After my first peaceful sleep in what felt like ages, I awoke while it was still dark. I could hear Rachel’s soft breathing in the distance. Sitting up and rubbing my eyes, I looked over in her direction. In the dim light that came in through the gap in the curtains, I saw her huge sleeping form. She looked so peaceful, as if she hadn’t just been through one of the most distressing couple of days of her life. I suddenly felt an urge to be close to her again, something I didn’t think I’d ever feel again. I got up and clambered down the mound formed by her coat, then walked across the table towards her.

The gap between the edge of the table and her bed was about fifteen feet to me, with the bed being about seven feet lower as well. On any normal day, I’d have no problem jumping such a distance, but, after my recent ordeal, I felt very apprehensive. If I missed the jump and fell to the floor below, there’d be very little chance of survival, and Rachel’s heartache would begin anew, worse than before. And she’d be awake soon in any case…but not soon enough for me. I walked back some way from the edge, took a deep breath, then ran and jumped.

My knees landed on the very edge of the bed and I gripped the sheet immediately and pulled myself forward. I had made it, unharmed. I got up and climbed up her gigantic pillow, amazed at how little it gave way beneath my insignificant weight. I was right in front of her face now, and being this close to her made my heart beat intensely. I could feel her body heat radiating from her skin, which was good news for me, considering how cold the early morning was. She was resting on her left side, and I got down on my hands and knees and crept up to her chin. Reaching out, I placed both my hands on her. She didn’t even stir as I ran my arms across the soft contours of her lips, but her warm breath blew across me, which felt very pleasant on my nude body. Feeling a little more adventurous, I climbed onto the bridge of her nose and reached her right eye. Placing a hand on her closed eyelid, I could clearly feel her eye moving back-and-forth underneath it. Was she dreaming about me, or was she having a nightmare? No, she seemed much too calm for that. I ran my hand through her long eyelashes, counting them off as each hair slipped between my fingers. Every little detail of her was now magnified to me, and much clearer to my senses. She was everything to me now.

“You don’t know how much I love you, baby,” I whispered to her. “You’re so much more amazing than I ever knew, and if I ever get back to my right size again, I’ll make it all up to you, I swear.”

A sudden itch caused her to twitch her nose, which made me lose my balance and fall off. I landed on the pillow below and rolled towards her, and the tiny bump of my body against her cheek seemed to be enough to wake her up. She yawned suddenly and I scrambled up the pillow away from her, or else I’d have fallen inside her open mouth. I was safely out of harm’s way when a colossal arm reached across me and turned on the lamp on the bedside table. She saw me at once and had a fleeting moment of shock at seeing a tiny naked man on the edge of her pillow. Then she realized who I was and smiled.

“Hi, Sam” she whispered. “You’re awake early. How did you get over here?”

“I…well, I jumped,” I admitted. “I just wanted to be close to you again and I couldn’t wait until you were awake, so I…Rachel, you have no idea how much I’ve missed you!”

“Really? Hey, I’ve missed you too, you know! I was even dreaming about you, just now…”

“You were? I knew it!”

She looked surprised at my statement, so I explained to her how I’d explored her face while she was sleeping. When she looked even more taken aback, I suddenly felt guilty, as if I’d invaded her personal space in some way.

“That’s all I did, I swear!” I hastily added. “I won’t do it again, honest! Like I said, I just wanted to be close to you again.”

She didn’t reply. Instead, she slid her hand in underneath me and I fell backwards and into her palm. Then her four fingers curled around me, tenderly squeezing me in a loving embrace. She lifted me up like I was nothing and held me close to her lips.

“Really? That’s all you did? Hmm, that’s a shame. I hope you’ll be more curious in the future, my little lover. There’s a lot more of me to explore, as I’m sure you know.”

Her words came as a great relief to me, and I relaxed completely as she treated me to a long, passionate kiss. To be overpowered by such a vast feminine presence was still a bizarre feeling to me, but I found myself loving it. Did she really want me to visit the more intimate parts of her body while she was asleep? The thought made me grow nervous with anticipation.

“Rachel, honey, I would love to do that with you,” I said, in-between her kisses. “But not when you’re asleep. If you turn just a little in your sleep, you could crush me and not even know it. Besides, if you’re awake, we can both enjoy the experience, don’t you think?”

“Yes, you’re right. Sam, I’m so happy you’re now willing to give us a chance. I was so terrified when I first saw you like this, but now, holding you like this in my hand…I can feel you moving around, your arms and legs…and your heart beating…it’s really incredible, in a way. I just want to hold you and keep you close, all the time.”

I honestly had no arguments against her. She was right: we could absolutely make this relationship of ours work. She clearly still loved me just as much as always, if not more, proving how wrong I had been not to trust her and believe in her. She unravelled her fingers slightly and held me against her chest, and I bathed in the heat coming from her body. Her own heartbeat was like the rumbling of some deep, distant earthquake beneath me, each tremor vibrating and surging through me. It felt like nothing I’ve ever felt before, and it was heavenly.

Eventually, our real-world needs brought our romantic moment to an end. I became gradually aware that I hadn’t eaten anything in over a day, and I hadn’t had a decent meal in a much longer time than that. Rachel wanted to shower first before breakfast, but I managed to convince her to do it the other way around this time. She got up and began her morning routine, still carrying me carefully in her hand. It felt so much better than the box I’d been carried around in back at the hospital. She headed into the kitchen and put me down on the little dining table, then drew open the curtains and began fixing some breakfast for us.

As she moved about the kitchen, I stared up at her in fascination. Every little movement of hers was like watching a force of nature at work. I remembered all the times she’d made breakfast for us after I’d spent the night with her here. I would stand behind her and put my arms around her or rub her shoulders, or even spin her around for a quick make-out session, before she’d pretend to be displeased and light-heartedly push me away so she could back to the business at hand. Now all I could do was sit helplessly and watch, wrapped up in a little table napkin, my feet dangling over the edge of a table that was sixty feet above the ground.

Breakfast was ready soon enough – scrambled eggs, bacon, fried tomatoes and toast, the smells of which were enough to drive me crazy. I was really looking forward to eating proper food again. She had only made enough for herself, since, no matter how hungry I was, I could only eat a few crumbs’ worth of food at one mealtime. She sat down and scooped a few tiny portions off her plate and onto a little saucer she’d placed in front of me. I climbed onto the saucer too, eager to begin, when I noticed I had no knife and fork to eat with. Rachel saw my predicament, but the best solution she could come up with was to break a toothpick up as small as possible, so that I could use the foot-long pieces as chopsticks.

“I’ll find something better for you, as soon as I get the chance,” she promised. “There must be places that sell miniature utensils, even if it’s only for dollhouses and things like that.”

“You think that’ll work?” I asked, after forcing a large chunk of bacon down my throat. “I’m a lot smaller than most dolls, you know, as much as I hate to admit it.”

“I know, but I’ll keep looking until I find something. Clothes too – there has to be a place that sells toy figurines or something that are more-or-less the same size as you. I’ll try and look around for some things after work today, if I can get off early enough.”

I was suddenly reminded that today was Monday, so of course she had to leave for work. She was doing an internship programme for investment analysts at a big company with offices located on the other side of the city, so that meant a lot of early mornings and late evenings at work for her. She was also nearing the end of the six-month internship period and would love to begin working the job full-time, which made her spend even more time at the office, trying to impress her superiors enough so that she’d be given the opportunity. My own job had kept me pretty busy as well, so neither of us had had reason to complain that we weren’t spending enough time with each other. Now, however, I had no choice but to stay at home while she was at work, and it didn’t sound appealing at all to me.

“So, um, where does that leave me?” I asked, after hastily chewing down the last of my food. Rachel had finished eating as well and was sipping her coffee. “Are you gonna leave me here for the day, is that it?”

“Well, yes…I mean, what else can I do?” she said. “I can take you with me to work, I suppose. Hide you inside my purse or somewhere. But would that be any better for you? I’d just spend the whole day worrying about you, constantly checking up on you…and you’d be trapped inside a pretty small, uncomfortable space the whole day. At least here you get some space, so you can walk around and keep yourself busy.”

“What about food? I’m gonna get hungry before you get back, you know!”

“You’re right…I’ll just have to leave you something you can eat when it’s lunchtime, okay? Look, Sam, I’m gonna have to get a shower and get dressed now, or else I’m gonna be late for work.”

She got up to leave, but I yelled after her and got her to turn around again. She looked down at me inquiringly.

“Rachel…oh God, I hate asking this…but I need to…to…”

I couldn’t bring myself to say that I needed a toilet. It once again felt to me like I’d been reduced to something less than human, having to ask for her help for such an otherwise simple and awkward task. Eventually, I just sighed and told her. She looked almost as embarrassed as I was feeling, but she carried me over to the sink and put me down in it next to the drain. She also handed me a little bit of paper towel I could use as toilet paper.

“I’ll see if I can find something better for you to use for this too,” she said apologetically. “I’m sorry, sweetie, I really am. I’ll wait until you’re done, then I’ll take you back to the table.”

“No, it’s fine. Go and get ready, you’ve wasted enough time on me this morning already. You can get me again when you leave for work.”

“Sam…”

“Please, Rachel, just go. I’m not angry, really…look, I just want some time to myself now, okay?”

She nodded and turned around, leaving me to myself. I sighed again, then squatted over one of the holes of the drain to do my business. This morning had begun in such a promising way, and now this…but that was the reality of my situation, and I knew I had to accept it. At least now I knew Rachel still loved me and cared for me, so I tried as hard as I could to stop worrying about it. But how long would those feelings for me last, when every day another thing like this would happen, reminding her that I was no longer capable of doing anything without her help?

I soon regretted my decision to stay in the sink and wait for her, since it was horribly cold on the exposed metal surface, and I still had nothing to wear. I ran around in circles to stay warm, pass the time and get some exercise. Rachel usually took her time in getting ready in the mornings, but she’d said she was in a hurry, so I hoped she wouldn’t take much longer. I also yearned to take a shower myself, as much for the warmth as for getting clean. Would she be okay with taking me with her next time? I couldn’t see why not, since we’d often showered together when we were still a normal couple just like any other. But now that I was so small and weak, would she think it was too dangerous? If she did, I promised myself I’d argue my side of the case. As much as I knew I needed her protection to survive, she couldn’t keep me out of every potentially hazardous situation. I needed her reassurance that I was still a man to her, not a porcelain doll that needed to be handled with complete and utter care.

It wasn’t long before I heard her footsteps approaching, and from the sound I could tell she was wearing high heels. I looked up as her immense figure appeared above the rim of the sink. Her gigantic hand reached down and encircled me, and lifted me up to her height. Her hair was brushed back and she was wearing a dark lavender jacket and black knee-length skirt, and she looked both stylish and incredibly attractive. Before I could compliment her on her appearance, though, I was given another loving kiss on the head. Afterwards, she opened up her hand, allowing me to lie back in her palm and gaze up at her. I found myself getting aroused again, even more than when she’d kissed me for the first time.

“Are you okay, Sam?” she asked, her smile giving way to a look of concern. “You look a little shaken.”

“No, I’m fine. It’s just…wow, you’re beautiful! Rachel, you look amazing!”

“You think so?” she said, her face blushing just enough for me to notice.

“Yes, I do. You’re gorgeous! Shit, I must look so pathetic to you right now. I can’t even reach over to you and hug you.”

“Oh, Sam, that’s not true! Please, please, please stop thinking like that! You’ll be back to your old size soon, I know you will…and until that happens, I’ve got myself an adorable pocket-sized version of the man I love, and I’m going to enjoy him just as much as the regular-sized Sam. Here, I’ll give you a hug, and you’ll see I love you just as much as ever.”

I was gently lain against her chest and found myself squeezed between her hand and bosom. This was completely different to the way we’d always embraced, but it was no less satisfying. The last little bit of doubt I had that she was still in love with me disappeared. Beginning right now, I promised myself never to question her again, or to complain about my situation. If I stayed positive and kept focusing on all that I have with her, instead on dwelling on everything I’d lost, I knew my life would become a whole lot easier.

“See? It’s not so bad after all, being small,” Rachel told me as she kept on hugging me like this. “There’s so much less for you to worry about and, with me here, there’s nothing for you to afraid of either. I’ll keep you safe and take care of you, okay? So stop blaming yourself and stop telling yourself that you can’t make me happy like this. You know that’s not true. There’s a lot we’ll need to figure out, how to keep our relationship going strong, but we have time. Now, however, I have to get going, or I’ll really be late.”

She carried me over to the couch and put me down on one of the cushions. Then she went over to the kitchen, leaving me to amuse myself by clambering over the hill-sized cushions for a while. She returned with a tiny plastic container with some food in it, for my lunch, as well as another one I could use as a makeshift toilet. A plastic bottlecap filled with water gave me enough to drink for the day. Lastly, I was given a napkin to use as a blanket to cover myself, as well as the remote control for the television, in case I got bored.

“I’ll take you with me to work some other time,” she promised, hunkering down and giving me a little goodbye kiss. “Once I know I can do so safely, without the risk of someone else finding out about you. Everyone I know at work still thinks you’re at the hospital in a coma, just like I did before you called me. I’m not supposed to tell anyone else about you, so as not to cause a sensation and create unwelcome publicity for the company you worked for. But if I can carry you around somewhere where you’ll be out of sight, I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”

“Thanks, Rachel. You really don’t know how much this means to me, just being treated as an equal, or as a human being for that matter. Enjoy your day at work. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine here. At least you don’t have any pets for me to worry about!”

“Yeah, that would’ve been a big problem. Lucky for you I’ve never been much of an animal-lover, huh? See you this afternoon, sweetie! Don’t worry if I’m a little late, it just means I’ve gone and done some shopping for you. You’ll be feeling just like any regular guy in no time, you’ll see!”

She gave me an affectionate squeeze, then stood up and walked out of the room. I watched her soaring figure walk off into the distance; it was an awe-inspiring sight to behold. After that, I was left alone in my new environment. I immediately switched on the TV, since the silence and solitude of her vast living room was overwhelming. It also helped me forget about the feeling of helplessness that I felt once she was gone. Any little bug that happened to come my way could be a threat to me, not to mention spiders…but I didn’t see any of those around, and she kept her place clean most of the time anyways, so eventually I relaxed. I settled down on top of a cushion and started channel-hopping, glad to be able to do something as simple and satisfying as watching TV again for the first time in months. Just a small step towards the feeling of living a normal life again.