I didn’t want to wake up. Not in a not wanting to get out of bed kind of way. More like not having to open my eyes and seeing how much smaller I’ve gotten overnight. But in the end I awoke early on that Tuesday morning. I sat on the bed and looked around as my eyes adjusted to being conscious. Just as I expected, everything got bigger, but not to a large extent. I guess I was lucky that night and avoided a significant shrink spurt. It didn’t change the fact that I was, objectively speaking, small and the t-shirt I was still wearing, which hanged loose from my shoulders, only emphasized my new stature. I really needed to do something with that matter. But for the moment the only thing on my mind was getting my usual dose of caffeine. I got up and left the room, heading for the kitchen. The apartment was silent and at first I thought the girls were still asleep. But as I entered the kitchen I saw Justine standing by the counter, a cup of hot coffee in her hand. She was wearing a washed-out orange top and long white trousers flecked with black dots, her usual sleeping clothes.

‘Hey,’ she greeted me. ‘How did you sleep?’

‘Good, thanks. I thought you didn’t like coffee?’

‘I don’t. It’s for you.’ She handed me the cup.

‘Oh, you shouldn’t have,’ I said, taking a sip. ‘I mean, it’s not that I’m not grateful, but you didn’t have to get up so soon just to make me coffee.’

She smiled. ‘I know the counter is getting a bit too tall for you, so I thought I could help you out. Besides, I couldn’t sleep since six.’

‘Something on your mind?’

‘Oh… You know.’

I knew, of course. We sat down by the opposite ends of the kitchen table as I drank my cup and she looked on ahead, lost in her own thoughts.

‘I don’t want you to be worried for me,’ I said after a while. ‘It’s my problem, not yours.’

‘It’s… not just your problem, Andrew.’

‘Look, if it’s about rent money, I have it. I even have some savings for-‘

‘It’s not about the money.’ Her face became stern, if only for a split second, before returning to her usual kind expression. ‘We’re worried about you. I’m worried about you.’

I sighed. I had no heart to shrug her help, nor did I honestly want to. ‘I appreciate it. But what else do you propose I do at the moment?’

‘Maybe you should think about seeing a doctor? I know someone who might help.’

‘No offense, but I kind of doubt it. The help part, I mean. Besides, I don’t feel like showing myself to other people right now.’

‘She’s also discreet, if that’s what you need.’

‘Like I said, seeing other people like this is the last thing I need.’

 She kept silent for a moment. ‘You’re getting smaller, Andrew. It’s not something you can sleep off.’

‘I know that.’

‘Do you know how small you will get?’

I gave her a surprised look. ‘No? How could I know that?’

‘I can’t force you to do anything, nor would I ever try. But if this goes on…’

‘If this goes on,’ I said, this time me being the one to comfort her, ‘And if I change my mind, you’ll be the first person I ask for help. Promise.’

It must’ve worked because she finally smiled. And got up. ‘Did you finish your coffee?’

‘Yes, why?’

‘C’mon, let’s get you measured.’

We went to her room, me lagging behind ever so slightly. This time my height settled on exactly four feet. Not terrific, not dreadful. But it still felt weird seeing Justine tower over me like that. I was used to looking up to her, but not so much.

‘I hope it stays that way,’ she said, rolling the tape back. ‘Or better yet, that you start growing back soon.’

‘I honestly hope so too.’

‘Would you like me to do something about your clothes? I could shorten them to fit you better.’

‘If it’s not a problem,’ I said and smiled at her with gratitude. Justine was the person we went to if we needed sewing assistance. I knew I could trust her with adjusting my clothes to my ever changing size.

Maddie entered the room and greeted us, yawning at the same time.

‘How short are you today?’ she asked me.

‘Four-foot-zero.’

‘Cool.’

‘It’s definitely not cool,’ Justine remarked.

‘Whatevs. Let’s go eat.’

How could we disobey such an order? We had breakfast and when we were done each of us went about their way. I took a long shower, not minding the thought of the hot water bill that would eventually come to haunt us.  When I returned to my room I found Justine sitting on my bed, her sewing kit to the side, tinkering with my sweatpants.

‘Try them on,’ she said, handing them to me along with the black sleeveless top. ‘It’s okay, I won’t peek,’ she added, covering her eyes with her hand. I did as instructed, being positively surprised the clothes now fit me.

‘Finally, some good news,’ I said, smiling at her. ‘Thanks.’

‘My pleasure. Come get me if you need any other clothes fixed.’ She grabbed her kit and left. I checked the bed to ensure she didn’t leave any loose needle on it, then moved on to my desk. Having nothing better to do at the moment, I decided to check the social media. I barely turned my laptop on when the door swung open. I didn’t have to guess who that was.

‘Maddison, I swear to god, if you installed some trash again you’re dealing with that yourself.’

‘Okay, first of all, don’t call me that. Second of all, that’s rude.’ She approached and suddenly I felt her hands on my arms. ‘And third of all – how are you feeling?’

‘What?’ I asked, surprised. ‘Oh, I’m okay, I guess. Despite the circumstances.’

‘Yeah, I know.’ She gave me an understanding look. ‘You’re not mad at me, are you?’

‘For what?’

‘For those things I said yesterday. You know, about you getting to the size of an ant and all that jazz. Didn’t want to spook you.’

‘I’m positively unspooked,’ I said, smiling at her. ‘You don’t have to censor yourself around me, if that’s what you mean.’

‘What I mean is I’m taking your condition seriously.’ She made a brief pause. ‘In my own way.’

‘No doubt about it, not from me.’

‘Alright, I’ll leave you to it,’ she took her hands off and turned back. ‘You know where to find me.’

As usual, she did not close the door behind her. But at this point I didn’t feel the need to remind her of it. I felt grateful towards the girls, and at the same time bad at having to rely on their help. I shook my head over my dilemma and turned my attention back to the screen.

Having grown bored with reading through messages and info feed, I spent the rest of the day doing some additional cleaning up and catching up on reading, all to take my mind off the problem at hand. The girls were busy with their own routines and every now and then I could hear them walk around behind my door. At one point Maddie decided to put some music on, to which Justine responded with vacuuming the hall. Not long afterwards I could hear a heated discussion happening on the other side. This seemed to me to be a bad sign at the time and I hoped the stress of my predicament wasn’t getting the better of them. Fortunately it was soon over and when I left the room once or twice later that day I did not notice any irritation in either of the two.

The book started to get better a few chapters in and I found myself invested in the story. So invested, in fact, that I didn’t realize the night came until Justine knocked on my door, asking if I wanted to be measured. By that point we were both used to the procedure and our roles in it. I stood still, she took measurements, it looked almost professional from our part. And we were both relieved to see my height was still stuck on four feet.

‘That’s good,’ Justine said, smiling at me. ‘Looks like you’ve finally stopped getting smaller.’

‘So it would seem.’ I smiled back. ‘Now all that remains is getting used to being a shrimp.’

‘Oh, don’t say that. You might as well grow back to your old height.’

‘I wish. My neck’s been hurting me from having to look up at both of you.’

‘You know, I can’t blame you for saying that.’ She smiled widely. But the smile didn’t rest on her face for long, being soon replaced by a concern. ‘Perhaps I spoke too fast. You’re getting smaller.’

‘No, we just measured-‘

‘I mean right now. You’re shrinking, Andrew.’

It was only then I noticed. She was getting distant, her face higher up as she grew taller and taller before my eyes. My clothes went loose once more. It was over in an instant and when it stopped the woman before me was twice as tall as I now was.

‘Hold still,’ she instructed me in a trembling voice. And so I did, watching the even more imposing Justine work by my side. Then, the judgment was passed: ‘Two feet, ten inches.’

My heart sank. For a moment, we were quiet, each of us uncertain of what to do next. Justine got to her knees, towering over me even in that position. ‘Are you okay?’ she asked, her voice still trembling.

‘No,’ I said, looking into her gentle, brown eyes. I was scared. I did not want to tell her that but I didn’t need to - she could tell the fear from my expression.

‘Come here.’ She spread her arms and hugged me, my whole body disappearing in her warm embrace.