USA, 23 years ago…

Dianne Archer Leslie was 36 when it happened. Jared was 31, and Corey was 15.

Jared went on an overseas business trip to expand the interests of his company, and was lost in an aircraft accident.

Dianne was devastated, and turned her attention to comforting Corey. They attended the funeral together and then went to visit the cemetery a few weeks later.

“He’ll always stay in our minds, just like my parents,” said Corey.

“I’m sorry,” said Dianne, “In the last few weeks I’ve forgotten that you’ve been living with this for seven years. I should be looking after you.”

She gave him a hug.

“It’s my turn to look after you,” said Corey and kissed her cheek.

Dianne kissed him back. It was now her adopted son who would in fact help her to cope with the loss, as he had experienced it first, and was experiencing it again.

She drove him home, and they kept each other company for the remainder of the school vacation period. They had inherited a fortune from Jared and would not want for anything material, but a gap had formed in their lives, and they did their best to fill it for each other.

One evening after school, they had dinner as usual and then sat on the couch to watch a movie that Corey had chosen. He kept looking sideways at Dianne. He began to realise how much he had always thought her to be a pretty lady, but had not considered it, because of his position in her family.

“What’s up?” she asked, when the movie ended.

“I …”

“Are you OK?”

He stroked her hair.

She put her arm around his shoulders and leaned his way a little.

“I’m glad I still have you,” she said.

Would he always be just an adopted child in her mind?

He leaned closer, and kissed her on the cheek.

She gave a startled look, and stared at him.

Christine Long’s fictional story continued, read in present day…

“That’s what I mean. I want to get married one day too, Mrs Long.”

 “How long have you been feeling like this?”

“I guess it only just occurred to me, when you said you were leaving. I was happy enough watching the movies and not being married up until then.”

“I suppose a single girl might take you on at that size,” said Mrs Long, or I could restore your size, “But my desire to eat you is a definite known available possibility. I have taken care of you for a long time.”

“I know, and you’ve been very kind and friendly, Mrs Long. Can I have some time to think about this prospect of being eaten by you?”

“Of course. We’ve still got over four weeks. Take two weeks from today. I’ll keep putting on the movies for us, while my daughter’s in school, and then you can take time out for personal reflection later in each day.”

At the end of the two weeks, he was sure of his decision.

“I’ve done a lot of thinking about it, Mrs Long, and part of me wants to be eaten out of gratitude for all your friendship and hospitality over the past few years. Part of me wants to be eaten because I felt deeply flattered by the way you complimented me on the appeal of eating me that day I was in your mouth. However, the overriding part of me wants to go on outside your stomach. I hope that you’ll still continue to think of me as a friend though.”

“I do, Timothy, but I realise now, that I didn’t explain myself very well two weeks ago. I said you could have two weeks to think about being eaten, so that you could get used to the idea. I wasn’t asking you to make a decision. I did that myself two weeks ago. I’m sorry about the misunderstanding.”

“Please, Mrs Long, can’t you appreciate how desperately I don’t want to be eaten all up by you and gone?”

“I can assure you I do understand your perspective, Timothy. You’ve explained it most lucidly, but I’ve made my plans and you don’t have any say in the matter.”

“It’s so unfair. The outcomes are so unevenly balanced in your favour!”

“People outlive everything they eat, Timothy. It’s a scientific fact,” said Mrs Long, lifting his ship high in the air, with him still in the doorway.

She placed it on the branch of a tall tree.

“You should be safe there until tomorrow,” she said, “I can’t leave you on the ground now. I’d be too concerned about you trying to get out of my garden and run away. I’ll be back to collect you just before lunch time tomorrow, and then I’ll prepare a meal of you in the kitchen and enjoy it. I’ll see you later, little friend.”

She turned and walked away. He thought and thought all day, and finally went to sleep with no solutions in his mind.

The next morning, Mrs Long came out at 11:30 and took the ship down and put it back in its usual place.

“I’ll leave it there as a memento of the last few years,” she said, “Let’s get you eaten.”

Mrs Long grabbed him, stood up and carried him inside. There was no point in further protests.

Mrs Long put him down on the kitchen bench. He still admired her grand towering face and figure as he watched her take a plate from the cupboard and put it down on the bench beside him. She lifted him up and set him down on the plate.

“Lie on your back, Timothy,” she said.

He obeyed her, noting that she seemed much more like the strict teacher of the old days than the friendly host he’d known in recent years.

Mrs Long’s elegant fingers opened various jars of herbs and sprinkled samples of them over his face and body. She left him on the bench and took a jug of water and glass out to the same table that she had ended up using on the day she had put him into her mouth. Then she returned and carried his plate out and placed it on the table.

Mrs Long sat down, picked him up, licking her lips, and spent several minutes licking all of the herbs off his body, and washing them down with water from the glass.

“Well Timothy, you did all this to avoid the normal responsibilities of life. I shall now make sure you never need to concern yourself with those responsibilities again. Don’t struggle too much on the way down, or you’ll cause my throat some discomfort. Now in you go.”

She opened her mouth wide, put out her tongue, lowered him onto it, and drew him into her mouth. He thought about her instruction and decided to obey it.

“Maybe she’s testing me,” he thought, “If I show consideration for her wishes, while I’m halfway down her throat, she might think I deserve to be coughed up and spared!”

With this new hope in mind, he waited until she gulped him into her throat. He stayed still, keeping his arms above his shoulders, resting gently against the wall of her throat. She was remaining still.

“She hasn’t made a second gulp,” he thought, “I guess she’s waiting to see if I’ll honour her expectation that I don’t struggle. Well Mrs Long, I know you couldn’t hear me if I spoke, but I will do what you want.”

He stayed still. So did Mrs Long’s throat.

It felt strangely pleasant just resting there, surrounded by the inner flesh of her neck As the tongue starts in the throat, his stomach and face were actually still pressed against it. He was quite content to rest there, while Mrs Long appraised his character. Then he looked forward to the possibility of sliding back up that tongue and out of her mouth.

Suddenly Mrs Long began gulping again!

He was slowly but inevitably drawn down into her stomach, where he soon felt the painless absorption of his body.

Timothy awoke again. He was still in first year high school. Mrs Long had come over earlier in the year to make an announcement concerning the boys from last year’s sixth class. Then he hadn’t seen her again, and assumed that she had left the school. It probably gave rise to the dream he had of the five years of developments at tiny size in the toy spaceship.

*         *          *          *

When Timothy was in third year high school, in the May holidays at the end of term one, he went walking in the forest and found a tall vine concealed by bush, but visible nonetheless to his keen eye. He climbed it until he emerged in another land. He seemed to be in a giant garden. There were lots of ladies’ clothes on the washing line. So he assumed that a woman lived there. He walked over to the gigantic front door a long way from where he’d first emerged.

The door had a bell cord which reached right down to the ground. Timothy pulled the cord, and was surprised by the lady who opened the door. It was Mrs Long. He hadn’t seen her in over three years. She was now a giant. She stood there towering in front of him. Timothy looked up past her long dress to her high face.

“Timothy!” she said, “I haven’t seen you for a while.”

“Mrs Long! How did you become a giant?”

“Oh don’t worry about that. Why don’t you come in for lunch?”

“Thank you. I’d like that after my long walk and climb,” he said, and watched her giant hand reach down to pick him up.

Once they were in her kitchen, she put him onto the table and said "I don't have any small plates. I think I shall just put you onto a plate of my food and let you help yourself. We will eat with our fingers."

She prepared a large plate of ham, salad and bread, and gently positioned Timothy in amongst the salad. He moved around the plate, helping himself to relatively negligible amounts of the giant's food, while looking up at the beautiful lady consuming mouthfuls of food that were larger than he was.

High above him, Mrs Long's long neck gulped down the food.

He thought of how Mrs Long was a giant now and had no real need for him as a school student.

She finished the meal and wiped her hands and mouth on a serviette the size of a parachute.

"Did you like it, little Timothy?"

"Yes thank you. I did get rather messy in it, but I think I would probably drown in your bathtub. I had better bathe in a saucer."

"Don't worry" she said, lifting him towards her face, "I'll have you sparkling clean in no time."