The little man huddled in the darkness of his makeshift shelter. He didn’t have enough time to seal it without drawing her attention so he crouched as low as he could, hoping to eventually hear the sound of her footsteps fading into the distance.

He shook his head and sighed to himself. Hiding and hoping, the only forms of resistance he ever had against her.

‘You can come out now’, she announced matter-of-factly.

His heart skipped a beat and he cursed himself. Of course she knew, how couldn’t she? She always knew. No matter what happened, no matter how hard he tried, she always had the upper hand. Why did he think that this time would be any different? He braced himself for what was to come and slowly made his way out, trembling like a lamb on its way to be slaughtered.

Expecting to be snatched up right away, he was surprised instead to be greeted by the sight of her enormous figure relaxing on the riverbank, to the right of his shoddily-assembled shelter. Her legs stretched out towards the water with her hands propping her up, she bore a stark contrast to the tiny, filthy man shaking like a leaf before her. She greeted him with a smile. ‘I told you, you can’t remove the collar without the key. As long as that stays on, I’ll always know where you are.’ She gave a quick nod to the hole he had just crawled out of. ‘Nice place by the way.’

He struggled to find his voice. In the weeks since he’d escaped, he had spent considerable time trying to remind himself that she was just another person, like he was. Or at least, like he used to be. She was a former co-worker, that was it. A woman in her forties who – if he ever found a way to become big again – he would have no reason to fear. Standing before though, in the flesh, he could only see his owner. His Goddess of the last 2 years.

‘Well I… I’d hoped that maybe…I’d moved out of range or something..’

She laughed heartily. ‘Oh sweetie no. It’s GPS, unlimited range. We could be in different countries and I’d still know where you were hiding.’

This revelation wasn’t completely unexpected, but he didn’t appreciate her tone. He was his own person now, he had to remember that.

‘So if you knew where I was, why did it take you so long to find me?’, he piped up, his wavering tone betraying the uncertainty of his accusation.

‘Well honestly, when I first saw you’d gone, I was going to come straight for you. I figured you’d try to go to the neighbours, maybe even start to make your way to your ex’s house,’ He gritted his teeth. His ex. He hated when he referred to Laura that way. Like they’d broken up or something. She wouldn’t even be his ex if he hadn’t suddenly ‘disappeared’. ‘But when I looked at the tracker, I saw you were moving in the opposite direction, all the way out here. So, I decided to let you sit a while, allow you to think about how much you missed me. I mean, it must be a hard life out here, after all. All alone. Plenty of time to reflect.’

He hated to admit it but she wasn’t wrong. The past month was one of the most difficult of his life. Even compared to the early days of his capture when he was still getting used to his diminutive size. Terrifying, sure. Humiliating, absolutely. But at least he never had to worry about when his next meal would be, nor did he have to be on constant alert for anything – other than her – which would consider him prey. Every day with his owner was an exercise in subjugation, but at least he was well fed and had a warm place to stay at night.

‘So? Did you?’

‘Did I…’

‘Did you miss me?’

He folded his arms and stared up at her defiantly. He didn’t want to give her the satisfaction.

‘Never mind. Don’t answer that yet. It’s just something to think about. What I really want to know for now is how, and why, you came here.’

He remained as still as possible. He couldn’t bring himself to tell her exactly what had happened to land him in the woods, but he couldn’t think of a good excuse either. He just hoped she wouldn’t figure it out.

‘Sweetie?’

‘I don’t know…it’s – ’

‘You don’t know. Next door was 50 feet away. Laura and her boyfriend live 2 miles south, yet somehow you ended up 5 miles north-east in the wilderness. Why?’

5 miles? He had no idea he’d come so far. ‘Well… There’s fresh water here, berries nearby –‘

‘And I’m sure that Mrs. Bradford would have given you food and water. Probably a nice place to sleep too. Be honest.’ She leaned in, her head coming down between her legs, staring at the tiny man between her feet. ‘Sweetie. Did an animal get you?’

Damn.

‘I, uh…’

She clapped her hands together and threw her head back in laughter. ‘Oh my God it did! See, I told you you weren’t safe! What was it? A bird?’

At least she didn’t know everything. ‘A fox’

‘A fox?’ She made no attempt to contain herself, openly mocking the pathetic little man before her. ‘Oh Lord you poor thing! So did it, you know…’

His face burned with embarrassment. ‘Yeah’

‘And you came out… the other end?’

He wanted the ground to open and swallow him whole. ‘Yeah’

‘Oh no that’s adorable! You must have been so scared!’ She straightened herself back up and gave him a reassuring smile. ‘Still, at least we know for sure that you can survive that. I was always too scared to try, you know’

He didn’t know whether to feel relief or terror at that. He didn’t want to be swallowed again and definitely not by her. At the same time though, it was nice to know that there was someone who worried about his safety. That he wasn’t completely alone.

‘Here, let me look at you. Do you want to come up?’

She lowered her hand palm up on the ground in front of him. It was an unusually compassionate gesture from someone who would routinely grab him without a second thought. Was she planning something? He suspected that to be the case but couldn’t tell what it was yet. He had to admit though, he was cold, and it wasn’t as if she couldn’t just take him if he declined. He stepped on cautiously, momentarily relishing the warmth of her fingers as the closed around him and brought him to her face. She studied him, poking and prodding her way around his body as he looked back into her face. She really was beautiful, he had to admit. Finishing her inspection, she pinched him between her thumb and index finger, dangling him in front of her face.

‘Well you’re filthy, but I must admit you’re in pretty good shape. I figured you’d be skinnier. Maybe even some scratches and bite marks. Though I guess you are extremely durable at this size. Overall, I’d say I’m impressed.’ She smiled and extended a finger, rubbing it softly on his head. Would you like me to put you down now?’

He nodded, not knowing what to make of this treatment. Sure, sometimes she could be nice. Gentle, even. She had actually treated him quite well in recent months, as one would an obedient dog. However, not once had she had asked for his permission to do anything. That was what truly shook him.

She lowered her hand and opened it an inch above the ground, allowing him to climb off. Why was she being so nice? There had to be a reason for it. Surely she wasn’t just going to leave him alone, was she? Had he won her respect, maybe? He gazed at her with a bemused look as she stared right into him. Her expression suggested a particularly alien emotion, one he had never seen her direct at him. There was no malice to it, no cunning, no condescension. It almost seemed sympathetic.

‘Look, I don’t fault you for running away. I really don’t. In fact, I think I understand why you did it, probably even more than you do.’

There was that condescension. She really thought she knew more about himself than he did? ‘Oh really? So you know what it’s like to be shrunken? To be kept as a pet? To be handl-’

She cut him off with a wave of her hand. ‘No of course not sweetie, don’t be silly. I’m just saying that I believe you convinced yourself to escape. Not because you wanted to, but because you felt like you should.’

What? What did that even mean? She was fucking with him, she had to be.

‘Let me explain. You’ve had plenty of chances to escape before, yet you never took them. Why is that?’

‘Yes I did! I – ‘

‘In the first few months maybe, yes. You took every chance you could. I’d leave you on the floor for 2 seconds and ‘boom!’, you’d be off. Scuttling across the floor like a little rodent. You used to look so cute running for cover, thinking you had a chance of getting away from me.’

He remembered those early attempts so well. He even recalled running as she was looking directly at him. Instinct was a funny thing. His body was moving before he even knew what was happening.

‘But then that just, stopped. Do you remember? Do you remember how obedient you became? How hopeless? Just moping around, doing the bare minimum just to avoid punishment. You knew that escape was impossible so you resigned yourself to this life.’

‘No I didn’t, I was always planning on –‘

‘Were you? Why did it take so long then? Why did it take 2 years? Why, after all that time would you suddenly try to escape again?’

He opened his mouth to respond but found he couldn’t come up with a valid reason just yet.

‘You see, I have a theory. I removed you from your life. Shrunk you, claimed you as my property. You live at my feet. I do what I want to you when I want to do it. Of course at first you were angry. It would make anyone angry. In those days, you only wanted to find a way – any way – to get back to normal, to reclaim everything that was taken from you, only to realise that each and every avenue you tried was a dead end. Not only was escape futile, but any attempt was severely punished. So eventually you gave up. Maybe you told yourself that you’d bide your time, wait for an opening, wait for me to slip up. And maybe that was true for a while. It doesn’t even matter anymore. The point is that at some stage you adapted. You got used to your tiny life. Your life as a pet in a world of giants. Then eventually, you started to enjoy it. Didn’t you?’

He stared up at her, unable to speak. ‘I…No…I was waiting –’

‘Do you remember what you let slip that morning a few days before you left?’

Oh God. She had him. ‘About my dreams?’

‘Exactly. How even then, you’re tiny. Now, do you remember how I reacted?’

‘You laughed. You laughed and said that even in my wildest dreams, I’m still your pet’

‘Precisely. That bothered you, didn’t it? I would bet you had never thought of it like that before. Even in your subconscious mind, you’re still mine. I think that that was the moment you realised just how much I owned you. Mind, body and soul. And it scared you.’

Any veneer of strength or independence had drained from him in that instant. She was right, as always. That was the nature of their relationship. He had no choice but to be honest.

‘Yeah. It terrified me, actually. I saw what I was becoming, what I’d already become. I was afraid of completely losing myself.’

‘Losing what?’

‘My humanity.’ A giant finger descended and caressed his cheek, encouraging him to carry on. He had to tell her. ‘The last time I tried to escape, when I almost got to the door. Do you remember that?’

‘Of course I do. I was furious. You almost got that delivery girl’s attention.’

‘Yes. Do you remember how you punished me?’

 ‘Mmhmm. That was the first time I put you in my ass.’ A wry smile appeared on her lips as she recalled the memory. ‘I can still picture your panicked little face once I told you where you were going.’

‘That’s the thing. At the time, it was the worst moment of my entire life. Until that day, I thought that I could deal with any punishment you gave me as long as I kept trying. Being crushed between your soles, being worn as your jewellery, even being inside your pussy wasn’t that bad if it meant earning my freedom in the end.’

She raised her hand to her mouth in mock indignation. ‘Not that bad?’

‘To have your whole body used as a dildo? It takes some getting used to. Anyway, that day…it broke something in me. It wasn’t just the discomfort, the smell, the fact that you kept me there almost 12 hours. It was knowing that I truly had no control over what happened to me anymore. I wasn’t my own person. I didn’t even know if I was a person. I lost a part of myself.’

He’d already said too much and he knew it. There was no going back now, though, he may as well carry on.

‘I never wanted to go through that ever again. From that point, I resolved to just do as you said and keep you happy. If I was ever to escape again, it would have to be certain.’

She nodded along, genuinely interested. ‘But…’

‘But when I obeyed you, you were so much nicer to me. So much gentler. You treated me better, gave me better food, gave me…sexual favours.’

‘Well good behaviour must be rewarded, pet.’

‘I thought I was earning your trust. Playing along to lull you into a false sense of security before I finally got away. What you said about my dreams made me think of how wrong I was. You had duped me. I had become your eager little pet without even realising.’

She nodded along but stopped short of interjecting. He was finally acknowledging his place and she didn’t want to spoil the moment. He had to get there on his own.

‘I mean, I’d still look for openings. I’d sit around and plan vague escape attempts, but I’d always find an excuse not to follow through. Looking back, they were ways to pass the time more than anything, keeping myself amused while I waited for you to come and play with me. I never really considered carrying them out. The most important thing for me was you. Your touch, your attention. I consoled myself with the fact that I was only with you was because I couldn’t leave but the real reason went so much deeper than that. I lived for your pleasure and nothing else.’

‘And you brought me great pleasure, little one.’

‘Yes, and I adored it. Every time you used me. When I was between your legs, exhausting my entire body, even a sharp breath or the slightest moan would make me swell with pride. To know that something as small as me could have any effect on someone like you, someone so…Godlike…it was everything to me. You became my Goddess and I couldn’t see you any other way. To make you come it…validated my entire existence.’ He was close to tears now but felt no use in stopping. ‘In the end, not only was I not afraid of your ass, I wanted it.  I craved it. I relished it every time you put me in there. The pain and humiliation was worth it as long as I could be close to you. Even now, I still crave you. Your hands, your feet, your lips,’ he hesitated slightly, ‘your…holes.’

He wiped a tear from his eye and stood up as straight as he could. ‘But no. You see, that’s the problem. I don’t want to want that. I want to feel like I used to. I want to want to be big again.’

‘But you’re never going to be big again. Why fight it? Why live out here?’

‘Well at least here I’m free.’

‘And what good is freedom to you? When you’re out scrounging for berries, praying a bird doesn’t swoop in and pluck you up their talons, what’s the point in being free then? With me, you had as good a life as any tiny man could hope for. Food, water, shelter. Sex. You had someone who looked after you and craved you as much as you craved me. You had a life, not just an existence. Why on earth would you leave that?’

He stood still, unable to answer.

‘Look, I’ve told you this before, but you need to hear it. When I first met you – before I took you – I didn’t like you. You were so quiet, so meek, so unambitious. Someone like you never deserved the life you had.’

‘Well that wasn’t your decision to make!’

‘Wasn’t it? Maybe not. I can only tell you that I desperately wanted a tiny man, but knew that I only had one chance. I needed someone who would obey me without question, who would worship me as a God. In you, I saw that potential. I could shape you into what I wanted and you would love me for it. Did I have the right to make that decision? You’re right, probably not, but it doesn’t matter. I still made it. That’s what’s important here. Back then, you were a young man looking for purpose. Now that I’ve given it to you, you’re running from it. What’s the point?’

As he was forming a counterargument, his eyes were drawn to an all-too-familiar sight happening above him. She was removing her running shoes, withdrawing her bare feet and placing them on top of them.

‘Be honest, little one. In the month since you’ve been out here, which did you think about most? Your old life, or your real one?’ She reached out and brushed him with the tip of her big toe, sending shivers down his spine and blood rushing to his penis. He couldn’t deny it. ‘See? You’re mine, sweetie. Now and forever, whether you like it or not. Just admit it. Enough of this. Come home.’

He had to stop himself from reflexively obeying her command. He had to know something first.

‘Why are you being so nice to me? Why not just take me back?’

‘Because I want you to accept your life. I don’t want a depressed pet. I want a worshipper, like you were before all of this ‘freedom’ nonsense. So here’s my offer. You want to hold on to your humanity? Fine. Then make the decision, of your own accord, to come back home with me. Return to your real life. Fulfil your purpose.’

For a moment, time seemed to stop. He could see the life she had laid out before him. One of servitude, obsequiousness and humiliation. He could feel the pain that she had inflicted upon him and the pain that was yet to come. He could see her go about her life while he watched from below, hoping to be involved in some small way. He could see every moment and he wanted it more than anything.

‘Okay.’

‘Okay then. On your knees,’ she said with a snap of her fingers. He immediately complied, head bowed down in respect. ‘Now say, sorry Miss Sarah.’

‘Sorry Miss Sarah.’

‘And what are you sorry for?’

‘I’m sorry for running away. It was a mistake.’

‘Will you every try it again?’

‘No, Miss Sarah?’

‘Andy why is that?’

‘Because…I’m your pet. Now and forever.’

‘Good. Now kiss.’

He crawled over and kissed her big toe, inhaling deeply as he did.

‘All of them.’

He made his way through all of her toes, savouring her taste, her smell, the feel of his lips on her body. Once he finished, she lifted her feet and directed his attention towards her shoe.

‘Now get in. It’s getting late and we have a long jog back.’

He dutifully complied, practically sprinting towards it. As he got in, he briefly caught sight of her flawless face before it was eclipsed by her foot and he found himself smiling for the first time in over a month. He felt as though a weight had been lifted. He’d truly embraced his life under his Goddess and he felt happier than he had ever been. The foot entered, cutting off all light and trapping him beneath her toes. He heard his Goddess speak once more before setting off.

‘Welcome home.’

He braced himself for the journey back. He had never felt freer in his life.