Troy trudged into the living room, breathing in short, shallow breaths. His head ached, his joints ached, even his skin ached. He coughed up phlegm and, without a tissue, was forced to swallow it, adding to the overall nauseating experience of being unquestionably ill. All he really wanted at that moment was to flop on the couch, put on The Price is Right, and drift off into a dreamless sleep. Unfortunately, at the next moment... 

“ACHOO!” Troy sneezed, and in that split-second, suddenly contracted, his entire body snapping down to a measly inch, “Oh no...not a shrinking cold...” 

It was, however, the sort of virus that would make those afflicted miniaturize at the drop of a hat. It was a well-known condition in the shrinking nation for those not immune, but no less debilitating for that knowledge. Troy flopped into the soft fibers of the carpet and sighed a deep, knowing sigh. This would not end well, he was sure. 

Barely five minutes later, Penelope entered the room, absently shuffling towards the couch. Troy tried to put his hands up in protest, but his sister's enormous toes flew at him undeterred, crashing into his body like plush hammers, catapulting him across the floor. 

“Hm?” Penelope looked at the ground to see what she'd just kicked, “Troy? Is that you?” 

“Blugh...” Troy barely intoned. “Got shrunk by Roma, huh?” She smirked, “Surprised she didn't squish you. Well, no reason to look this gift horse in the mouth.” 

Penelope took a step towards her brother before teasingly wiggling her bare toes over his body. She gently pressed them down while continuing to drum, beating the defenseless Troy's face with each rapid extension. 

“P-penny, please...” Troy groaned. “What's that? You wanna be a stain, buggy?” She laughed. “Who wants to be a stain?” Roma asked, having just opened the front door. 

“Who do you think?” Penelope shrugged. 

“Oh, well if we're squishing Troy, I wanna get in on that action.” Roma said, not bothering to take off her shoes as she walked over. 

“No way, you had your chance already.” Penelope said. “My chance? What does that mean?” Roma asked. “It means you didn't squash him when you shrank him, so now I get to do it.” Penelope said, coming dangerously close to just twisting her foot and splattering her brother. 

“I didn't shrink him.” Roma squinted. “You didn't? Then...” Penelope quirked her eyebrows before lifting her foot and peering down at Troy. 

“I...I have a cold.” Troy said between coughs. “Aw jeez, he's sick...” Penelope said. “Could you maybe just put me on the couch and leave me alone today?” Troy asked quietly. 

“Leave you alone? Come on dude, we're not monsters.” Roma said, “We have to make you feel better.” 

“Oh, I know some good remedies.” Penelope said. “Uh oh...” Troy said. “They're probably not better than mine.” Roma said. “Wanna bet?” Penelope asked. “Yeah, I do!” Roma said, “I bet you that I can make squirt here feel better than you can.” 

“You're on.” Penelope said, “I'm going first, since I found him.” 

“Fine, fine. It won't matter though.” Roma said. “We'll see.” Penelope said, walking towards the kitchen, “I'm going to make him the best soup ever. You just keep an eye on him. Be sure to watch your strep.” 

“Ugh...” Troy and Roma both groaned simultaneously. *** About an hour later, a lovely smell began to fill the house, the scents of ginger, garlic, turmeric, rosemary, and thyme mingling to create a truly mouthwatering olfactory experience. Roma's stomach grumbled loudly as she sat cross-legged in front of the television, Troy still face down on the carpet a few inches away. 

“Hm? What?” Troy mumbled, awoken by the sound of his sister's guts churning. 

“Soup's on!” Penelope called from the dining room, ladling large portions into two bowls, and a smaller portion into a bottle cap. “C'mon runt, lunch is ready.” Roma said, snatching up Troy's 

tiny body. She roughly deposited him on the gingham tablecloth and took a seat across from Penelope. 

“Go on, eat up.” Penelope passed a spoon to her sister. “Oh wow...this is really good.” Roma said after a bite, suddenly concerned she might not even get a turn in this contest. 

“Told you.” Penelope said with a knowing smile, “What do you think Troy?” 

“Um...” Troy stared at the relatively enormous carrot slice and ditalini floating in the amber broth. How was he even going to start eating it? He didn't even have a spoon. He tentatively took a sip from the edge of the cap, “Oh, it's, uh...” 

“What's wrong? Don't you like it?” Penelope pouted. “No, no, it's just kind of hard to...” Troy stammered. “Oh, I get it.” Penny said, “Not enough, right? Here, let me help.” 

With that she took her spoon and scooped Troy up, much to his whining chagrin, before hovering him above the steaming meal. 

“Wait!” Troy shouted. “Enjoy~” She cooed, before plopping him directly into the soup with a splash. 

“Ah! Hot, hot!” Troy peeped, scrambling to find something floating to crawl onto. 

“Not going to lie...” Roma was already mostly done, “I wouldn't mind swimming in this.” 

“Well, thank you.” Penelope said, “I'm soup-er proud of it.” “And you ruined it.” Roma said, “I tried to be nice and you ruined it.” “Oh hush, let me have my fun.” Penelope stuck her tongue out, before plunging her spoon back into the bowl, creating waves of broth that slapped over Troy and drove him to the bottom. He frantically swam back to the surface, only to be beaned by a hunk of chicken. Penelope scooped up another spoonful, causing an undertow which dragged Troy off to one side, causing him to collide with the thick, porcelain wall. 

“H-help...” He weakly gasped. “Mmmm~ This turned out great!” Penelope said, completely drowning out Troy's calls for help. She eagerly grabbed another mouthful, causing a slice of celery to bob up under her brother, sending him end over end, back into the brine. 

“But the real question is, did it make Troy feel better?” Roma pointed with her spoon. 

“Are you feeling better?” Penelope smiled down to her soup, but couldn't see her brother, “Troy? Where are you?” 

She slowly stirred the soup, testing to see if her brother would appear. Troy was beneath the surface, leg caught in a chain of small noodles, now in an all-out panic to escape. 

“Oh no, I didn't eat him, did I?” Penelope gasped. “Again? Jeez, you put him in there, you should have watched what you were doing.” Roma tutted. 

“But it was so good...” Penelope puffed her cheeks. “Gah!” Troy gasped, finally breaching. “Oh! There you are!” Penelope clapped, “What do you think? Did it make you feel better?” 

“Get me out of here! No more soup! No more soup!” Troy cried. 

“Aw...” Penelope sniffed. “I think that's our answer.” Roma smirked, “It's my turn. Wash him off and meet me in the living room.” 

A few minutes later, Penelope arrived, Troy grasped loosely in her hand. Roma was sitting on the couch, arms confidently stretched over the back. 

“What's your plan?” Penelope asked, sitting next to her sister. “Well, he's all stuffed up right? And what's a better way to get rid of mucus than a sauna?” Roma grinned. 

“A sauna?” Troy peeped, “That actually sounds nice...” “Where are you going to get one of those? We don't exactly have the room to build one.” Penelope said. 

“We don't need one, only Troy does.” Roma lifted her leg and rolled her ankle, showing off her dirty sneakers, “And I've been in these barefoot all day, so it's definitely like a sauna in there.” 

“Son of a...” Troy whispered. “Oh! That's gonna stink for him.” Penelope smirked. “The best medicine is bitter.” Roma said, ignoring the pun Penelope snuck in while using the toe of one shoe to pop off the other, “Give him here.” 

“Right.” Penelope held her palm out and Roma snaked up Troy into her tree-trunk fingers. 

“Okay, remember, breath deep, in through your nose, out through your mouth. You really need to circulate the steam.” Roma said, dangling her minuscule brother over her reeking shoe, before dropping him in with a laugh. Troy landed hard on the squishy, moist insole, immediately gasping in a miasmic breath of steamy vapor. 

“He should be in the toe section, right?” Penelope asked. “Yeah, obviously.” Roma said, grabbing the shoe and tilting it, which sent Troy careening into the dirty toe prints of his gargantuan sister. He slammed face first into the front, just before Roma rested the shoe back onto the carpet. He took another breath and coughed it out, barely able to deal with the thick, stuffy air which surrounded him like a wet blanket. 

“How long should he be in there?” Penelope asked. “I don't know. How long do you usually stay in a sauna?” Roma asked in response, “Like, 20 minutes?” 

“I just get out when I'm uncomfortable.” Penelope replied. “Hm, hey Troy, you comfortable?” Roma asked down to her shoe. 

“No...” Troy weakly called. “Must not be hot enough. Here, have some more heat.” Roma said, gripping her toes over the lip of the shoe. 

“Oh, can I add some too?” Penelope asked. “Be my guest.” Roma said. “Yay!” Penelope cheered, before adding her own toes to the mix, “Say, did you watch the newest season of that show yet?” 

Troy listened to his sisters go on and on about some streaming program while their sweaty toes playfully grasped at the shoe, the heat rising incrementally as both of their individual odors invaded the space even more, the ratio of oxygen to rank air slowly teetering towards the latter. Each breath came more shallow than the last, until the tiny boy was barely hanging on to consciousness. He struggled to drag himself to the heel of the shoe, but could only reach the arch before flopping onto his front, face buried in the dank surface at the bottom of his sister's sneaker. Finally, the toes receded from the shoe's entrance, and Roma peeked inside. 

“How ya feelin, squirt?” Roma asked. “Gonna...barf...” Troy wheezed. “Well, that clearly didn't work.” Penelope said with a smile, tilting the shoe so that Troy came spiraling out onto the floor. “Augh, I was sure that would do it.” Roma glowered. “Hm, I have one more idea.” Penelope said, “Wait here, I need to get changed.” 

“Er, okay.” Roma said, watching Penelope scamper off. “Maybe just kill me...” Troy said. “We were going to do that, you know.” Roma tapped her foot impatiently, “If you hadn't said anything you'd have been squashed.” 

“So, it’s my fault?” Troy groaned. “How long have you lived here?” Roma asked, “It’s always your fault.” 

*** “Okay!” Penelope skipped back into the room, clad in a loose t-shirt and tight yoga pants, “Yoga is a great way to clear up those blockages and get your body to heal itself.” 

“So, that's your plan, huh?” Roma asked. “Yep! Do you want to join in?” Penelope asked. “No, no, I'm fine watching.” Roma leaned back with a bemused smile, “Let me know if you need help, though.” 

“Alright, ready Troy? Let's do some basic stretches first.” Penelope said, spreading her feet and bending down to touch her toes. Troy watched in amazement at how flexible his sister actually was. He shakily stood and did his best to mimic her movements, but he could barely reach his knees, especially with his joints aching the way they did. “O-ow...” He moaned. 

“Okay, time for some postures.” Penelope said, kneeling to the ground, and then bending over while stretching her arms out in front of her, “This is child's pose.” 

“R-right.” Troy, despite his present physical condition, mirrored Penelope's motions, finding the new position to actually feel quite nice. 

“Good, good.” Penelope peeked from behind her elbow crease, before unfolding, planting her feet, and sticking her butt into the air, making an inverted 'V' with her body, “Now, this is downward dog.” 

“Not bad...” Troy mused, taking the position and feeling his hamstrings stretch and loosen. 

“Great, now we're going to go between cat...” Penelope instructed, planting her knees and arching her back, before bending it in the opposite direction, “...and cow, with each inhale and exhale. Get it?” “Yeah...this actually feels good. It's hard, but, I think I like it...” Troy said. 

“Great. Now let's try something a little harder. How about the wheel pose? It's also called chakrasana.” Penny stood, and then rolled her entire body backwards, performing a perfect back bridge. 

“Uh, I'll try but...” Troy clumsily tried to copy Penelope's movements, but only fell onto his back. From there he tried to do an 

inverted push-up to create the posture, but couldn't quite find the strength or flexibility to do so. 

“No, no, you've really gotta push. Roma, could you help him?” Penelope asked. 

“Oh, no problem at all.” Roma grinned, knelt down and placed one finger behind Troy's back, using two fingers on the opposite hand to pin his hands and feet. “Ready?” 

“No, no, not rea-” Troy began, but it was too late. Roma suddenly pulled upward with her single finger, putting immense pressure on midsection, bending him way past his capability, and nearly folding his tiny body in half. 

“Much better~” Penelope said, “Thank you.” “No prob, Penny.” Roma hopped back onto the couch with an evil smirk, leaving the badly injured Troy squirming on the carpet. “And you might not be able to do this one...but let's try the crane posture.” Penelope said, returning to a squat and then angling forward, putting out her hands, and then leaning even further, her body, curled up like an egg, now balanced on just her two arms. 

“Wow, that's really impressive.” Roma said. “Thanks, it took me a long time to get here. How's Troy doing? I can't see.” Penelope said. 

“Oh, he's doing just fine...” Roma looked down at her battered brother, before stretching out her leg and using her big toe to flick him towards Penelope. Troy skidded to a stop somewhere behind his sister, barely able to make sense of the gravity defying position from his minuscule perspective. 

“Good, good, okay, let's take a breather.” Penelope tilted herself backwards, ready to flop back and let her generous rear take the blow. Unfortunately for Troy, he was directly where that butt was going to land. It arced and crested into his field of view like the moon, before hurtling towards him like an asteroid. It grew larger and larger in his eyes until it was literally his entire visual experience, and then... 

SLAM! Penelope's round butt flattened Troy as though he were barely there at all. 

“Ah, nothing beats yoga.” Penelope smiled, “Aren't you feeling better now, Troy?” 

“Uh...” Roma said, trying to hide her smile. “Troy? Where'd you go?” Penelope asked, swiveling her head back and forth. 

“He sort of, er...” Roma stifled a laugh, “He got caught under your big butt.” 

“What?!” Penelope tried to get a look at her own backside, before swiping her hand across it, revealing a stripe of bright red blood, “Oh darn...there's no way that made him feel better.” 

Roma could no longer contain herself and exploded in a peal of laughter. 

“Hey, it’s, it’s...” Penelope began to pout, but quickly reverted to a goofy smile, “It’s snot funny.” 

“Oof, speaking of not funny...” Roma shrugged, “Regardless, 

go revive him, I have something else I want to try. Meet me in my bedroom.” 

*** “Okay, all better.” Penelope poked her head into Roma's room. 

“But I still feel terrible...” Troy groaned. “Bring him here, quick.” Roma waved them over. She pointed to a spot on her desk, and Penelope gingerly placed their brother down, “Lay on your stomach.” 

“O-okay. What are you going to do?” Troy asked warily, sliding onto his front. 

“I'm going to give you a massage, duh.” Roma cracked her knuckles, “We do this all the time in practice. It loosens up phlegm, circulates blood and lymph, rebuilds muscle, and really gets the whole system back into working order. 

“Wow...” Penelope said, “It really does all that? Can you give me one too?” 

“Will you make me more soup? Because that'd be a fair trade.” Roma said. 

“Done and done.” Penelope nodded. “Uh...” Troy intoned. “Arms at your side,” Roma said, easily manhandling Troy into position, “And deep breaths, relaxing during a massage makes it more effective.” 

“I didn't know you knew so much about this stuff.” Penelope said. 

“It's really helpful during training, you know?” Roma said, “Alright, let's start.” 

With that she extended the pinky finger on each hand and gently pressed them to Troy's shoulders. She began with circular motions, before beginning to slide her fingers down the length of his torso, and over each leg. She repeated this combination several times, then moved on to Troy's arms, down to his hands, and back to his neck. Though it was slightly heavy on the pressure, Troy actually found the experience to be quite enjoyable. Roma continued to work in small circles around her brother's body, before returning to his back, using one bent knuckle to press along his spine. 

“Ooooh.” Troy unintentionally moaned. “Feels good, right?” Roma asked, “And you're definitely feeling less sick, right?” 

Troy had actually intended to say yes, but a sudden tickle in 

his throat caused a small, unexpected coughing fit. Roma winced, looking over to Penelope, who wordlessly raised her eyebrows. 

“Obviously we just need to use more pressure.” Roma turned back to Troy, placing one huge thumb on his body. Troy tried to respond in the negative, but the pad of his sister's finger drove his face into the desk, making it impossible to accurately vocalize. The pressure came harder now, still in circular motions, but now covering the whole of him. 

“Are you sure-” Penelope began. “Of course I'm sure. He just needs some deep tissue stimulation. Just press and release, press and release.” Roma said, pushing down with her thumb harder and harder, “Just press-' 

And that was all Troy's tiny body could take. He popped like a grape under Roma's thumb, sending a spray of hot, red liquid off to the side. 

“Oops.” Roma sucked air through her teeth. She peeked down at her dirtied hand and rubbed her forefinger and thumb together, roughly smearing away part of Troy's remains into a barely perceptible pink glaze. 

“Maybe we're not very good at this.” Penelope shrugged. “Well, we've mostly been trying home remedies.” Roma turned, “Maybe he actually needs some medicine.” 

“Some cough syrup, at least.” Penelope said. “Maybe some sort of antibodies?” Roma asked. “I think he already has a little anty body.” Penelope chuckled. “Oh, shut up! Race you to the pharmacy!” Roma shouted, hopping out of her seat so quickly it nearly tumbled to the floor, and then bolting through the door. 

“Hey, wait!” Penelope scampered after her sister. Troy was left smushed on his sister's desk for the next few hours, and despite, or perhaps because of, the absentminded treatment of his sisters, remained sick for the next few weeks. 

-END-