“MO-OM, come on!” Tim whined in a high-pitched, squeaky voice. “Be reasonable!”

     “I think I’m being MORE than reasonable, young man… ESPECIALLY considering the circumstances!” his mother, Natalie, replied sternly as she frantically rifled through her purse sitting on the kitchen table, searching for her misplaced car keys. “Now, I’m NOT leaving you home alone—not in your condition—and that’s final!”

     “Mom, I’ll be fine!” Tim protested, “Really! Just put me on the coffee table and turn on the TV.”

     “Oh no, I’m not letting you sit in front of the TV all day, young man!” Natalie objected, shaking her head rapidly, her shoulder-length, dark-blond hair flailing back and forth,

     “Well, what ELSE am I supposed to do, mom?!” Tim squeaked, gesturing wildly. “It’s not like I can go anywhere!”

     “Well, whose fault is that, Tim, huh?!” Natalie snapped, frustratedly shoving the contents from the large compartment of her purse back inside, “If you hadn’t gone….snooping around the refrigerator, you wouldn’t BE in this mess, now, would you?!”

     “Well, WHY would you hide something like that in the FRIDGE, mom?!” Tim squeaked heatedly. “Why didn’t you just keep it in your lab at work?!”

     “Tim, I was keeping it here until I COULD take it to work with me tomorrow!” Natalie replied, motioning haphazardly with her hands. “Do you even realize how hard it was just to get my hands on that formula you drank?! I practically had to call in EVERY favor I had, AND extend my trip by two whole days just to get that little bottle, not to mention sneaking it back home…

     “I barely even got ONE NIGHT at home with your father before he had to leave for his business trip yesterday morning!” she continued, searching yet another purse pocket for her keys. “We should both consider ourselves LUCKY you only drank a tiny bit. Things COULD’VE turned out a lot worse!”

     “‘WORSE’?!” Tim squeaked indignantly, hopping up and down on the kitchen table. “What could be worse than THIS, mom?!”

    “Tim, I’m through discussing this with you!” Natalie said frustratedly, walking over towards the kitchen counter to grab a sip from her coffee mug. “Now, I’ve GOT to get to my lab and start analyzing what’s left of that formula. Hopefully, I can find a cure for you before anyone finds out about this. In any case, I can’t leave you here alone to fend for yourself! Who KNOWS what could happen?!”

     Natalie took a hasty to sip of coffee before finishing her speech:

     “Besides, your Aunt Julia is already on her way.”

     Tim slumped onto the table, dejected, frustrated, and embarrassed over his current predicament. This was supposed to be his summer vacation, but it was very quickly becoming something out of the Twilight Zone…

     Two days prior, his brilliant, 45-year-old, biochemist mother, Dr. Natalie Reynolds, had returned from a scientific expedition to the Amazon where she had been researching and collecting numerous rare plant and mineral samples, hoping that one of them might lead to a breakthrough cancer treatment. One such sample, in particular, not only seemed extremely promising, but was possibly her most coveted find….and the very cause of the family’s current turmoil:

     Natalie had, through several back-channels, acquired a rare, medicinal potion that, when mixed with the precise combination of ingredients, had the potential to dissipate growths on the body wherever it was applied. She even had a first-hand experience witnessing the potion in action when it was applied externally to a small tumor on the back of a native’s neck: in mere seconds, the tumor shrink away right before her very eyes until it had all but disappeared.

     Natalie was left dumbfounded and completely speechless; she knew she’d found exactly what she’d been looking for! She called in every favor imaginable, and even extended her trip two extra days just to get her hands on a small quantity of the potion mixed by a local medicine man. Worried it might become damaged or fall into the wrong hands, Natalie decided it was too valuable to risk shipping back home with the rest of her samples, and while most of the other perishable samples from her trip were sent to a cold-storage facility until they could be delivered to her lab on Monday morning, she poured the potion into a mini liquor bottle from her hotel room and managed to smuggle it onboard her flight home with her carry-on luggage. Once home, she hid the vial of potion in a small crevice in the back of her refrigerator: a secret hiding place she often utilized to hide various bottles of liquor whenever she brought home with her whenever she traveled, and a hiding spot she thought no one but her husband was aware of.

     Unfortunately, Natalie hadn’t accounted for her son’s snooping. Tim was WELL-AWARE of his mother’s hiding spot, and occasionally went searching for hidden samples of liquor that his mother and father often brought back from their semi-frequent work trips.

     Earlier that Sunday morning, while his mother slept, Tim snuck a swig of a small, unmarked bottle he found in the back of the fridge, thinking it was a sample of some rare, South American liquor…The next thing Tim knew, he was on the floor of his kitchen, his usual 5’9” frame that was once equal to his mother’s reduced to a mere 1-inch tall. At first, Tim thought he was dreaming, but a few pinches—and the appearance of his gigantic mother about a half hour later—confirmed he was, unfortunately, wide awake.

     Tim was completely dumbfounded….and rightfully scared out of his mind. Luckily, he managed to get his mother’s attention when she sat down at the kitchen table with her usual morning cup of coffee; although, she did almost step on him several times as she shuffled about the kitchen that morning.

     Even after his mother found him, however, Tim was far from being out of the woods: he was still stuck at only an inch tall, which meant he couldn’t go anywhere, nor do anything—even around the house—without some kind of assistance. Until he was back to his normal size, he was completely at the mercy of his giant mother, who was currently preoccupied running around the house trying to locate her missing car keys, and pretty soon, his Aunt Julia as well, someone Tim wasn’t exactly the fondest of.

     It wasn’t that Tim hated or despised his aunt or anything, nor that she felt that way about him, it was just that Julia was always condescending towards Tim whenever she was around: always telling him that he needed help out more around the house, especially whenever his father was traveling for work; berating him about not trying out for sports or being involved in any extracurricular activities; and lately, insisting he get a summer job now that he was 15 years old and had just finished his freshman year of high school. She even teased him about not having a girlfriend, or being enough of a catch, something he was actually hoping to rectify that very summer, but now…

     After sulking for a bit and feeling sorry for himself, Tim resumed his efforts in trying to reason with his giant mother:

     “But couldn’t you have found someone else to look after me BESIDES Aunt Julia?!” he whined, anxiously brushing back his short, brown hair.

     “Tim, who else was I gonna find to watch you on such short notice?!” Natalie spat in frustration, turning back towards the table. “With your father out of town, she’s the only option! And for your information, that formula is supposed to be top-secret: I can’t risk anyone finding out about it….or YOU, for that matter! It’ll be hard enough keeping this from everyone at the lab! If ANYONE finds out about this, you’re liable to be…taken away and locked in a cage somewhere, put through countless tests and experiments like some kind of lab rat, or put on display like…like a…”

     Natalie’s voice trailed off as she motioned towards her tiny son on the kitchen table, unable to find the words.

     “Look,” Natalie sighed sympathetically, calming her tone as she stepped back over to the table and bent down to be eye-level with the tiny teenager, “I know this can’t be easy for you—“

     “You can say that again, mom!” Tim interrupted, motioning to his tiny body draped in a makeshift toga made out of Kleenex. “I’m practically the size of a BUG!”

     “I know, honey. I know,” Natalie replied, trying to calm her tiny son, “Look, with any luck, I’ll be able to analyze that formula, create an antidote, and have you back to normal in a few days. It’s…it’s just gonna be a little bit awkward for a while…”

     “Yeah, THAT’S an understatement!” Tim mumbled to himself, shooting his mother a dubious look of admonishment.

     “…but the longer I stay here discussing this with you, the longer you’re going to be like that,” Natalie continued as she stood back up, her 5’9”, semi-muscular frame now towering over her inch-tall son’s.

     “As it is, I’m probably gonna have to work day and night over the next couple of days JUST to get this formula analyzed,” she sighed as she walked back over to the counter to take another well-needed sip of coffee, “so the sooner I get started, the sooner…HOPEFULLY, I can get you back to normal.

     “But, for now, at least, it’s best this ALL stays quiet and inside the family,” Natalie continued, shaking her head, though more slowly and sympathetic this time. “Besides, with your Aunt Julia not having to teach this summer school this year, she’s the perfect person to watch you while I’m at work….AND she knows how to keep her mouth shut, so I don’t wanna hear anymore about it, understand?!

     “Now, where the hell did I put my car keys?” Natalie lamented, looking off in another direction.

     “But what am I supposed to DO around here, mom?!” Tim whined as he stood up and headed towards his mother who was now rifling through her giant purse. “If I can’t watch TV, I’ll be bored out of my mind!”

     “I’m sure you and your Aunt Julia can come up with a some constructive things to do while she’s here,” Natalie shrugged without even looking up as she frustratedly rifled through her purse one last time.

     “But, MOM—“

     “Tim, I said I don’t wanna hear it!” his mother cut him off, her mind still on her missing keys as she straightened up and looked back towards the living room. “Maybe I left them in the—“

     *DING DONG*

     Both Tim and Natalie jumped when the doorbell rang.

     “Great, that’ll be your aunt,” Natalie sighed, her heart still pounding from the start she’d just received as she motioned back to her tiny son. “Look, STAY here while I let her in.”

     “But, MOM—“ Tim whined again.

     “Tim…STAY!” His mother said gruffly, pointing at him as she grabbed her purse.

     *DING DONG*, the doorbell rang again.

     “COMING, JULES!” Natalie called out as she quickly turned around to head out of the kitchen, inadvertently striking her tiny son with her purse as she yanked it from the table.

     “MO—AAAAAAA!” Tim cried out as the giant purse impacted, sending him hurtling through the air and off the edge of the table screaming for his mother as he soared. He bounced off the mesh backing of one of the table’s chairs and tumbled down onto the cushioned seat.

     Meanwhile, Natalie, completely unaware of her blunder, headed out of the kitchen and made her way through the living room into the foyer to greet her sister.

     “Hey, Jules,” she exhaled as she opened the front door, “thanks for coming on such short notice.”

     “Of course, Nat,” Julia replied as she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. “You know you can always count on me.”

     “I know, and I appreciate it,” Natalie sighed, embracing her sister in a much-needed hug. “God, it’s so good to see you!”

     “It’s good to see you, too, Nat,” Julia chortled softly as she apprehensively returned her sister’s embrace, “but it’s not like it’s been THAT long since you last saw me.”

     “I know,” Natalie sniffed, teary eyed, truly embracing Julia’s muscular frame, “but you have no idea how good it feels to have family I can count on right now.”

     “Of course, Nat,” Julia replied, patting her sister on the back before removing her head from Natalie’s shoulder to look her into her eyes, “what’re sisters for?”

     Julia was about 5 years younger than Natalie, but despite their age differences, the two sisters had been really close throughout their lives. Like her sister, Julia had dark, blond hair, but she usually kept it longer and usually dyed it a couple shades lighter than Natalie’s, and her eyes were a lovely shade of baby blue, as opposed to Natalie’s and Tim’s brown. Julia was also just slightly shorter than the rest of the family, standing only about 5’7”, but she made up for it with a slightly fitter frame, the result of her healthy workout regimen.

     “I’m so sorry to have to ruin your Sunday plans, Jules,” Natalie said, shaking her head apologetically as she headed back into the living room, “but I didn’t know who else to call. I’ve been at my wits end all morning running around and trying to get myself situated.”

     “It’s no trouble, Nat, really,” Julia replied, trying to comfort her obviously troubled sister as she followed behind. “I was almost done with my workout anyway when you called. Now, just…calm down and tell me what’s going on. You were so cryptic over the phone...”

     “I’m know, Jules,” Natalie replied hastily, “but I just couldn’t risk saying too much over the phone. I HAVE to keep all of this quiet…for Tim’s sake!”

     “OK, but….keep all of what quiet?” Julia shrugged, putting up her hands. “What’s the matter with Tim?”

     “OK,” Natalie began, taking a deep breath and trying to center herself, placing her hands on Julia’s shoulders. “Look, I know this is all gonna sound completely nuts….but, Tim is…well, he’s kinda…small…”

     “‘Small’?!” Julia uttered with a confused shrug. “What do ya mean, ‘small’? Nat, you’re not making any sense…”

     “Okay, look, I’ll just give it to you straight,” Natalie stated firmly as she gently grasped Julia’s hands, “but you have to promise me you won’t tell ANYBODY about this. No one else can know, and I mean NO ONE. You got it?”

     “Of course, Nat,” Julia replied with a confused smile. “I’m your sister. You know you can trust me.”

     “Okay, then,” Natalie said, taking another deep breath to prepare herself. “Here goes: you remember that trip to South America I told you about?”

     “Yeah,” Julia recollected. “You said you were going to Rio for that conference. I’m still totally jealous, by the way!”

     “Yeah, well, I just got back from my trip yesterday…” Natalie explained.

     “…and it wasn’t exactly a ’conference’ like I told you,” she added in air quotes with her free hand.

     “What do ya mean?” Julia shook her head, puzzled. “What was it?”

     “Well,” Natalie continued, “in actuality, it was a secret research trip to the Amazon that the institute funded. We’ve been trying to research various enzymes and plant extracts for cancer-fighting agents, and I went down there to collect some rare plant and other biological samples that I could bring back home and analyze here at my lab. Well, one of the samples was this potion I got from a medicine man: I was keeping it in the fridge for safekeeping until I could take it to my lab tomorrow for analysis. Unfortunately, Tim got into it, and well…he…”

     Natalie’s voice trailed off as she noticed the somewhat confused look on Julia’s face.

     “Look, maybe you should just come inside and see for yourself,” Natalie reiterated, beckoning her sister to follow her towards the kitchen. “You probably won’t believe me otherwise.”

     “Nat, of COURSE I believe you,” Julia said reassuringly, kicking off her flats at the edge of the foyer before stepping into the living room, “it’s just…I still don’t understand what’s going on...”

     “Jules,” Natalie blurted out, “Tim drank the formula I brought back with me from my trip and ended up…

     “…shrunk.” she sighed heavily.

     “‘Shrunk’?!” Julia recoiled with confusion. “Nat, you’re putting me on!”

     “No, I’m not…” Natalie replied dejectedly, shaking her head and stepping away. “Look, I told you wouldn’t believe me!

     “Sis, no, wait,” Julia replied, gently grasping Natalie’s shoulder and turning her back around. “I believe you. I do. It’s just that…well, you gotta admit, it’s all kinda hard to believe...”

     “Tell me about it,” Natalie sighed, putting her hand to her temple. “this whole situation’s pretty unbelievable, but…that actually might be a GOOD thing. It’ll make it easier to keep all of this on the down low.”

     “Yeah, ok….I guess…” Julia reluctantly agreed, trying to humor her sister despite still being dubious of her claims.

     “But, uh….speaking of ‘down low’,” Julia continued, clearing her throat and sporting a smug grin, “just, uh, out of curiosity, exactly how…‘small’ IS Tim?”

     “Go on in and see for yourself.” Natalie sighed heavily, pointing towards the kitchen as she headed off towards the hallway. “He’s on the table, in the kitchen.”

     “On the…on the TABLE?!” Julie exclaimed with a double-take, unsure she’d heard Natalie correctly.

     “You heard me,” Natalie replied, nodding sarcastically.

     “SERIOUSLY?!”

     “Oh, yeah…‘SERIOUSLY’!” Natalie reemphasized with an assured nod as she tried to get out of the room. “Look, just go into the kitchen and make yourself comfortable. I’ve gotta go check my bedroom for my car keys.”

     Julia’s eyes widened in bewilderment as she watched Natalie disappear down the hallway, unsure exactly what to make of their conversation….OR her sister’s odd behavior.

     What exactly did Natalie mean when she said Tim was “shrunk”? Julia wondered, shaking her head with confusion and disbelief as she turned and headed into the kitchen.

     Tim groaned in pain as he slowly opened his eyes, roused by the low rumbling of thunderous booms. 

     “Mm…wha—?” Tim murmured, his tiny body hurting all over, “Mom?!…What’s going on?”

     The last thing he remembered was being on the kitchen table, but where was he now?

     As he struggled to push his head up, the soft, cushioned ground began vibrating beneath him, shaking intermittently with each distant boom.

     A moment later, the thundering booms turned into piercing slaps, accompanied by a strange sound, as if tape were being peeled off the floor. The ground started shaking so much that Tim could feel himself bouncing up and down.

     “What’s happening?!” he exclaimed anxiously. “MOM?!”

     Then, just as Tim regained his bearings, his eyes spotted a giant figure approaching ….a figure he quickly realized wasn’t his mother.

     “TIM?” the giant woman called in a booming voice. “…YOU IN HERE?”

     “Oh, no!” Tim exclaimed softly. “Aunt Julia!”

     Julia’s size 7 1/2 feet smacked the floor as she walked through the kitchen towards the table, her bare soles sticking to the linoleum with each step, a result of her having worked out that morning, and barely having any time to get in and out of the shower before rushing over to her sister’s place.

     “Tim?” Julia called out, pausing momentarily as she approached the kitchen table, her eyes intensely scanning its surface. “Are you in here?”

     Unfortunately, there was no sign of her supposedly small nephew.

     “Hmph, ‘on the table…’” She huffed sarcastically, mocking her sister’s claim as she shook her head and put her hands on her hips,“…what, is he INVISIBLE too?!”

     “AUNT JULIA!” Tim shouted up as he scrambled to his feet, struggling to walk across the soft, cushioned seat of the chair he realized he’d fallen onto. “AUNT JULIA, DOWN HERE!”

     The tiny boy waved his arms frantically, hoping the giant woman would see him as he desperately clambered across the cushion to get to the back of the seat, but its soft surface made it difficult to make any headway, and he kept stumbling and having to  keep from falling flat on his face.

     “AUNT JULIA!”

     Julia was completely unaware of her tiny nephew’s presence on the chair next to her, nor was she able to hear his tiny, desperate squeaks for attention.

     “I don’t know what’s going on,” Julia sighed to herself as she took another step towards the table and reached for the back one of the chairs, “but if this is Nat’s idea of a joke, I’m not amused…”

     “AUNT JULIA, WAIYYYYYY—!” Tim shouted hysterically as the giant woman suddenly pulled out the chair he was standing on.

     The chair immediately lurched forward, throwing Tim off his feet. The tiny teenager stumbled backwards, clinging desperately to the seat cushion to prevent being thrown off as the chair whipped around violently.

     When everything had finally stopped moving, Tim found himself on his back, his feet pointing towards the rear of the chair. 

     Before he had a chance to recover, his vision filled with the sight of his aunt’s colossal ass bearing down on him.

     The tiny boy’s brown eyes nearly bulged out of his head; he tried to scramble out of the way, but it was too late…

     “AUNT JUL—EEEEEE!” Tim screamed as his aunt’s giant ass crashed down onto the front half of the seat cushion, causing the back half to suddenly thrust upwards, bouncing the tiny teenager into the air. Tim went sailing backwards, careening clear off the back of the chair, and down towards the hard, kitchen floor below…

     “Ah,” Julia sighed with relief as her ass collapsed into the chair, scooting her butt all the way back in the seat. It felt so good to finally be off her feet after all the rushing around she’d done to get cleaned up and over to her sister’s place, especially after having worked out earlier that morning. She groaned softly, lifting her right foot off the floor and placing it into her lap; then, she pressed her thumbs into her soft, fleshy sole, doing her best to ease her tension and give herself a much needed foot rub.

     “Ah,” Julia sighed contently as she massaged her aching sole, “Mm, that’s so much better…”

     “OOF!” Tim cried out as he landed hard on the linoleum floor. He groaned in pain, still reeling from his fall as he struggled to push himself up off the floor and get to his feet.

     After brushing himself off and adjusting his makeshift clothes, Tim tilted his head up and gazed skyward: towering before him was the monolithic chair he’d just been thrown from, and sitting against its back was his Aunt Julia’s massive figure. He was surprised he’d actually survived such a fall, especially at his size, coming out of the incident relatively intact, although his body still hurt all over.

     From his vantage point, Tim could see the rear calf of one of his aunt’s gargantuan legs, with its foot resting on the floor in front of the chair. Julia’s other leg not immediately visible, but Tim could see a partial shadow shifting back and forth on the floor of the right side of the chair, and quickly deduced it was obviously up in the seat somewhere.

     “AUNT JULIA!” Tim shouted frustratedly, cupping his hands around his mouth. “AUNT JULIA!”

     The giant woman, however, gave no sign she’d heard him, apparently preoccupied with some other task.

     “Ugh, perfect!” Tim sighed in frustration as he took off in a jog towards the underside of the chair. “Even Aunt Julia can’t hear me! She didn’t even realize I was on the chair! She could’ve sat on me!

     “Stupid, mom!” He cursed as he made his way back to the chair. “It she hadn’t brought that stupid….shrinking potion home with her, I wouldn’t be in this mess!”

     Of course, Tim didn’t want to admit that his present situation was mostly his own fault, as he was snooping somewhere and drank something he shouldn’t have. He was learning a hard lesson in the worst possible way.

     Not even a minute into his journey, Tim quickly realized that his journey to get where Aunt Julia could see him was taking longer than expected. He frustratedly hastened his pace until he was practically sprinting across the floor; before he’d even made it halfway beneath the seat of the chair, he was already panting heavily.

     “Arg, this is so stupid!” He exclaimed breathlessly, “I’m so small, I can’t even get across the floor without running! This is some way to start my Summer vacation!”

     As Tim emerged out from underneath the chair through its two, right legs, he slowed his pace and turned, taking several steps backwards until his aunt’s gigantic figure came into full view: 

     The colossal woman was sitting with her left foot on the floor, and the other resting in her lap, and she was apparently in the process of giving herself a foot rub.

     “MMMM,” the giant woman sighed and moaned, “THAT FEELS SOOO GOOD!”

     “AUNT JULIA!” Tim shouted up, waving his arms in frustration. “HEY, AUNT JULIA! DOWN HERE!”

     Alas, the giant woman never gave any indication she’d heard him; she was completely engrossed in her foot massage. Tim moved further out from the chair, and was about to call up to her again when his aunt’s left foot suddenly shifted, lifting up slightly off the floor as the giant woman readjusted herself in the seat. Then, her huge toes began wiggling, making disgusting sucking sounds as they continuously peeled and re-adhered themselves to the linoleum floor. Tim grimaced, almost hurling as a pungent, unwelcome odor suddenly invaded his nostrils.

     “Ugh…PEW!” Tim exclaimed with disgust, waving his hand in front of face. “GROSS! GEEZ, Aunt Julia! When’s the last time you washed your FEET?!”

     Julia was still massaging her foot when she heard Natalie stomping back through the living room.

     “Nat,” Julia called out, leaning forward and turning her head until she could just barely see into the other room. “Did you find your keys?”

     “AAH!” Tim yelped as he frantically covered his ears to protect them from his aunt’s booming voice.

     “No,” Natalie huffed in frustration as she fidgeted about the living room, “and I can’t…for the life of me, remember what I did with them!”

     “Are you sure they’re not in here somewhere?”

     “I already checked the kitchen,” Natalie replied, stepping into Julia’s view just outside the kitchen doorway, “and I just checked the bedroom AND in the bathroom. They’re not anywhere. Damn it!”

     “Hmph,” Julia uttered with mild contempt, “you think Tim might’ve done something with them?”

     “I doubt it. Besides, I already asked him; he said he didn’t know…of course, with everything that’s happened this morning, he’s probably too preoccupied to remember anyway.”

     “MO-OM!” Tim shouted when his mother’s giant figure appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. “HEY, MO-OM! OVER HERE! MO-OM!”

     Alas, his mother was too preoccupied with looking for her missing keys, and far too far away to hear his squeaks.

     “AUNT JULIA,” Tim cried, shifting his efforts for attention back to his aunt, “WOULD YOU LOOK HERE?!”

     It was no use. While the two, giant women kept jawing back and forth above, Tim kept shouting up at them in futility from the floor below, desperately trying to get someone’s attention, and growing increasingly frustrated at his apparent inability to be heard. He began frantically waving his arms and jumping up and down just in hopes that someone might happen to look down at the floor and spot him, but no one seemed to even realize that he was even missing.

     “MOM….AUNT JULIA…!” Tim shouted dispiritedly, trying in vain to get someone to notice him. “I’M DOWN HERE! SOMEBODY HEELLLLLP!”

     “So, Nat….” Julia chortled jokingly as she shifted back in her seat, casually removing her freshly massaged foot from her lap and lowering it back down to the floor, “….where is my…‘little’ nephew anyway…?”

     Tim cringed, ducking instinctively, startled by loud creaks and groans emanating from the chair above him. By the time the tiny teenager recomposed himself and looked skyward, a massive, wrinkled sole was headed towards the floor right on top of him.

     Tim gasped fearfully. His brown eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped open, quivering with fright…

     “AAA—!”

      The tiny teenager barely managed to scream before his cries were silenced, his shrunken figure disappearing beneath his aunt’s giant foot.