Finally able to sink away in a comfy slumbering sleep, seventeen-year-old Aaron peeled his eyes open – irritated – as sniggering jests were being whispered above him. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes to make the blurry vista clearer and was greeted by a mostly unpleasant view.
His two younger sisters looked down upon him with mirth as their youthful faces were framed by strands of hair. Tinsley's honey buttered, river curls were in sharp contrast with Alannah's raven-hued fringes draped just above her eyebrows.
Merely an hour ago, Aaron was shrunk down by his mother to the pathetic size of roughly two inches tall and stuffed in a cardboard box. It was meant as a disciplinary measure for his unruly behavior during lunch this afternoon, whereby he threw a hard-boiled egg to his sister, Alannah, after a heated argument. Aaron's throw was perfectly aimed at Alannah's head. He saw her shrieking across the table, so he knew he caught her off guard, and she would not be able to use her magic in time. Nonetheless, the egg never reached the target. It utterly came to a stop – in midair – just before it was about to hit Alannah's left eye. His mother's reprimanding look gave Aaron enough information about two things. First: She was the one who stopped the egg, and second: he was going to get punished for it.
Aaron pleaded like a baby to have mercy on him. It was no use though, all of his words fell on deaf ears while begging his unyielding mother for a somewhat milder treatment.
As a final desperate resort, Aaron focused his pleas on his father, also sitting at the table. A quite sturdy and impressive man to see – with big meaty arms, a length amply above average, and a broad jaw that radiated a natural authority. Unfortunately, his imposing physical appearance gave him no edge in the power dynamics of his relationship with his mother – on the contrary. His mother was an extremely potent witch. She even once opposed a whole warmongering nation – single-handedly – and forced them to surrender to her.
It was the first time in nearly fifty years that a war-torn region had known peace after his mother's intervention. She became an international hero after that and won the Nobel prize even.
So, Aaron could cry and beg for what he wanted, but his father would always choose his mother's side. It did not take long before his mother's influence took effect, and Aaron started shrinking down on his chair. He was quickly picked up by his youngest sister, Tinsley, and handed over to his mother's awaiting hand.
Now here he was, imprisoned in a box at a pitiful size of roughly two inches in height – while serving out the time of his punishment – when his bratty sisters of thirteen and fifteen years old decided to interfere.
He looked up – anxious – and saw them squeezing their heads together in an attempt to have a good look at him.
As both girls folded their fingers over the side, Aaron saw two pairs of bright blue eyes piercing in on him.

"He's awake!" Tinsley shouted, a bit more enthusiastic than she intended.

"Not so loud, doofus. You want mom to hear us?" Alannah reprimanded.

"Aaw, he looks so cute being this small. Can I hold him?" Tinsley reached her hand out.
Instinctively, Aaron ducked down – with his hands above his head.

Alannah grabbed Tinsley's wrist.
"NOT before I made him apologize for that dirty throw from earlier," Alannah said. She licked her lips and reached her hand out with an evil glare on her pretty face.

"Mom! Where is mom?!" Aaron shouted in vain as his pitiful legs were trying to outrun Alannah's descending hand.

"Mom isn't here, pipsqueak. Now come here you before I burn this whole box – with you included – to ashes."

Aaron screamed and fought valiantly but lacked the strength to overpower Alannah's grasping fingers. Clutched within her youthful fist, Alannah rose Aaron in front of her mischievous eyes.

"What are you going to do to him?" Tinsley asked with a bit of worry in her voice.

"Anything I want," Alannah said. "Here, watch this."

With that, Aaron gasped for air when his body tumbled down – after Alannah released her grip. He slammed flat on her other awaiting hand. Shaking his head, he looked up to his sister's billboard face and saw her countenance becoming bigger even.

"You're able to shrink him even further?!" Tinsley brought out with amazement.

"Of course."

"Since when?"

Alannah snorted. "Since forever, duh."

"Coooool!" Tinsley said.

Aaron shot his head from side to side and saw with great concern that Alannah's hand was beginning to stretch to the size of a football field to him. Alannah tittered heartily. She really enjoyed the moment.
It had not always been like this for Aaron. There have been times whereby he had the upper hand over his petite sisters. Endowed with the same big-boned structure as his dad, Aaron had no trouble conquering a spot at the top of the food chain in school. Being a short-tempered young fellow, he quickly gave in to the temptation of misusing his sway over others by bullying them. His little sisters included. For years, he made their lives a living hell by breaking their stuff – mostly on purpose – holding them in submission holds and disrespecting their private spaces by barging into their rooms whenever it suited him. Especially Alannah had suffered greatly.

"You're nothing but a whiny little nagger!" Was Aaron's standard line when he had to deal with Alannah's crying pleas of protest.

Such were Aaron's golden days. His reign in the house was undisputed. Then Tinsley and Alannah's powers started to develop. First, their spells did not amount to much. He merely laughed and slapped Alannah in the face when she tried to threaten him with a conjured flame – not bigger than candlelight – on her finger top. But both girls excelled at a rapid pace, and before Aaron knew it, he was forced to use all kinds of household objects as tools of warfare to have a chance against their magical flurry. It did not take long before Aaron suffered his first loss against his sisters when they severely burned his arm with elemental attacks and tied him up with a magically conjured rope. Things only went downhill from there for Aaron as both girls started becoming more powerful after each passing day. Then on one day, Aaron experienced something which he theorized would never happen to him. He felt fear. Especially when facing Alannah. Her magical prowess started to become off the charts, and her laughter was cruel. He became powerless against her. She even once shrunk him down to handheld size, dressed him up in woman's clothes, and forced him to participate in Tinsley's dollhouse plays – for three uninterrupted days, without food.
It was now up to his parents to start reprimanding Alannah instead of Aaron for acts of bullying.
He was nowhere safe now and deeply regretted his vile behavior in the past against his sisters. They were settling scores.
Then, on one day - when things seemed impossible to get any worse than this – he accidentally eavesdropped on a most disturbing conversation between his parents. His mother was expressing her concerns about the future – and in particular, the future of mankind.
Aaron's mother knew – just like all witches – that her powers could only be inherited by daughters. But now, it was told to her that she carried with her the seeds of ascension. Which meant that there was a high probability that one of her daughters would have the potential to ascend to Goddesshood. This would basically mean that one of Aaron's sisters could become a Goddess one day. And being a deity meant that such a person's magical capabilities would know no boundaries. A Goddess would be able to do virtually anything she desired. No force in existence could think of defying it, not even Aaron's mom.
Aaron also had an older sister – Kiara. A somewhat eccentric girl – 21 years of age – with pretty steadfast and unorthodox ideas about how human society should be managed. Although her looks resembled heavily with her mother's looks – with big roundish-almond eyes, shoulder-long straw-colored hair, and a delicate jawline – the similarities stopped there. Kiara's behavior was always adorned with mystery and ambiguity. When you finally thought you had figured the girl out, she would do precisely the opposite of what others would have expected of her. And unlike her little sisters, Kiara was not blessed with the powers of her mother. Although Kiara was family, she did not mince her opinion about witches. If society wanted to thrive in its full potential, it needed to be completely absent of any witches. Such were Kiara's words. On a regular basis, Kiara was at odds with her mother about this topic. And it did not take long before she moved out of the house and broke any form of contact. Only Aaron spoke to her from time to time. Just like that day when Aaron decided to reach out for her after hearing these disturbing stories from his mother.

+++

"You look like shit," Kiara said when Aaron sat down across her at a table in some diner.

"I've known better days," Aaron answered as he made a futile effort to hide the burn mark on his left cheek by presenting the other side of his face.

"Is Alannah really that hard on you?" Kiara said with sincere concern while stirring her coffee.
Aaron grabbed the menu and called a waitress to order a shake.

Kiara sighed when the waitress left, "Look, Aaron, I'm gonna be honest with you. I had some pretty strong doubts this morning if I even wanted to see you after such a long time. My life is good now. Why this sudden meet up after–"

"Mom told me things." Aaron interrupted her. "or better said, I heard her saying things to father. Quite unsettling things."

Kiara cocked her brow, "You're sparkling my curiosity."

Aaron jerked his head from side to side to make sure no one was within hearing distance. "You ever heard of the term seeds of ascension?" he whispered.

Kiara's expression remained blank when she answered dryly, "Go on."

"Well, If I have to believe mom, at least one of our kid sisters is destined to become some sort of deity with unlimited powers."

"A Goddess," Kiara said and took a small sip of her coffee.

"Yes. You know?" Aaron asked.

Kiara shrugged, "Knew it even before mom did."

"How?"

"I've read it once in an ancient manuscript in some dusty cellar beneath the main library. A Goddess can be frightful. The last one appeared more than five thousand years ago. These beings are capable of reshaping the laws of the universe itself. All that you see now – the sun, gravity, oxygen, the way how things are working – is said to be the work of the latest Goddess."

"I think we are in sync with each other that it would be very bad for our health if Alannah would gain such powers," Aaron said.

"Or Tinsley," Kiara said dryly.

"Or Tinsley, yes! The point is, there got to be a way to prevent this."

Kiara shrugged, "You can't change fate. Only a Goddess can."

Aaron chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Look, I know you feel quite content in your social bubble right now, avoiding witches and all. But they are out there and believe me, if either Tinsley or Alannah manages to ascend to Goddesshood, their influence WILL be felt – even by you. ESPECIALLY by you."

Kiara remained silent and took another sip of her coffee while staring out the window. "Do they know it?" she asked as her piercing gaze landed back on Aaron's after some moments.

"No, I guess not… I've never heard them speaking about it in any case," Aaron said.

"Tell them."

Aaron gave a peal of derisive laughter – which causes some of the other customers to look their way. "And that would benefit what exactly?"

"Listen," Kiara said, leaning in closer and lowering her voice. "an ascension will only sprout under the condition of a natural flow. In other words, it is highly unlikely that it will be set in motion in someone who is expecting it and will try to forcefully evoke it."

Aaron frowned, "How do you know all these things?"

"Simple, because I'm smart. Now listen, I was not done speaking yet. Tell Tinsley and Alannah about this seed of ascension and from that moment on – believe me – their immature heads will be filled with nothing else than this. They will ponder about it, day in day out – fear it, or crave for it even."

"Especially Alannah," Aaron added.

"Especially Alannah. But exactly THAT will cause the ascension to skip a generation or two or hopefully be completely snuffed out."

"Is there a guarantee?" Aaron asked.

A faint smile appeared on Kiara's usually stoic face. "There is not even the guarantee that you can walk out of this diner without being shot in the head by that bearded man over there."

"Can I ask one more question before we end this nice family reunion?" Aaron asked.

Kiara merely looked back at Aaron, expressionless.

"I know I've asked this before, but be honest with me, please. Truly. Did it ever vexed you that you weren't blessed with mom's abilities, but your younger sisters did?"

"Was nice seeing you, brother," Kiara said and stood up to leave.

As Aaron ran about on Alannah's humongous hand as a minuscule being of roughly one centimeter in height – evading sparks of thunderstrikes coming down from a conjured pack of little clouds above him – he contemplated about his conversation with Kiara. Up until now, he had kept it all hidden for his sisters. Perhaps, the time was ripe now.

"That is soooo cool, Alannah! Where'd you learn to conjure a thunderstorm like that?" Tinsley leaned in to watch her shrunken brother running for cover on Alannah's hand.

"I'm a natural." Alannah said, "Here, watch this."

Alannah's eyes began to glow, and not a moment later, the miniature thunderstorm above Aaron began to intensify drastically – shooting down bolts of fire even.

"Doesn't it hurt?" Tinsley asked as she saw the rain of tiny thunderbolts and balls of fire coming down on Alannah's hand.

Alannah shrugged, "It only tickles a bit."

Both Tinsley and Alannah watched with amusement as their once all-mighty brother was now running in fear for them at a ridiculously small size. There was nowhere to go for him except in the direction of Alannah's arm.
Alannah looked at Tinsley with a smile. "Your turn, sis. Make him pay."

Tinsley hesitated, "Aren't we a bit harsh on him?"

"What are you, nuts? Have you already forgotten the horrible things he did to us? Don't you remember that this guttersnipe crashed your slumber party a few years ago and wrecked that science project you and your friends so carefully constructed? We are not cruel, Tinsley – its justice, he deserves it."

"Well… okay. If you put it like that." Tinsley said.

"Come on. Try to dwindle him down even further." Alannah prodded her sister as her eyes were following Aaron's movement on her arm. He was trying to get out of reach of the thunderstorm raging above her hand.

Tinsley chuckled, "You and your shrinking gags."

Alannah shrugged, "I can't help it. I'm just fond of small people."

Heaving heavily of exhaustion, Aaron looked up with concern as he saw Tinsley's eyes glowing. He felt all sorts of queer sensations in his body. Tinsley's magical influence was already affecting his body. He had to act now before he would be shrunk down to nothingness.

"Stop! STOOOOP!" Aaron waved frantically in a desperate attempt to gain attention from his looming, gigantic sisters.

"What's he doing?" Tinsley asked.

"Nothing. Just carry on." Alannah answered.

"Seems like he wants to tell us something," Tinsley said.

Alannah rolled her eyes, "Aaaargh! For the love of God!" with a wave of her other hand, the thunderstorm dissolved into nothing. "Speak up, speck! And it better be good!"