When Emily woke up, she was confused. For a very short moment, when she hadn’t opened her eyes yet, she thought she was lying in her own bed, having only dreamed of the terrifying events from the previous night. That comfortable illusion was shattered the moment Emily heard a very loud yawn, which startled her enough to make her spring up into a sitting position. The sudden movement made her remember the previous night's events more clearly, the pulsing pain running throughout her whole body making her wince. 

Then she shuddered. The pain was real. That meant she was really shrunk, and that she really was only two inches tall. The harsh truth was solidified even more as Emily looked around. The “room” she was in had no exits. Except for a hole where the celing’s supposed to be. The ceiling was there, it just was much higher up, and it didn’t match the cardboard walls appearance wise. Knowing her situation, Emily quickly realised where she was. It wasn’t too hard to piece together that the room she was in was, in fact, a box. And that box was in a bigger room, one probably belonging to an actual, normal-sized person.

The thing she previously perceived to be sheets, or a blanket of some kind, upon inspection turned out to be a giant, folded sweater. A familiar looking one at that. It was Hannah’s sweater, one that Emily would borrow sometimes. Now it was big enough to cover a whole house. This was too much for her. Emily felt tears starting to form in her eyes as she stared at the enormous sweater below her. “This is impossible…” she thought. “...But it’s real… and I’m still alive.” She was able to stop the tears from flowing out of her eyes, reminding herself that she managed to get herself to safety alive, in one piece. Badly hurt, sure, but nothing that couldn’t be healed in a week, or month. That didn’t mean it wasn’t painful, though...

The shrunken girl was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to notice a giant shadow being cast over her. Hannah had gotten up from her bed, and the very first thing she thought to do was to check if Emily was still there, and wasn’t sure whether she was relieved or disappointed to find her in the very same shoebox where Hannah had put her last night. Relieved, because her best friend was alive and breathing, disappointed, because she was still two inches tall. Hannah wasn’t sure what to say. It wasn’t until right now that the situation was becoming real to the woman. Of course, she was planning to help her best friend through this, but getting her back to normal size was something she had no idea how they would go about. Getting help from authorities was certainly not a good idea, and asking Emily’s parents for assistance was even worse.

Emily was also conflicted as to what to feel. When she noticed the face of her giant best friend peering into the “room”, the giantess’ full attention focused on her, the shrunken girl couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed, and scared. She should be relieved, right? She should feel safe. Hannah’s her best friend, after all. She won’t hurt her. Not on purpose, anyway. That thought was not too comforting. 

In fact, nothing about this moment was comforting. Hannah was just standing there, staring from above, with a blank face. Emily was staring right back at her, although it was a vastly different experience for the both of them. While Hannah, from Emily’s perspective, was just looking at her, like one might look like at any object, the shrunken girl was staring at her best friend frozen with a sort of primal fear. The fight or flight instinct was screaming in her head to do something before this entity standing before her inevitably does, and Emily was well aware she could neither fight nor outrun the colossus looming above her. Thinking about that made Emily almost wish she was on the floor, not yet spotted by anyone. She was in danger of getting stepped on then, but there was a sort of safety in being hidden.

Wait, why was she thinking like that? Hannah’s a friend, and she still is the same person. This staring is a little awkward (and scary), but this must be difficult for her, too. She did go through all the trouble of bringing Emily in here. All the little gestures, that showed she still cared, like the sweater made into the bed, and the box, for… What was the box for, anyway? Was Hannah afraid her tiny friend would wander away? That part was a little confusing to Emily, but she was sure that her best friend had good intentions. The shrunken girl was dreading this silence more and more, because it seemed to make Hannah into some dangerous stranger in her eyes, which terrified her. So, she decided to be the first one to do something.

-Hannah?- she said, and got up onto her feet. It was quite painful, but she didn’t let that stop her. There was no reaction from Hannah. Had she not heard her? That was probably it. So, she tried again, louder this time.

-Hannah!!- It definitely worked the second time; the giantess’ facial expression changed from a blank one to that of shock, and she stumbled a little upon hearing her name.

-Yeah! Yeah, I’m here Em. Sorry, I… Got lost in my thoughts for a bit there.- The shrunken girl noticed that Hannah was speaking very softly, apart for that first “yeah”. She must have remembered Emily’s reaction from yesterday. “Weird” she thought, “It was such a small thing”. Emily smiled to herself a little. This was yet another small way to show the giantess cared greatly about her well-being. Even with that realisation, the primal fear was still there, though.

-Yeah, me too.- There was a little bit of silence after that, but it wasn’t as long and terrifying as the previous one. And this time Hannah broke it.

-How… What happened to you?- Hannah’s face had a worried expression now. There was a very short pause again, as Emily pondered the question.

-I’m not really sure.- Hannah’s visible concern only got more apparent at that answer. The shrunken girl continued.

-I was on the bus, on my way home, but I fell asleep… And then when I woke up…- She made a gesture to herself, not really wanting to say the obvious. Hannah nodded. 

-Do you remember anything else?-

-I… It was really hard to… stay standing.- Her voice automatically lowered as she recalled the traumatic experience. Hannah got a little closer, but that didn’t really help hear what her best friend was saying.

-Hold on, Em…- she felt really bad for interrupting, but speaking like this was hard. She could barely hear her, but couldn’t even lean in closer, because of the box being in the way. 

-I can’t really hear you. Can I… Um…- How does she phrase that to not make it sound weird? She probably can’t, this whole situation was bizarre enough. So she didn’t think about it too much.

-The box is making it hard to talk to you… Can I… Take you out of it?- Emily took a moment to consider that statement. She couldn’t get out on her own, of course. And it was pretty hard to talk having to look up at Hannah. But she was a little nervous about being picked up. It wasn’t really up to her, though. When she was like this being carried was pretty much the only way to get around, so she’d had to experience this sooner or later. Besides, she trusted Hannah.

-Yes...- She said, although a bit reluctantly. Her giant friend nodded. She then brought her hand towards Emily, extending her fingers to pick her up. Emily was trying to keep her cool as the giant, treelike fingers made their way towards her. She was trying really hard not to back up, but the knowledge of the sheer force of this colossus about to trap her in its grip was making it extremely difficult. Emily closed her eyes and waited, shaking from stress, for the inevitable. Then she felt warmth around her sides, indicating the moment she was dreading was just milliseconds away, and she couldn't take it.

-WAIT!- she screamed out, backing away and closing her eyes. The giant fingers withdrew immediately. Hannah was visibly worried, and she opened her mouth to say something, but Emily cut her off.

-Can you… Give me a moment? It’s just…- Hannah nodded once again.

-It's okay. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want.-

-No, it’s fine, I’m… It’s just really scary.-

-Yeah, I bet.- Hannah gave Emily a moment to breathe, and then brought her hand into the box once again, this time her palm facing up, fingers fully extended.

-Is it better like that?- She asked. This time Emily nodded, and walked onto her best friends palm, her heart beating hard in her chest. The skin was warm, and the shrunken girl could feel Hannah’s heartbeat through it. 

The palm was cupped and then slowly lifted up. It was quite difficult for Emily to keep her balance, but the giantess was being very careful, and the shrunken girl was able to keep standing on her feet the whole journey. In a moment she was out of the box, standing on Hannah’s giant desk.

After depositing her best friend safely onto the wooden surface, Hannah kneeled, so that Emily wouldn’t have to crane her neck upwards while they talked.

-Okay, so you woke up like that… And what happened next?-

-I was scared… A-and confused- Hannah was listening intently, nodding from time to time.

-I… There was one lady… She didn’t see me. She… Almost…- Emily was slowly starting to cry while thinking about the previous night’s events. She was both physically and emotionally exhausted, and she knew that yesterday was just the beginning. The thought was really depressing. She started breaking down, completely forgetting to finish the sentence. 

-Hey… It’s okay- Hannah whispered, bringing her hand next to the tiny, shaking form of her friend on the desk. -You're with me now. I won't let anything bad happen to you. You know that...- she whispered, trying to reassure the terrified girl. She also started gently running her thumb across the length of her friend’s back in an effort to calm her down. She was unaware of all the injuries the bus’ movements had brought upon the girl. When she noticed that Emily was in pain, trying to squirm away from her finger, she stopped, immediately pulling her hand back.

-I’m sorry, Em… Are you… Okay? I mean, are you hurt? Do I need to… Get you a… A band-aid, or something?- Hannah was aware at how ridiculous her question was. How would a band-aid even help here? She was hoping Emily wouldn’t perceive the question as making fun of her.  Emily just shook her head, having calmed down a little after her best friend’s intervention.

-No, it’s just... I got knocked over on the bus… multiple times- She added the last part a little quieter. Just now Emily was realising how pathetic all this must have sounded. Hannah must have noticed, because she shot her shrunken friend a sad look.

-You don’t have to feel bad for that. It must have been really hard in your current… situation- After hearing that, Emily looked a little sadder. The gravity of all this was starting to hit her just now. Her only chance of survival was fully depending on another person, if she’d even survive at all, which seemed quite unlikely. Hannah noticed her best friend’s change in mood. She did not want to make her feel bad.

-Besides...- she said with a slight smile on her still worried expression -It's pretty hard not to get knocked down, no matter how tall you are. I mean, have you ever been on a bus?-

After hearing that comment, Emily couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't even that funny, but the fact that despite the bizarre circumstances, her friend still tried to cheer her up, and more importantly succeeded, brought emotional relief to the girl for a moment. 

Hannah smiled for a second, before putting on a more serious expression.

-What do we do now… ? I mean, I don’t think going to the hospital is really an option…- Emily froze. Of course, Hannah was right, the authorities would probably just run a bunch of experiments on her, who knows if she’d even survive that.

-And your parents…- the giantess didn’t even have to finish her sentence, Emily knew where it was going.

-Yeah, I don’t think they’d help… or care- There was a short silence again.

-I don’t know… I don’t know what to do…- Hannah cringed a little. She didn’t mean to worry Emily, she wasn’t really thinking about what she’s saying. So she went to reassure her immediately. 

-Hey… Don’t worry. You can stay with me. We spend time together almost everyday, anyway.- Emily was relieved to hear that. She knew from the beginning that Hannah would be there for her. She felt guilty for doubting that so many times today. This conversation felt very unnatural because of her, so she decided that the least she could do was make it feel a little more normal. So she rolled her eyes really hard, so that Hannah would notice, and in a very sarcastic tone said:

-I mean… If I HAVE to…- Hannah smirked and raised an eyebrow. 

-You don’t. I mean, if you can open the door, then you’re free to walk out- she replied, nudging her best friend lightly with her pointer finger. 

Emily was relieved. This little exchange was proof to her it wasn’t impossible to feel normal, despite her new size. And Hannah was right here, with her. Willing to help out any way she could. For the first time since yesterday she really did feel safe.

Maybe things would turn out okay, after all.