was a simpler time," she answered. "People worked hard and helped each other. That's one thing the humans back then had over today's humans. ...But that's all I'll say on that subject. ...On another note, I heard you and Trish going at it earlier."

"You did?" Parvati was somewhat surprised. "...Yeah, I was trying to get her to clean up her room. She's finally doing it after all this time, and I got Greg to help her."

"That's good to hear," Heidi said. "It was embarrassing to see her room in such a state."

Parvati chuckled. "Try having lived with her for over two years!"

"Yes, I can only imagine." Heidi looked away for a few seconds, before turning back. "Sorry to change the subject, but I want to ask you a few things."

"About what?" Parvati asked.

"Let's start with Greg." Heidi motioned for Parvati to sit down on the grass beside her, which Parvati did so.

"What about Greg? I told you everything about him."

"Yes, I know," Heidi said. "The spell you cast before you shrunk him, while he was asleep. But how long do you intend to keep him around?"

"Well, he's a pretty nice guy, and he opened a side of me that I would have never known existed had he had not come along."

"Your dominant side," Heidi added.

Parvati nodded. "I want to keep him with me for as long as I am able. Of course, if he ever wants to go back to his old life for some reason, I'd be glad to grant his wish. Even if he'll forget about me and Trish. Oh, and you too."

"I doubt he'll be wanting to go back anytime soon. He's already bugged over thinking that there'll be a void in his memories between the time he met you at that bar and whenever he's sent back."

"I'm tempted to tell him about the spell, but part of me is hesitant. I fear that once I do, he'll have no more worries about ending his experience here himself. But if it's what he wants, then I'd have no choice but to comply." Parvati let out a sigh. "After all, what are friends for?"

"Parvati," Heidi called. "Are you in love with Greg?"

This question took Parvati by surprise. She had never thought about him in that way. "I can't say," she answered. "I think we're more 'Friends with Benefits' than anything right now. That's why I let him play around with Trish sometimes."

"I see... That's interesting to hear." Heidi smiled slightly. "You lose one friend, and you gain another."

Parvati became somewhat irked. "You're talking about Lily, aren't you? Greg even at his current size is worth more than three of her."

"Yes, your anger towards her is well-known," Heidi said. "But don't you think you're taking your hatred for her too far. She did steal your last boyfriend from you, yes, but you two have been friends for a long time before that. Plus, according to Trish, she did not even know you two were seeing each other. I just see it as a waste to let one incident ruin a perfectly good friendship."

"...It wasn't just that," Parvati said. "Ever since right before our powers awakened, we have been drifting apart."

"Oh?"

"When we went to college, we fell into different crowds," Parvati began. "You know that she was the 'party girl' between her, me, and Trish, right? So obviously, she got drunk on the college experience; she went to every party she could and flirted with many guys on campus, but she did manage to make all of her classes; I don't know how well she did, though. Meanwhile, I shyed away from those things and focused mostly on my studies. I made a few friends there, joined an Indian American organization, and found time for a part time job at a textile company to help pay for my classes. Before long, Lily and I barely hung out with each other, and stopped calling each other altogether, or I'd call her but she'd say that she was 'busy'."

"When did your powers awaken?" Heidi asked.

"During the second semester of my sophomore year," Parvati answered. "So did Lily's. As expected, things became very awkward when we came across each other that one day..."

~~~

I was walking to the Liberal Arts building on campus, book in hand, on my way to my American history class. ...You know us Witches can see the auras that we give off? Well, I saw such an aura emanating from someone sitting on a bench near the campus' fountain.

As I looked closer, I saw that it was Lily herself, and I couldn't have been more surprised. She was busy talking on her cell phone, when she spotted me several feet away. Her mouth dropped in awe, and I could tell that her phone nearly fell from her hand.

I did have a class to get to, but I decided to take a few minutes to talk to her, and so I approached her.

"Parv!!" Lily excitedly greeted. "It's been a while since we talked to each other!"

I nodded. "Yeah, I know. But you seem to always be busy with... well, everything."

"You know it! I've been having loads of fun! Guys all over are calling me all the time, wanting me to hang out with them!"

I laughed. "You always were the most popular of the three of us."

"But enough about me! When did you become a Witch?"

"Around two weeks ago," I answered.

"Oh wow! Really? So did I!" Lily sounded excited. "Weird how we got our powers at the same time. But this will make college life much more fun!"

"Lily..." My mood became serious. "You're not going to show off your powers, are you? You don't know how people are going to react to that. We're supposed to be secret, remember?"

"I know, I know... Man, you always were a killjoy." She sounded annoyed with me. I knew that she wasn't going to listen to me.

There was then an awkward silence between us that lasted a few seconds. I decided to cut this meeting short.

"I have a class to get to," I said, becoming apprehensive. "It was nice talking to you again."

"Same here, Parv!" Lily said. "Maybe one day we can get together and do something."

"Yeah, that would be nice," I said, knowing full well that that would never come to pass, not with the way things were at that point. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you later?"

"Mm-hmm!!" Lily nodded and smiled, before she went back to talking with whoever it was on the other side of her cell phone.

I walked away from the fountain plaza and continued my walk towards the Liberal Arts building. All the while, I thought about how close we had been at one point. It was depressing, yes, but I couldn't let it get me down. She made her own choices, and she was headstrong with her decisions on how to live her live. I was in no position to fight it, so I went on and focused on my own life.

After that, we barely spoke at all. We just waved and said "Hi" to each other whenever we passed each other on campus. Again, it was sad how things got to that point between us.

The next--and last--time we actually were together was for Trish's graduation later that year. But even then things were awkward between us; I think even Trish sensed it, which pains me to say. It was her big day, and I didn't want my feelings towards Lily to interfere with Trish's big day. Thankfully, nothing boiled over, and we were able to celebrate Trish's graduation without a hitch.

Trish still wanted to be friends with her, though, and I wasn't going to let my feelings ruin the friendship those two had. But as far as me and Lily was concerned, our friendship was all but done.

~~~

"It's interesting that you said that you told her not to show off her powers," Heidi said after Parvati finished telling her story, "when you pretty much did the same thing with Greg."

"When he told me about his deepest fantasy, about wanting to be shrunken and at the mercy of a bigger woman, I figured that I could take the chance to grant his wish," Parvati explained. "Which is also why I cast the other spell in the event that he has to leave. That way he can go back to living his old life without a worry."

"You could have just let it go as a hopeless dream," Heidi stated.

"I know... But when I saw how much he was into me, as well as him seeming like a nice guy, I wanted to give him a chance to live out his fantasy."

"I see... It's your decision, and you are responsible for any consequences that may arise. Including Head Witch Indigo's warning. If he happens to die in some manner, your other spell will also be terminated."

"I know. I'm taking full responsibility for him and what ultimately becomes of him." Parvati looked downward at the green grass below. "...I just wish there was a way for him to keep his memories of his time here. At least he'd have those if and when he decides to leave."

"Sorry," Heidi said. "It's a preventative measure to make sure that us Witches remain a secret. Only close family and other Witches are supposed to know."

"I don't think Greg would go around and telling everyone about our existence," Parvati said, looking back at Heidi.

"The Council can't take that risk. Sorry."

Parvati sighed. "Maybe one day we Witches won't have to hide our identities from the world. It would be a huge relief."

"Unlikely," Heidi said. "Human nature won't allow that."

"Are you sure about that?" Parvati asked.

"I have lived for a long time. I have seen both the good and bad side of humans. ...As of right now, the bad is outweighing the good. ...Not that Witches are completely innocent, either. Power corrupts, you know."

"True..." Parvati said. Even so, Parvati wanted to believe that there would come a time where humans and Witches could live with one another without any conflict or uprisings. Though she admitted that such a day would be far off in the future, long after she would be able to see it come to fruition.

Until then, all she could do was live for herself. And for the new role she had taken for Greg.

~~~

Greg stood outside of Trish's bed, examining his work. He had just finished the grueling task of sweeping and mopping under the bed. At his size, it was akin to doing the same to an entire school auditorium. His arms were tired beyond belief.

He looked and saw that Trish was walking out from inside her bathroom. She had just finished sweeping and mopping herself; in her case she had done her bedroom as well as her bathroom. The dozens of clothing that had been on the floor before were all packed inside of the hamper near the bathroom door; Greg was amazed that all of it could fit inside.

"I never want to do that again," Trish said as she walked into the bedroom. "I'm going to have to take my clothes to the laundromat later, too."

"Why don't you use your magic?" Greg asked.

"Par doesn't want me to, remember?" Trish answered. "Man, I wish we had our own washer and dryer here. Maybe I'll ask if she could at least whip those up."

"Well, in the meantime," Greg said, "are we done here?"

Trish looked at him, then glanced around the room. "The bed's made up, I've dusted my desk over there, the room's swept, and I just mopped the bathroom too. I'm not going to mop in here, because I don't think it needs it. I think the main thing Parvati was fussing at me about were the clothes, and those are in there." She nudged her head towards where the hamper was. "...I think we're done finally."

Greg let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you... Now I can get out of here."

Leaving the utensils that he had used behind, Greg turned and began to walk towards the currently closed door that led to the hallway; he trusted that Trish would let him out of the room.

However, before he could come anywhere near the door, Trish's foot--clad in a white sock, stepped down right in his path.

"Wait a minute, Runt," she said, now standing over him. "Why don't you stick around here for a while?"

Bewildered, he watched as she reached down and grabbed him off from the floor, and then carried him to her bed. She then sat down upon it.

"Why?" Greg asked. "I thought you had other plans today. How do I factor in with them?"

"You don't," Trish answered, as she crossed her right leg over her left one. "But I'm not going anywhere for like a few hours, so I can afford to make your life happy in the meantime."

Greg watched her, with her free hand, pull the sock completely from of her right foot. Not able to help himself, he gazed at her now bare foot, its unpolished toes wiggling. Though Greg had long since determined that her feet were average--not bad, but not great, either. Especially when compared to Parvati's.

He found himself being lifted into the air again, before he was suspended over the mouth of her sock. He looked downward at the abyss below; he could smell the odor that her feet had left inside of the sock. He knew what Trish was thinking of doing with him; she had done so on more than a few occasions in the past. Luckily for him, her foot odor was not as pungent as it was months ago.

"Now, you wait in there while I go get Par," Trish said.

Greg laughed. "Well, it's not like you're giving me much of a choice-"

His words were cut short as Trish released her grip of him, letting him plummet into the sock. He impacted the soft fabric, and his nostrils were immediately overtaken by the odor that Trish's feet had left inside.

He felt the sock being moved, and then second later saw Trish's foot sliding into the sock from its mouth. He did not try to fight it; he merely let it press him against the fabric and her sole. Then, after the sock was completely back on her foot, he felt himself being moved again, before being pressed against a hard surface; the floor, most likely.

He felt the weight on her foot shift more heavily upon his body, the ball of her foot squarely on his head, before it completely lifted off of him. However, just as quickly, it dropped all on him at once, and released again. Trish was walking, no doubt to find Parvati and tell her that her task had been finished.

Greg could do nothing--not even bask in some of the credit of helping her to clean her room--but enjoy the ride that she was taking him on.

~~~

"Wow, Trish, I'm impressed," Parvati said in amazement. "It's been a long time since your room has been clean like this."

After informing them that she had completed the task that Parvati had handed her, both Parvati and Heidi had come to see Trish's room. Needless to say, they were both impressed.

"Finished it in no time!" Trish gloated. "You were right, Par. My room looks much better now. I just need to get my clothes down to the laundromat now. ...Unless you say it's okay for me to whip up out own washer-"

"No," Parvati answered quickly.

Trish sighed. "I thought you'd say that. ...But at least you won't be on my case about my room anymore."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Heidi said. "Knowing you, this room will be a wreck again very soon."

Trish winced. "Wanna bet?"

"No. I don't want you to lose what little money you have." Heidi flashed a sly smile.

"That's enough, you two," Parvati said. She looked around on the floor, as if she was looking for something. "...Where's Greg?"

"He's around," Trish answered.

"...Oh. Well, if that means what I think it does, just be careful with him," Parvati said.

"I know. He's been through a lot worse, remember?"

Heidi turned and began to walk out of the room. "I'm going back outside. ...Trish, for what it's worth, the room does look nice. Do try to keep it this way." She smiled again, before exiting the room.

Trish and Parvati watched her leave, and then turned towards each other.

"I'm so glad you've finally straightened this room out, Trish," Parvati said, wearing an appreciative expression of her face. "I almost forgot what this room looked like before you moved in."

"Oh, it wasn't that bad!" Trish laughed. "Was I that much of a slob?"

Parvati laughed as well. "I'm not going to answer that, and you're lucky Heidi isn't in here to hear that."

"Yeah. Snarky ass."

Parvati chuckled again, before turning and walking towards the doorway. "Well, you're free to do whatever you want for the rest of the day. ...Again, I hate to sound like your mother, but you have no idea what it was like to see how messy your room was every day."

"Right..." Trish replied. "Close the door on you way out."

Parvati nodded, and did as requested as she exited the room. Trish looked at the hamper to her right, filled to the brim with her clothes. As she had expected, since Parvati would not used her magic to create their own washer and dryer, she would have to make a trip to the laundromat. What a drag, she thought. She could just use her magic, but Parvati had wanted her to do her chores without relying on the magic.

"I'll do that later," Trish said.

Taking notice of Greg's squirming form under her right foot, she walked to her bed and pulled out her cell phone from her pocket. She pressed the 7 button of the phone, quick-dialing Cynthia. After a few rings, there was a response on the other end of the line.

"Hello?" Cynthia said.

"Hey, it's me," Trish answered.

"Oh hi!" Cynthia's tone became excited. "I was wondering when you were gonna call me!"

"Sorry. I had to do a little cleaning here, but I'm done now."

Trish continued to talk with Cynthia, all the while shifting her body's weight to and from her right foot, as well as rubbing it against the floor back and forth and even in circles, evoking more frenzied reactions from the tiny Greg trapped within her sock. She was entertaining two people, she thought to herself.

~~~

A somewhat dizzy Greg walked down the hallway towards Parvati's room. His clothes were moist with sweat, and the odor from Trish's sock had rubbed off on him. Despite that, needless to say, he had enjoyed what Trish had done for him. However, she had released him as she left to take her clothes to the laundromat; she had once again made plans with Cynthia and wanted to get cleaning her clothes out of the way so she could make her date with Cynthia as early as possible.

He stepped into Parvati's room, its door halfway closed, and saw her sitting at her desk and reading something on her laptop.

"...That's crazy," she said, with a bit of disgust in her voice. "If we could use our magic more freely, we could have prevented that."

"What happened?" Greg asked as he approached her.

Parvati turned to face him. "A group of extremists in Dublin took an entire hospital hostage. They've already killed three doctors and two nurses. They're asking for a huge ransom before they let the rest go. ...I don't see why we can't step in whenever something like this happens. Our magic would have stopped this from escalating."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess you're right." Greg then remembered the dream that he had the night before. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Parvati answered.

"I've had this weird dream twice in the past week," Greg started. "It said something about be being a son and it being almost time for something, but most of it is distorted. I can barely make out anything else it said."

"...Okay?"

"It's weird. Do you know anything about it?"

Parvati shook her head. "No. It just sounds like a weird, recurring dream to me."

"Oh... So you're not playing a prank on me or anything?"

Parvati laughed. "Why would I do that?"

"Well, you can be quite the trickster sometimes," Greg replied.

Parvati leaned closer to Greg in her seat. "But this time I'm completely innocent, Greg. In any case, I wouldn't worry about it unless it keeps happening. Maybe your subconsciousness is trying to tell you something."

"Yeah, who knows what that could be?" Greg sighed. "I'll ask Trish when she gets back if she knows anything about it. Anyway, I'm going to go take a shower. I need to get this stink off of me."

"Then what?" Parvati asked.

"I can think of a few things." Greg eyed Parvati's bare feet in front of him. Compared to Trish's they were much more breathtaking, as he had let her know many times before.

Sensing Greg's intentions, Parvati giggled. "In that case, hurry up. Don't keep me waiting." She wiggled her toes.

"Oh, I won't, my Goddess," Greg said, as he then walked towards Parvati's bed, and thus his dollhouse. Indeed, he intended to hurry with his shower and return to Parvati's waiting peds.

While her feet were overtaking his mind, he also could not ignore his recurring dream, and the meaning behind it. What is the voice trying to tell him? What is it almost time for? Why does it call him its son? Was it actually a prank being played on him by Trish, Heidi, or even Parvati, despite her words? Or was it something more? After having spent so much time with the Witches, he knew he couldn't exactly discard any strange occurrences as foulplay. Before, he did not know that Witches even existed, so who knows what else could be out there? He just hoped that--if it wasn't just a trick--it was not anything sinister.

At that point, all he could do was wait and see if he would dream it again. ...Even if it would give him more questions than answers.