Chapter 3 - That Sinking Feeling

Nick started to panic:

- Help!! Help!!!

He had fallen in the coffee that Flore had just prepared. He was going to be swallowed by his sister! How could he have gotten into this dire situation only a few minutes after being shrunk? Nick started swimming but he was a prisoner! The rim of the cup was all around him and it was way too tall for him to hang on. Unfortunately, it was not long before she did what he feared: Flore put the magazine down and grabbed the cup.

- HAVE MERCY! NOOOOOO!!

Nick felt himself lifted as Flore brought the cup to her mouth. He saw her face grow larger and soon cover his entire field of vision.

- HELP ME!!

She removed the spoon and blew on the beverage to cool it. Nick felt a violent gust of hot wind and was swept away by the waves caused by the giantess's breath.

- Aaaah! - he shouted as he was submerged by the waves of coffee.

He rose to the surface, and saw Flore's lips land on the cup, which she began to tilt.

- NOOOOOOO!

He swam while fighting against the current, but his meagre strength could not prevent him from getting closer to the huge lips of his sister, who drank without suspecting a single second of what was going on under her nose. Flore finished her sip and put the cup down. Nick was relieved to see the liquid return to being calm, and looked up again at the giantess.

- Please Flore! Look!!!

She did not know for a moment that he was there. She had no reason to suspect it! He was trapped. He swam to the side of the cup farthest from where Flore had been drinking to have the maximum leeway during each sip. He had not yet reached the edge of the cup as Flore plunged the huge spoon into her coffee, right next to the tiny boy.

- Look out!!

The collision of the spoon into the liquid caused waves. Waves that forced Nick to drink some of the cup's contents. It was horrible: he hated coffee! As she read her magazine, Flore began to stir the contents of the cup with her spoon. The boy was swept away in a substantial whirlpool!

- Nooooo! ... FLOO .... FLORE! .... STOP!! - Nick shouted, trying to keep his head above the surface.

The slightest act she did put Nick in danger! And he could do nothing to stop it! Flore removed the spoon again and brought the cup back to her lips. Nick did not even have the strength to scream anymore. He swam with all his strength to avoid being swallowed, but it was too difficult to make good progress.

- Flore ... Not that ...

He was only a few millimeters away from her lips when she finished her sip. She put the spoon back into the cup and put it back on the coffee table before going back to reading her magazine. Nick's mind then clicked. The spoon! It was the only way he could get out of this mess, because if his sister took another sip, he would not have the strength to fight against the current again. He swam to it and climbed on it. It was a small teaspoon, and the handle was thin enough to allow the boy to climb on it and cling to it. He waited a few seconds before seeing Flore bend over and grasp the spoon between her thumb and forefinger a few inches from him. She removed it from the cup and let it drip for a few seconds by tapping the edge several times.

- Stop! - Nick shouted, not letting go.

The repeated shock of the aluminium spoon against the cup shook him as the tinkling of the spoon echoed in his ears. He was still a little stunned when Flore did something he had not expected at all. She raised the spoon to her face. Nick suddenly saw the huge mouth of the giantess approaching and opening.

- Aaaaah! Not that!!!

He closed his eyes, expecting to be eaten, and reopened them when he felt the lips of his sister close on the spoon a few millimetres away from him. She pulled the spoon out of her mouth and suddenly stood up.

- Aaaaaah !! Look out ! - Nick shouted, feeling a quick change of altitude.

Nick hung on as best he could while Flore started to go to the kitchen. Her huge movements tried to knock him off at every step.

- Flore!! Look out, aaaaah!!

The movements of her hand made him nauseous. He was losing his grip when the giantess put the spoon beside the kitchen sink and went back to the couch. Nick let go and slid onto the worktop, exhausted.

He was saved! He could not believe it! He had been near death several times, but he was alive. He moved away a little from the spoon as a precaution, and dropped a little further to catch his breath and think. He deeply regretted having walked on the magazine. When he thought about it, he found his idea silly. His sister had nearly swallowed him several times and besides, he was soaked. He now decided to stay hidden, waiting for his family to start worrying about him before he showed up. As long as his mother and sister weren't looking for him, the place would be far too dangerous for him.

On this decision, he heard his mother come down. Once downstairs, she glanced quickly at Flore and approached the sink, exactly in the boy's direction. Seeing her getting closer, he straightened up and saw as she came to him how huge she was too. Nick hesitated but despite the decision he had just made, he still tried his luck:

- MOM! This way! Look!

Natalie looked at the worktop where he was, and without warning, she grabbed a sponge and began to clean!

To Be Continued …

Translated from French to English by jdragondawn