Yesterday was amazing, except for almost dying, it was simply amazing. I lived out fantasies I had never even dare dream would ever come true. When I went to bed that night I was afraid of waking up only to find it was a dream. But upon waking up I knew in an instant that it was all real. I also knew that I had just hit a mental wall.

Emily had gone to work while I was sleeping and I was so exhausted from all of that running I must have slept right through her whole morning routine. She left me some food and water and then must have left. I don’t know what time it was when I woke up, but I didn’t care. I knew what was going on so I didn’t even try and get out of bed when I woke up, I just laid there and gazed at the wall until I lost myself in thought. I’m not sure how long I did that either, but eventually I had to get up. I went through my morning routine slowly today, Joseph seemed to follow me a lot more than he usually does. I don’t know why he chose now to shadow me but I didn’t care.

I ate as much as I could stomach and then climbed onto the roof. As I gazed out at the room I considered taking a walk but I ultimately decided I was in no condition to leave the Cave. I doubt I’d even be able to notice it if I ran into the spider again, not until it was too late. So I just sat against one of the railings and spent the day looking out at the room and thinking. Remember when I said the Bat Cave became boring after a while? It does, it becomes very boring. I sat there, quarterstaff placed on my lap, as I looked out and thought. Eventually I took to passing the time by measuring things. The bed, the dresser, the mirror, books, bookcases, and anything else. I just tried to guess their actual height and then did my best to convert that to my scale. For example I measured a hardcover book to be about ten inches. I stand at a height of five feet and seven inches when I’m at my normal size, only now I’m two inches tall. So if 5’7 equals about 67 inches then the book must be about 670 inches at my scale. Divide that number by twelve, since there are twelve inches in one foot of distance, and the book measures at a height of 56 feet compared to me.

And that’s how I decided to spend the day, sitting around doing nothing but basic math to figure out how big everything is compared to me. I only ever left to go to the bathroom or to get something to eat or drink. But other than that I stayed sitting where I was, and I always went back. I suppose I must have been seeking the quiet, I desperately needed time to think.When I woke up that morning I had a thought that wouldn’t stop haunting me.

Is this what you’re existence has been reduced to now? You’ve become a toy to two girls who call themselves your friends.

That thought just kept playing over and over in my head, as depressing as it is. I spent all of my time thinking it over. When I couldn’t find an answer for myself I began to play that measuring game I mentioned earlier. When I grew bored of that I went right back to thinking. Is this really my new role in life? Am I just a toy now? Do Emily and Tara still see me as a friend or as a play thing? They seemed to have fun playing the role of the giantesses, but did they really enjoy being giantesses or were they just having fun playing around with my tiny form. I loved it, God help me I really did love it, but should I? Were they playing along with me or just playing with me?

I didn’t feel sad about it, I didn’t really feel anything. I just sat there and thought all day.

I didn’t keep track of time so I was a little surprised when Emily came home right in the middle of my contemplating. She came into the room, kicked her shoes off, and strode towards her bed. “Hey Pete, how was your day today?” she asked as she walked by.

“Fine.” I answered in my normal tone of voice.

Emily walked right by my Cave and plopped down on her bed. “You’ll never guess who I saw today at work.”

“Bill Gates who has just gone bankrupt and came in to rob the store at gunpoint until you talked him out of it. Then he thanked you, gave you the gun, you made the sign of the cross, and now he’s a missionary helping to spread the word of love and forgiveness to his fellow man,” I answered.

My reply was met with a long silence. “ . . . . Um, no.” Emily said in a slow voice. “I ran into Jessica, and she was asking me if I knew where you were.”

“What did you tell her?” I asked, never once looking away from room I had been gazing at all day.

“I told her I haven’t seen you for a little while. She said she had some money to return to you.”

I nodded, mostly to myself. Jess was another good friend of mine. I few months ago she was looking to buy tickets to some dance the school was having. Jess was just a few dollars short and I never go to those kinds of things so I gave her the ten dollars I had in my pocket. Of course I never told her that that ten dollars was my lunch money for two days, but I didn’t really care. I’m actually surprised she remembered.

“I guess the money can wait,” I said. “I can’t spend it or anything while I’m stuck like this.”

There was a pause before Emily spoke again. “Hey, I’ve got some good news for you.”

“Oh? What would that be?”

“My parents are going on vacation and their taking my little brother with them. So for an entire week we’ll have the whole house to ourselves.” she explained. “They leave the morning after tomorrow.”

I nodded again despite knowing that she probably couldn’t see me while she was lying down. “Sounds great.”

I wasn’t looking but I could hear Emily’s bed creak as she moved towards my Cave, probably to get a better look at me. “Peter, are you ok?”

I took a deep breath before turning around to look at her. Emily was sitting cross legged on her bed looking down at me in a concerned way. I gave her a reassuring smile. “Yeah I’m fine.”

The concern didn’t leave her face until she swung her legs down. “Do you want to play with my feet?” she asked.

I didn’t even give her feet a glance as I shook my head. “I really want to but I’m still a little sore from yesterday. All of that running and everything. I just need another night’s sleep or something.”

The concern came back to her face but she didn’t push or anything, she just nodded her head.

*****

That’s pretty much how it was for the next two days, even after her family left. I’d spend the majority of my time in my Cave. Occasionally I’d go out for a walk, just to clear my head. But I avoided the bookcase area of the room. The whole time Joseph never once left my side, I wasn’t clear why but I appreciated the company. Believe it or not he was just the kind of company I needed. He didn’t need to be able to talk or anything, I just needed his presence. We’d go out walking, neither of us making a sound, just being with each other.

When her parents left Emily tried to get me to come out and go somewhere, but I wasn’t really in the mood. Eventually she talked me into watching one movie with her, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, and then I asked to be taken upstairs as soon as it was over. She complied without a word.

The day after that I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to get out of bed when she forced me.

I was just lying in bed, completely zoned out, when Emily stomped over to my Cave. I mean she literally stomped, the walls shook and everything. I barely paid attention but Joseph went all jittery as usual and began crawling all over the walls in panic. Through the Bat Cave window I could see Emily kneel down and peer in to look at me, all I did was roll over to stare at the wall. Even from in here I could hear her pout. The next thing I know Emily’s fingers are wrapped around my body. Before I can even cry out in surprise I’m pulled out through the only open window on the second floor.

Emily held me in her palm as she brought her hand up to her face. “Ok I don’t know what’s been bothering you the last few days but it ends today.” She brought her hand just above my Cave and slowly tilted it until I slid onto the roof. “Now get dressed.”

I stood up and looked at her very cautiously. “What’s going on?”

Emily broke out into that wide grin of hers that almost made me shiver. “I’ve invited some of the girls over today. We’re all going to have a slumber party.”