Richard stared at his reflection in the mirror and sighed deeply. There was no longer any point in denying it: he was getting old.

He was pushing sixty-six, after all, and he'd been showing his age for quite a while now. It was evident in the thinning silver hair that failed to cover the top of his head, the wrinkles that had set in around his eyes, the hefty belly that refused to shrink even though he'd been going for daily walks for several years now. Hell, even his attire had lost its youthfulness; he was dressed like an old man, with his boring combination of sneakers, plain jeans, and a simple button-up shirt with its tails tucked in. He sighed again, scratching at his bushy gray beard and glowering at himself before turning and walking out the front door of his condo.

His neighborhood only served to emphasize his age. Richard lived in a college town, surrounded by young men and women with their entire lives ahead of them. He'd been living there for years; his wife used to teach at the nearby university, before she'd passed away suddenly almost ten years prior. Richard had never been able to bring himself to move away, and now, he lacked the funds to do so even if he'd had any motivation to. So he'd resigned himself to a quiet, boring retirement in a town full of life and excitement, alone, going about his business without interacting with anyone beyond much more than a polite nod at his neighbors whenever he saw them.

As he walked, Richard sullenly mulled over those thoughts, tired eyes listlessly skimming the gorund. In fact, he almost didn't notice the tiny man who had run out on the sidewalk in front of him, frantically waving his arms about and yelling with a distant voice. It wasn't until his sneaker was poised above the little man that his ears finally registered a faint, startled cry from below. Richard paused, confused, and looked around for the source of the noise, but saw no one. But there it was again, a curiously distant shout that seemed to come from the ground before him. His eyes shifted downward, and he gasped quietly at what he saw: a tiny person, no more than three or four inches in height, scrambling out of the way of his foot.

Richard stooped down, hardly believing the sight before him, and squinted down at the tiny creature. There was no mistaking it; it was a human being, albeit smaller than any he'd ever seen before. In fact, something seemed vaguely familiar about the little man, and almost without thinking, Richard reached out and grabbed him in his fist, lifting him up to examine him more closely. He gasped again when he finally made out the man's face. "Jack?"

"Richard!" came the breathless voice. "Yeah, it's me! Jack!" Jack was Richard's neighbor, a sociable young student from the university. He was one of the few people that Richard considered to be a friend, and they hardly even spoke beyond the occasional chat when they ran into each other on the street. In fact, Richard had harbored some affections for the younger man for some time now, although he had never dared to voice them before, even though he secretly suspected that the attraction was somewhat mutual.

"What happened to you?" Richard asked, dumbstruck. "How did you get so small?"

Jack squirmed a bit in his grip, freeing his arms and resting them on Richard's thick fingers. "I was building a shrink ray for a project," he began. "I decided to test it, but accidentally got in the way of the beam and shrunk myself. I live alone, so I figured my only chance was to make it outside so I could catch you on your walk. I climbed out my window, got to the sidewalk, and waited for you to show up."

Honestly, Richard was quite flattered to hear that Jack had sought him out in his time of need. He really trusts me that much, huh? he thought, a smile spreading across his face. Something stirred in him as he straightened up and gazed down at the tiny man in his hand. He'd been a secret microphile his entire life, but never did he think he'd actually get to come into possession of a real, shrunken person. But here he was, alone with a miniaturized younger man. He could hardly believe his luck.

Devious ideas began to run through his mind as he wordlessly tucked Jack into his pants pocket and turned back in the direction of his own home. "Don't worry, Jack," he said, gently patting the shifting bulge in his pocket. "I'm gonna take real good care of you."