The girl Alex woke up next to was too tanned to be his girlfriend. 

His aching head pounded as memories from the night before flooded back to him— the partying, the fight with his girlfriend Maria, and her leaving while he stayed at the club. Maria was too childish when it came to vacations, she’d prefer carnivals to clubs and early morning to late nights. This was Alex’s first time in Spain since being legally allowed to drink, he should be partying, not doing kid stuff. 

“Usually I’m the one trying to leave before the other person wakes up,” said Alex. He didn’t remember the name of the girl he slept with, but she rushed to clip on her bra and throw a ripped shirt over her tanned body. “Isn’t this your room though?” 

“Not in the next 20 minutes.” The girl spoke with a thick Spanish accent, and Alex remembered why he liked her. She picked a shirt off the ground and threw it at Alex. “We have to check out in 20 minutes, vámonos!” 

Alex struggled to sit up in bed. He’d never experienced a hangover like this before. “Do you have tylenol or something?” he asked as he pulled down his shirt. 

“Tylenol?” The girl clearly didn’t know what he was talking about. She stepped off the bed and started shoving clothes in a duffle bag. “If you’re hung over, I have something way better that you can take.” After finishing with her clothes, she pulls out a small plastic baggie from a side zipper. 

Inside the baggie were two pills— one big, and one so small that Alex almost didn’t see it. The girl pointed at the big one. “Take this when you’re somewhere safe. Take the second when you uh, want to come up?” She seemed confused on how to say what she wanted to in english, but threw the bag at Alex. 

“What does this do?” asked Alex. 

The girl stood up and hurried to the master bathroom. “Trust me, you want to be surprised. Keep the second pill in your pocket after you take the first one. It’ll take uh, one half hour to kick in. Now get out of here.” She exited into the bathroom to pack.

Alex groggily pulled up his shorts. He wouldn’t survive the walk back to his hotel with his head splitting like this. Opening the baggie, Alex grabbed the big pill. While pulling it out, the second, smaller pill spilled onto the floor.

“Shit.” Alex muttered, scanning the ground for the pill. He popped the big one in his mouth and swallowed it with his spit. He continued looking for the other pill, but it was too small to see. 

“Screw it.” The second pill would take Alex down from whatever high the first pill gave him. He needed a good excuse as to why he never returned to his hotel room last night, he could tell his girlfriend that he was drugged and couldn’t find his way back. He was no stranger to cheating on Maria, but she didn’t need to find out this time.

The pain was already dwindling as Alex stood up and left the bedroom. In the room’s common area, his fling’s roommate sat on the couch. Trash and belongings littered the room like she didn’t have to leave in 15 minutes, and she took a strong rip of a bong that caused her to cough up smoke for several seconds. 

“Ayy, congratulations on last night.” The roommate placed the bong on the coffee table. “I heard yous mojando el churro all night long from that tiny second room. That bed was made for a child, I barely had any room to sleep.” She ripped her bong again. 

Alex rolled his eyes and navigated through the mess on the floor. He remembered the roommate putting up a fuss last night about being kicked into the other room, he didn’t want to deal with her fake nice girl attitude. 

The fluorescent light bulbs in the hallway brought back Alex’s soaring headache. Where was he exactly? Not only where in Valencia was he— he hoped he was still in Valencia— but where was the hotel’s exit? He navigated down the stairs, but at the ground floor he struggled to find the main lobby.

             10 minutes had passed since he started looking, and he worried about the drug kicking in before he knew which way his hotel was. He wasn’t good at talking to strangers sober, but I was better than staying lost. He approached a bell boy who was carrying a cart with two different sized suitcases on it. 

              “Excuse me,” said Alex, “Where can I find the exit?”

The bell boy flushed red. “Sorwy, no ingles.” He grabbed his cart and hurried away. Of course the one person Alex could find didn’t speak english. 

Alex knew enough survival Spanish to survive in Spain for the week, but he was blanking on how to say exit. Maybe he’d ask for the outside instead. At the end of a hallway was a big empty room with tables and chairs. The sign was in Spanish, but he made out enough to understand it was a place for eating. 

The room was currently between breakfast and lunch, so nobody was inside. Alex’s headache was becoming unbearable under all the bright lights. He'd be better off waiting until the drug kicked in to continue asking people for directions, somebody has to know a little bit of english. 

He sat down at a table in the room. His stomach felt sick, but was it the pill or did he need to puke? Checking the clock on the wall, the pill should’ve taken effect by now. Maybe he should text his girlfriend and ask for help, but then she’d be wondering why he was at a random hotel. 

It didn’t matter anyway, his phone wasn’t in his pocket. He could’ve lost it at any point last night. After another 10 minutes passed, Alex figured the pill would never sink in. He grumbled, standing up from the chair he sat on.

And his feet didn’t hit the ground right away. It was a weird sensation, but one he wrote off. The room seemed bigger, too. Alex held his head. It did feel a little better than before, if he were tripping that would explain the room getting bigger. He must’ve been hallucinating.

But Alex didn’t feel high, even if the walls were expanding. As he walked, his strides felt shorter, but he didn’t feel anything different in the way he walked. He approached the glass door, the handle was a lot higher up than he remembered. As he went to turn it, he saw his reflection through the glass. 

The room wasn’t growing, Alex was shrinking. 

Alex struggled with the door, pulling it instead of pushing like he was supposed to. He saw himself dwindle in size in the reflection before bursting out of the room. This wasn’t just some trip. He needed to find somebody to help him, and fast. 

Navigating the hallways, a Spanish woman wearing a sundress walked down a corridor. She didn’t look tall, but Alex only came up to her hip as he approached. Alex pulled at her dress. “You have to help me. I took a pill and now I’m shrinking.” 

The lady pulled her dress and slapped his hand away. “La gente necesita enseñar a sus hijos a respetar.” She continued walking towards what looked like the hotel’s pool. 

Alex looked around him. He could knock on one of the doors, but he shrunk so fast if he picked the wrong door and somebody who only knew Spanish answered that he’d be nothing by the time he tried the next door. He had to go somewhere populated with enough people that somebody had to speak English. 

Alex rushed onto the pool deck. A lifeguard blew his whistle at him as asked ran to the pool’s deck. “Help! Somebody please, I need help.” 

Nobody answered him. Most people stared at him like he was an annoyance, some muttered under their breaths in Spanish. Couldn’t they see he was shrinking? Why wouldn’t that sound alarm bells? 

“Regresar a casa, gurir estupido.” A teen boy pushed Alex into the water. People cheered and the lifeguard’s whistle blew as Alex sunk into the pool. 

This wasn’t good. Not only did nobody seem to speak English, but he was shrinking rapidly in the deep water. The girl he slept with was definitely from Spain, this hotel must’ve been for natives who didn’t want to deal with tourists. 

Alex emerged to the top of the pool. He struggled to doggy paddle. The sign said the pool was only 2 ½ feet deep, he was shrinking faster. The people around him were mostly his age or younger, but they already towered over him.  As he swam to the ladder, adults and children alike banged into him, shouting curses and other words Alex couldn’t decipher. 

A large wave hit Alex that almost knocked him under the water. A couple feet away, two twin girls splashed water at him, laughing and taunting. As Alex continued to shrink the splashes became too large, and it forced him back under the water. 

Alex slammed into leg after leg as the current swirled him around. He finally caught a lucky stroke as a cannonball wave splashed him right out of the pool. He clung to the marble side wondering how he was still alive. 

People walked around him, wet footprints being left behind in the intense heat. Laying next to one, Alex barely came half way. He had to be only 4 or 5 feet tall. Getting somebody’s attention now was impossible. 

Two choices came to Alex’s mind: one was to run into the streets and hope to find somebody there, and the other was to go back inside the hotel to look for the pill he dropped. The first would certainly cause his death under an unaware bystander’s shoe, so he ran into the hotel before he ended up flattened under somebody’s wet sole. 

His breathing slowed down now that he was safe inside. People didn’t seem to roam the halls much, and Alex made it to a stairwell without running into anybody. It took him several minutes to climb up a single step. He wasn’t exactly the strongest, but surely grabbing onto a ledge and pulling oneself up was harder than it looked on tv. 

320 was the room Alex had spent the night in. All he had to do was get there before house cleaning swept the room and the pill would be gone forever. He was in a race against the clock, but his tiny body made travel difficult, and it took almost an hour before he reached that floor. 

Tired, Alex pushed himself forward to room 320. He stuck his hand under the metal door, but he was still too big to fit under it. He cursed, laying on the ground and looking under the gap. 

Feet walked around inside. Alex couldn’t make out what the woman was saying, but she was definitely complaining about something. Maybe the mess— housekeeping had done a poor job of cleaning the room. Most of the trash was picked up, but there were still crumbs and items under the couch and the room reeked of weed. 

If housekeeping didn’t clean under the couch, maybe they didn’t clean under the master bed either! The pill must’ve been there. At the corner of the door Alex noticed a hole big enough for him to squeeze through. Things were finally looking his way. 

Alex waited until the woman exited into the master bedroom to squeeze through the hole under the door. He was big last time he was in this room just over an hour ago, but at this size he noticed the room in better detail. The carving in the wooden coffee table with somebody’s initials, the torn couch cushion, the air conditioner that roared from above, and how long each strand of carpet actually was. 

Roaming through the common area— which took maybe 5 steps to get across before— was an enlightening experience at only 4 inches tall. If Alex wasn’t afraid of being stuck that size forever, he might actually enjoy the experience of being this small. 

A door creaked open. Alex froze. To his right was the door to the second bedroom, the one the roommate complained had a bed too small for an adult to sleep in. Alex hesitantly cranked his head, and saw a girl who couldn’t be older than 10 walk out from it. She whistled to herself, checking out the room she just moved into. 

The girl was definitely from Spain, but Alex couldn’t tell if she lived in Valencia or was vacationing there from another area. She fumbled about the room, checking out the tv channels before staring at the weird hotel paintings on the wall. She tilted her foot down so her toes could feel the carpet beneath her pink flip flops, and it was only another few moments before she saw Alex. 

She shook her head, just as annoyed as everyone else who saw him “¿Por qué los hoteles siempre tienen bichos?” she asked. 

Alex was too frightened to move. If he stood still enough she might just mistake him for trash and leave him be. She looked so young, as most kids do, but this was the first person Alex really got to look at from his current size. She stood like a skyscraper, and her slender body made her movements look more monster than human. 

She approached. Alex scanned the room, but couldn’t make up his mind on where to hide. The girl’s ten toes grew massive as they approached in the flip flops, and soon all Alex could see were her ankles and lower legs. The feet stood there like they were in contemplation. A look up at the girl’s face revealed it was actually a moment of disgust. 

The little girl raised her foot up. Alex fell on his back and began screaming as fragments of dirt fell from beneath the rubber sole. “No, no! I’m not a bug.” He cowered, turning his face from the little girl’s foot. He didn’t open his eyes again until he heard the foot fall back on the floor. 

He opened them slowly, just in time to see the child lower to her knees and press her face right up to his. “Este bicho puede hablar inglés. ¿Eres una persona?” Her warm breath rolled over Alex. Her lips guarded large off white teeth sharper than knives. Several were still baby teeth, and one was missing from the far back. And her tongue looked like a predator about to pounce. “Are you a person?” 

“You speak english?” asked Alex. The fear in him settled. For whatever reason, he felt safer now that he could talk to somebody, even if the bright look her eyes made was off setting. “I was shrunk by a… magic object. I think the thing that will grow me back is in this room, you have to help me find it. It's in there.” Alex pointed towards the master bedroom.

“That is mi madre’s room, she no like it when I go in there.” The little girl extended a giant finger and poked Alex in the stomach. If he weren’t still sprawled across the floor she would’ve knocked him over. “I’m Nerea, you have a name?” 

Alex wasn’t sure if she was asking or telling him. “Alex. Nerea, get your mom and show me to her.” 

“You e’say my name funny.” She poked him again, this time hard enough to make him grunt. “You have a tiny family?” Alex was not here to play 21 questions with a giant child. Kids are so frustrating to talk to. 

The master bedroom opened, and the girl’s giant mother walked out. Seeing his chance, Alex jumped up and waved his arms. “Hey!” 

Nerea spurred from the floor. The back of her heel rammed into Alex and knocked him over. She stomped her left flip flop onto him, stepping on him. Alex was worried she was going to crush him, but it seemed like she was only trying to hide him. 

“¿Con quién estás hablando?” The older woman asked. Alex tried to squirm out from under the rubber sole, but Nerea was stepping too hard on him to budge. 

“Nadie mamá, solo un bicho.” Nerea responded. “Está aplastado ahora.” Nerea twisted her sandal back and forth. It wasn’t enough to hurt Alex, but dirt rubbed into his face and his cheeks were pulled in awkward directions. 

The weight increased as Nerea bent over. Her fingers slipped under her flip flops and wrapped around Alex. Nerea pulled off her flip flops and brought Alex with them. “Voy a llevar mis chanclas a mi cuarto.” 

“Sólo mantén la voz baja.” Alex heard her Mom say as Nerea shut the bedroom door behind her. Nerea dropped her flip flops and held Alex in her hands, a wide smile poking at her cheeks.

Nerea sat down on the twin sized bed and pet Alex’s hair with the pad of her pointer finger. Alex was overcome with anger at how Nerea was treating him and for not showing him to her mom, but blowing up at her would only make things worse. 

“Lo siento about the dirt.” Nerea licked her thumb and dragged it down Alex’s face. Alex fidgeted, moving his face around to try and avoid the thumb, but the bigger digit overcame him. 

Is she really using her spit to clean the dirt on my face that’s there from her flip flop? Alex sighed, trying to remain calm. Nerea pulled back her thumb. “That wasn’t nice, Nerea. I asked you to show me to your mom and you stepped on me.” 

“I e’said sorry.” She responded in the way a kid who isn’t actually sorry would. “Will you play dolls with me first? I’ll help you after.” 

Alex was reluctant to respond. His girlfriend gave him a lot of grief over it, but Alex never liked kids and hated playing with them even more. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to have many other choices. He’d entertain her if it meant getting what he wanted. “Sure, I’ll play dolls with you.” 

“Really?” Nerea asked excitedly, jumping off her bed so fast Alex’s head spun. She pulled a couple tissues from a tissue box and laid them on the floor. After grabbing some paper clips from a drawer, she settled them in the middle of the tissues. 

Nerea laid on her stomach on the floor behind the tissues. She held Alex’s upper body with two fingers, and with her other hand she grabbed his legs and forced him into a sitting position before roughly sitting him on the napkin. Alex turned red with anger, he could’ve easily sat down himself. 

This brat is using me like an actual doll. How humiliating… 

Nerea started speaking in Spanish again, too. She spoke so fast and with such a thick accent that Alex didn’t pick up anything she was saying, but he could decipher what kind of game she was playing. 

She fiddled with the paper clips and spread them out against the rim of the tissues. Nerea was pretending to have a picnic with Alex as the only actual guest, though as she played Alex figured she had an imaginary guest there too. 

Things were less embarrassing as time went on, though Alex was beginning to lose patience. He played along when Nerea raised a paper clip to his mouth by pretending to eat it— something Nerea always giggled at— and tried not to lose his temper when Nerea would shake him to indicate he was the one speaking. 

Despite the humiliation, it did feel good being the reason the girl was so happy, and at times he found himself enjoying her company. He was so scared when he first shrank, this was a nice change of pace. 

“Oi! Alex, want to play house with me?” Nerea dropped Alex and turned towards the still full suitcase near her bed. She opened it, and started dropping clothes on the floor as she looked for something. 

Alex was dumbfounded. He just spent almost an hour pretending to be a doll at some picnic, it was time she helped him. “What about showing me to your mom?” 

“I told you, madre no like when I go into her room.” Nerea continued to sort through the bag. After a moment she pulls out a beaten down rag doll bigger than Alex. One of its button eyes was missing, and several stitches were missing down the seam. “Are you ready to meet your esposa?”

Alex couldn’t rebuttal before she grabbed him. She shoved him against the rag doll’s mouth and made kissing noises for them. 

The door swung open. Nerea’s mom stood in the doorway, scanning the room. Alex wanted to scream to her, but the anger in her posture only made him freeze. 

“¿Estás jugando con muñecas antes de terminar de desempacar? ¡Desempaca, ahora!” Madre slammed the door shut.

Nerea was less intimidated than Alex was, who clung onto Nerea’s hand for emotional support. Nerea only pouted. The little girl’s mom was scary, maybe Alex didn’t want to go to her for help. 

“I’m sorry doll Alex, we can play later.” Nerea lowered Alex on top of her pillow, placing the rag doll next to him.

Nerea ignored him as she went to unpack, shoving her crumpled up clothes into a drawer. As Alex watched the child move, he wondered if she had any intention of actually helping him.

There had to be a better option than Nerea. 

The 10 year old’s mother was terrifying, but she had to speak English if Nerea spoke it too. Maybe she’s heard of the drug before and his minuscule size won’t come off as too much of a shock. 

Though maybe he’d have better luck finding somebody a little younger, somebody who might know there was around those kinds of streets. There was no guarantee that the pill was still in the mother’s room, but there had to be others somewhere out there. If he went to the right places he might find somebody who slings it. 

Still, Alex couldn’t get the thought of his phone out of his head. Chances were he lost it at one of the many clubs he visited, but it was possible it was somewhere in this room or the hotel’s lost and found. If he could get a hold of it he could call his girlfriend. Being shrunk was tragic, but it made for the perfect excuse for why he never came back last night. 

Nerea laid a tie dye bathing suit out on the bed Alex sat on. She hated unpacking, and Alex was glad she ignored him while doing it. Alex smiled at the 2-piece bathing suit. If she laid it out, she was probably going to the pool soon. If her mother went too, then Alex could sneak into her room to grab the pill. 

Nerea skipped to her door and opened it. “¿A qué hora vamos a Aquopolis Cullera?” She yelled out to probably her mom. Alex wasn’t sure what Aquopolis meant, but Cullera was a small city near the sea. Did Nerea ask when they were going there? 

Her madre probably said soon, because Nerea got really excited and hurried to finish unpacking. Alex wanted to ask the girl where she was going, but found himself afraid to speak to her. He was never great with kids to begin with, not to mention how much larger she was than him. 

“What did you say?” Alex asked after working up the courage. 

Nerea looked at him like she forgot he could talk. “We are going... I no know how to say it in English, pero it has giant slides of water and cool rides.”   

Alex had to hide his excitement. Aquopolis had to be the name of a water park, and if she was going to the water park it meant her mom had to go with her. He’d have ample time to search her room for the pill.

“You will like it there, we will have fun.” Nerea put the last of her clothes away. 

“What?” Alex shook his head. “You can’t take me with you.” 

Nerea placed two clutches on the bed. “Which one you want? It is to carry you in the car.” 

Alex was fed up with Nerea ignoring him. “Nerea, I don’t want to go to the water park. I’m 4 inches tall, I doubt there's a single pool I can stand in.” 

“It’s Nerea, you say it weird,” said Nerea. “Pero I can take you if I no ask mi madre.”

This kid clearly wasn’t understanding what he meant. Maybe Alex should try being honest. “I want to stay here so I can look for the thing to grow me back.” 

“No!” Nerea snapped. She screamed with the same Spanish fury her mother did, and it shut Alex up. “You said you would be my doll. I really want to take you, I will help you later.” 

Alex didn’t have the courage to debate any more with her. “Okay, I’ll go. Can you put me in that one.” he pointed to the glittery clutch on the right. He picked it because it looked cleaner, but when Nerea dropped him inside he was reminded not to judge a book by its cover. 

The inside of the clutch was cluttered with candy wrappers and wrist bands. Nerea kept the clutch a little unzippered as she walked to the car and slid into the backseat.

During the ride there, her madre sounded like she was complaining about something again. Nerea would occasionally comment, though they both spoke too fast for Alex to make head or tails of it. Once in a while Nerea would look into the clutch and smile, but she never addressed him. 

It was hot inside the clutch, but luckily it wasn’t too long of a ride. Alex peeked outside of the clutch as Nerea walked through the parking lot with her madre. There were a lot of people in bathing suits, giant people in bathing suits. Even the girls looked too big for Alex to be attracted to. Everything outside was so scary, he dropped back into the clutch and hid. 

He shut his eyes and pretended like he wasn’t being dragged into a water park by a giant 10 year old who wanted him to be her doll. Unfortunately his pretend world didn’t last long, as harsh light flooded the clutch as Nerea opened it. Her hand dug through the mess and pulled him out. 

Nerea had changed into her bathing suit. Alex didn’t realize just how little was left to the imagination when she laid the bathing suit out on the bed. The 2-piece barely covered her up, and too much of her body was visible for Alex to feel anything other than uncomfortable. In Spain kids weren’t as sexualized as they were in the US, but still this much skin had to be taking things too far. 

“Me voy a los toboganes, mamá.” Nerea said. Her madre barely gave her a response as she rested on a reclined lounge chair. Alex wished he could stay there with her and relax. Going to any of the attractions was something his girlfriend would’ve liked, not him.

Alex stayed stiff like a doll as Nerea walked through the water park. Aquopolis was crowded, and Alex didn’t want to chance anybody seeing him move around. Even when his body got tired and he thought about risking it, just the idea of somebody seeing him being clutched in a little girl’s hand like a rag doll was humiliating enough on its own. 

Fingers poked at Alex’s body. Nerea pinched his shirt and started to pull it up. Alex grabbed his shirt, stopping her. “What are you doing?” 

“I am taking off your shirt, you no need it here.” Even though Alex tried his hardest, Nerea was successful in pulling off his shirt. She didn’t bother to go back and put it in her clutch, she simply dropped it to the floor, just as she did his shoes and socks. 

Alex felt exposed in only his shorts. Nerea’s hand was cold against his nearly naked body, and he tried not to think about how little clothes she was wearing. 

Nerea dropped. Alex thought she fell, but she dived right into a nearby pool. Alex struggled under the water, unable to take a breath before he was dragged under. For as much as he fought Nerea tightened her grip around him. He punched her hand, but soon she emerged to the pool’s surface. 

They both took a deep breath, though Nerea sounded a lot happier than Alex did. “I love the pull!” she exclaimed while Alex hacked up water. At the other end of the pool were 5 different colored slides; some twisted, some flat, others high while some were low. 

“Let’s swim through the pull to the slide.” Alex was caught off guard as Nerea dived back into the pool. This time Alex held onto her fist for dear life as she swam over to the slides. Her feet kicked obnoxiously through the water and she threw her arms— and Alex— back to propel herself forward. Alex breathed when Nerea brought her arms out of the water, but that didn’t stop pool water from flooding into his mouth.

Nerea climbed out of the pool like nothing happened, but Alex wished he could kiss the floor and thank the heavens he was still alive. If he didn’t get away from Nerea soon, she’d cause his early passing.

Nerea climbed up the steps to the orange twist slide, and Alex held his mouth to not throw up. How was running this fast up steps even possible? Nerea found her place in line and soon other kids filled in behind her. Alex stayed as stiff as he could, he didn’t need another kid noticing him.

It did feel weird pretending to be a doll, especially as the kid being Nerea kept looking down at him. If he moved at all, that kid was definitely going to say something. 

The kid in front of Nerea shot down the slide, and Alex gazed into the dark black hole that swallowed her. He hated slides, he doubted he’d like it now that he was the size of a candy bar. 

“Se puede ir,” said the lifeguard by the slide, and before Alex knew it Nerea was soaring down the slide. Nerea squealed with glee as Alex did with terror. Water splashed into his face, knocking it back, and his body was squished into Nerea’s thigh as she slid through the twirls. 

Light flooded into the slide as Nerea reached the bottom and flung several feet into the pool. As she splashed down into the water, Alex slid right from her hand. He shot up out of the top of the pool, gasping for air. Thank god the ride was over, and now he had a chance to escape. 

Alex swam as fast as he could to the pool’s edge. It didn’t matter if anyone saw him now, he just needed to get somewhere safe. He ran, though he was so low on energy from not eating since the night before that he didn’t go very fast, nor did his legs carry him far. 

He was only free for about 10 minutes before a giant wet leg slammed in front of him. It wasn’t the first pair of feet that nearly crushed him, but they were the first pair that didn’t move. Scanning up her leg, Alex saw a familiar tie-dye bikini bottom that made his stomach twist in terror. 

Nerea wasn’t mad like Alex expected. He thought if not mad, she’d be excited that she found him again. But she only looked sad. “Por qué tu… why you run away?” 

The fear wrenching in Alex’s heart churned to sadness and regret. He wasn’t sure why, since running from her was his best option, but Nerea looked so hurt by it Alex couldn’t help but feel bad. He could tell by her puffed cheeks that she had been crying. He felt too guilty to try and lie his way out of this. 

“I thought, what if something happens to him? Pero you were yust running away.” Nerea was fighting back tears, being abandoned really upset her. “If you are going to be a bad doll then you need to be punished.

Alex’s regret would have to be forgotten, he needed to fight back before she made good on that threat. “I’m sorry I hurt you, but I’m not a doll you can’t just—”

“I no care.” Nerea’s wet fingers wrapped around Alex and lifted him through the air. He hated being in her hands even more now that her palm was wet and pruny. “I can not drop you again, I have to put you somewhere.” Alex felt some fear reside, thinking she was going to trap him in her clutch again. 

But that would be too nice. “I want to go to the tirolinas, I am going to put you in my bathing suit so you will not run away.” 

This was going too far. “Nerea,” fear struck in Alex's voice. “I’m being serious, you can’t put me there.” 

“It is okay.” Nerea was too calm. “I am putting you in the back, I know the front is a no-no.” 

There was no more debate. Nerea lowered her hand and slid Alex into the back of her bikini bottom. It slapped against him, trapping him against her wet butt cheek. 

The only thing more uncomfortable than the wet bathing suit riding on his body was the fact of where he was. He was extremely distressed. Thoughts of what people would say if they knew he was pressed against a little girl’s ass flooded his mind, and none of them were good. 

As Nerea started walking, her pale ass cheek gently slapped Alex’s body. It was humiliating, but at least she wasn’t wearing pants. It’d be way too tight if it were.  The bikini bottom only covered half of each ass cheek, which made it easier for Alex to push against the fabric and see outside. 

He saw the legs and feet of people shuffling behind her. Hopefully nobody would be staring at a child’s butt, he should be safe from prying eyes. It didn’t take long for Nerea to reach the line for the tirolinas— which was likely Spanish for zipline considering the sounds he heard— because she stopped moving. Not wanting to risk falling to his death, he let the bikini bottom slap him back onto her butt cheek. 

Alex was anxious about going down the zipline. He thought about jumping out of the bikini bottom when Nerea was over the pool on the zipline, but he decided against it. Maybe a part of him did still feel bad about abandoning her, though it was probably because she was still his best shot at growing back. 

Suddenly, Alex was thrusted in Nerea’s buttcheek, his entire body consumed by it as she soars down the zipline. Her buttcheeks clench, making the experience worse on Alex who already wasn’t able to move around the plush surface. 

The sensation stopped as Nerea let go of the zipline and fell into the pool below. The water made the bikini stick to Nerea’s butt, keeping Alex trapped against it. Luckily it also prevented too much water from filling in, but Alex could already feel the water rising up past his knees as it filled the bikini bottom.

Alex’s face was plastered against the 10 year old’s butt, which already made breathing hard. He didn’t need water filling up his lungs. If he could slap Nerea’s butt— a thought that made him cringe in disgust— to get her attention he would, but he couldn’t move at all. 

Nerea didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving the pool either. Alex couldn’t hear well through the bikini bottom of the water, but it sounded like she was talking to another girl in spanish. Now Alex really didn’t want to escape. The last thing he needed was to be seen and at the mercy of TWO giant girls. 

The water line is up to Alex’s neck inside the bikini bottom. He was forced to swallow the drops of water on Nerea’s butt cheek so he could breath the shallow air, but his head was getting lighter. 

Didn’t Nerea realize how serious this was? For all she knew he had already died smothered against her butt cheek. She was only a kid, this must’ve been like a game to her.

Gravity became lighter as Nerea finally exited the pool. She picked at the wedgie in her butt, giving Alex some much needed room and space to breathe. There was a giant imprint of his body indented in her ass. 

He could hear better too as she walked and the water drained from the bikini bottoms. She definitely made a friend with another girl, she sounded a little younger. Alex hoped Nerea didn’t expose him to her. He found himself wishing he knew more Spanish. Then he’d know if they were talking about him. He didn't want anybody to know that he was stuck on a little girl’s ass.

Nerea stopped, and Alex was thrusted back under water. Why did Nerea have to be at a waterpark? There was no escape from water anywhere. Wherever Nerea went, Alex would be stuck to her butt underwater. 

As if things couldn’t get any worse, Nerea sat down. Her butt pressed right onto Alex’s lungs, knocking the air right out of them. Each breath he took was shallow. He pushed against Nerea’s butt cheek, but her body was too heavy for him. He was lucky she only sat on his chest, if it had been his face or lungs he wouldn’t be able to breath at all.

Through the fabric of her bikini he could see the red seat she sat on. The water trickling into the bikini bottom was hot, and Alex wondered if she made her way to a jacuzzi. Alex wanted to scream at how boiling the water was, but he couldn’t bring in enough air to do so. It was probably for the best, since the only air he had was the small bubble left inside the bikini, and even that was thin. 

Nerea’s butt weighed heavily on Alex’s body, and he prayed that she wouldn’t accidentally crush him. She had to feel him, right? She was up there smiling, giggling to her friend and telling her all about the tiny man being flattened under her butt. Did other people in the jacuzzi overhear her? 

He felt his ribs bend as Nerea wiggled around in her seat. Water snuck into his mouth, indistinguishable from Nerea’ butt sweat which soured his tongue. Alex now knew what a bug felt before it died. His body was in pain, and he had no way of pleading with the being that held his life in her hands— or in this case under her butt.

Alex wished he had just gone home last night. He would have woken up next to his girlfriend and had avoided this whole ordeal. He would’ve gotten to eat breakfast, and they could’ve been at this water park together. But instead he was pressed against some little girl’s ass, meanwhile fate decided if he should die by drowning, suffocation, or from being flattened. 

If given a second chance, he was going to do right by his girlfriend.

Just as Alex’s air was running out, Nerea stood up from the jacuzzi. The water rushed out, but Alex stayed plastard to her butt cheek. He was too ashamed of himself to try and pry himself off. He’d stay the rest of the day there if he had to. Anything to hide his shame. 

Nerea’s butt smelled like straight chlorine, which was better than what it might’ve smelled like had she not been in pools all day. Alex missed his shirt, he hated feeling her bare butt pressed against his naked upper body.  

Peaking out of the seams, Alex saw a sign that read Amazonia River. He thought it’d be an easy ride if it were anything like the lazy river back in the states, but he knew better by now to get his hopes up. His body itches from all the water and how pruny both he and Nerea’s butt were. He knew things would only get worse from here.

Alex weighed down in the bikini bottom as Nerea sat in her tube, giving him some reprieve from being pressed right up against her butt. He spun around with Nerea as the tube floated down the river. The bottom of her butt was dipped into the water, giving Alex the feeling of being in his own tube down a lazy river. 

Then the tube went down a steep drop. 

The tube sped up as Alex was flung around inside the bikini bottom. He slammed against Nerea’s soft butt cheek before falling back to the bikini and being flung back into her butt. He was slammed so many times into her butt it started to hurt, and it didn’t help that the bikini was once again filling 

Midway through his accent to her buttcheek, she spun around as she went down another hill. Alex was flung right inside her butt crack. 

  Alex grabbed onto each cheek, stopping himself from flying right into her asshole. Meanwhile outside, Nerea was screaming with cheer. The smell coming from her asshole was horrendous, the water must not have gotten up there to cleanse it because it smelled just like a really bad fart.

As Nerea continued to spin and plunge down the river, Alex was thrown and squished between the two monster sized butt cheeks. Before when it was just one cheek against the fabric the pain wasn’t bad, but now he had both cheeks crushing him from either side. 

Nerea’s butt cheeks engulfed him from every angle, suffocating him between her smelly walls. Every time he opened his mouth to breathe he was met with water, and trying to breath through his nose only made him gag from the smell of her asshole. 

Nerea spun around drastically. Alex tried his best to hold on, but he felt himself inching closer and closer towards her anus. As they reached another drop, Alex felt the bottom of his feet scrape against her anus as he was nearly sucked in by the circular motion. Nerea felt this and jerked, her butt muscles tensing up and crushing Alex harder than they had before. His arms pressed against his sides, but luckily nothing was broken. 

Once Nerea was able to gain her balance again, two fingers slid into the bikini and pulled Alex out from between her cheeks. She dropped him back under her left butt cheek, her fingers pulling back out.

He was traumatized. Her butt wasn’t as scary anymore, but he was terrified of being flung into her butt crack again. It was disgusting, he felt filthy. That was a little kid’s butt, and he was moments away from being sucked into it. He never wanted to see an asshole for the rest of his life. He never wanted to interact with a kid ever again.

But he would’ve been sucked in her anus after all if Nerea didn’t save him. She was all powerful. She could be his savior or his destroyer and it all depended on how she was feeling in the moment. Just a day ago, he could’ve beaten this girl to a pulp if he wanted to. But he had a different role in the world now that he was this small, a different place in the pecking order. 

Alex stayed against the pruny butt as Nerea went from attraction to attraction. The speed raceway was painful, the surf place wasn’t bad since she laid on her stomach, but the volcano slide was miserable. Alex shut his mind off for it all, tired of being reminded that he was subjected to the tortures of and whims of a little girl’s butt. 

After an hour or so of this, Nerea finally returned to her madre. Alex thought he’d feel happy when Nerea finally pulled him out from under her butt cheek, but he was too ashamed and humiliated to be anything other than embarrassed. 

He decided not to remind Nerea that she promised to show him to her mother. Not only was he afraid of Nerea acting out against him, but he was afraid she’d tell her mom where he’d just spent the afternoon. If Nerea’s madre ever found out he spent the day glued to her daughter’s ass, she’d destroy him for sure.

Looking up at his giant capture, Alex forgot just how much like a child Nerea looked. He vilified her in his mind, made her a monster. Because only a monster could do something like what Nerea just put him through. It didn’t seem possible that a girl as cute as her could do something so evil without even meaning too. 

“I told you it would be a lot of fun.” Nerea sat down on the lawn chair next to her mother’s. If she had moved from that spot at all in the hours her daughter was gone, he couldn't tell. “I have to put you back in the clutch, no try to run away” 

Nerea shoved Alex back into the litter of candy wrappers and wrist bands. This time she zippered the clutch all the way, leaving Alex in darkness. 

After what just happened, he preferred it that way.

Alex shoved his face into the fluffy pillow, not wanting to watch his giant capture change post-shower. He wished he could take a shower— his body still reeked of chlorine and he could still feel Nerea’s butt on top of him. He would’ve asked her to drop him in the sink or something, but he was too afraid she’d make him her new bath toy if he expressed any interest in taking a shower. 

“Estoy vestida ahora.” Nerea said, letting Alex know her clothes were on and it was okay to look. 

Alex peeked over to her slowly in case she wasn’t dressed fully. When they had gotten back to the hotel after the water park, Alex had a very uncomfortable hour as Nerea held him against her bare stomach as she watched tv and waited for her madre to get out of the shower. He had enough of seeing her bare body. 

Luckily, she was fully dressed outside of her bare feet. Nerea wore a long orange dress with flowers embroidered along the chest. Alex sat up on the pillow, gazing at the little girl staring in her room’s large mirror.

Nerea was only 10 years old, yet she held so much power over him. Even now as she padded way too much makeup on her face, she looked so innocent. Should Alex be afraid of a kid like that? Certainly not, yet he found himself flinching everytime she approached or said anything to him. 

Alex looked away from her as Nerea sat on the bed next to him, as if not looking at her could cause her to ignore him. From the corner of his eye Alex watched Nerea slide long nylons up her slender legs, and Alex wondered if they had been a little mature for her. Even the excessive make up on her face looked out of place for someone her age, and made her look more ignorant than older. 

Nerea bent under the bed and pulled something out. “¡Éste!” she exclaimed, pulling out a pair of flats from the bed and plopping them on top. “I almost left these at home since they are too big for me, but these shoes are perfect to bring you to la cena tonight.” 

Alex’s stomach stabbed with hunger. La cena was Spanish for dinner. People from Spain ate dinner a lot later than people did in the states, and Alex was starting to think they already ate on the ride home from the water park. 

“You have to be joking, right?” Alex wasn’t sure if Nerea actually just suggested she take him to dinner in her flats. “If you’re nervous about me trying to escape again— which I promise I won’t— you can just lock me in a drawer or something.” Alex already decided he wouldn’t try escaping until Nerea was asleep that night, so he wasn’t lying. 

Nerea pushed the flats closer to Alex, and he could smell the stink coming off them. “I no yoking. Mí dress has no pockets, and madre no want me to take my clutch. Can we only check if you will fit?”

Alex was apprehensive, but if he didn’t fit at least he wouldn’t have to continue to argue with her. He lifted his leg over the side of her flat, annoyed at how excited Nerea looked down at him. He ducked under the front of the flat, and he actually fit relatively snugly under the flap. 

“I fit, can you help me out of here?” Alex wiggled in the flat, but it was too tight to move. 

“Yay!” Nerea cheered, lifting up the flat and putting it on the floor. 

“Nerea, wait!” Alex yelled. There was definitely a misunderstanding, Alex was not trying to say that he fit and would allow this. He struggled in the flat, but just as he wedged himself free, Nerea’s foot entered the flat and her giant toes rammed into his body. 

Nerea’s entire foot was in the flat, her big toe pressed right into Alex’s face with her other toes lining his neck, chin, stomach and legs. He slammed a fist against her second toe, but he didn’t have enough room to slam hard enough to hurt.

The little girl wiggled her toes over Alex, her third toe wiggling against this bare stomach making him laugh since he was ticklish. Nerea tilted her foot up and down, admiring the way Alex felt in the flat against her toes. “You fit really good. I can’t wait to play with you with my toes.” 

At least Alex could hear a lot better from the shoe than he could the bikini bottom, not to mention that her foot didn’t smell too bad since she had just showered. But it was really hot in there, and Nerea’s toes were already starting to sweat a little bit. 

Nerea stood up off the bed. The pressure on Alex only increased slightly since he wasn’t directly under her toes. She was walking, and as she did so her toes rubbed into Alex. The giant toes brushed sweat on him like paint on a canvas, and it only took a few steps before his chlorine scent changed to sweat. 

“¿A qué hora nos vamos?” asked Nerea. 

“Mija, it’s sundown.” said Nerea’s mom, whose english accent caught Alex off guard. “We speak English after sundown, even while on vacation.” 

“Aww,” Nerea whined. “When are we going to the chicken?” 

“It’s kitchen, and they’re called restaurants, like restaurante sin el e.” Madre corrected. “Let me grab my things and we’ll leave. Be patient.” 

The weight from Nerea’s toes were lifted off Alex as she sat down. He never questioned how Nerea learned English, but she must’ve picked it up from her mother. Only speaking English after sundown seemed like a great way to learn a second language, Alex wished his parents had done that with him. Though they only knew English, so he couldn’t blame them. 

It was peculiar being this close to somebody’s toes, especially since Nerea was so young. Nerea occasionally swung her feet, causing her toes to slide into him. They were plush and soft and reeked of body odor, and the sweat caused them to glide over Alex’s body every time they touched him. 

Alex grunted as Nerea stood back up. He actually pressed his face into her big toe as he screamed, trying to muffle the sound. The last thing he needed was for Madre to find out about him. The situation was too embarrassing to explain, not to mention she might kill him for being her daughter’s doll. 

The weight was released off him again as Nerea hopped into the car. The engine revved, and Alex felt the car move. Nerea’s feet didn’t exactly hit the bottom of the car yet, but the tip of her toes did. The blood in Alex’s body rushed to his head and Nerea’s toes gently grazed his body. 

As Nerea and Madre conversed, Nerea was a lot more comfortable making English mistakes around her than she was Alex. “I saw a friend from e’school today at the pull.”

“Just school,” Madre corrected. “Stop putting e’s in front of s’s. And its pool.”

“We went to the wave pull and I was knock under.” 

“Knocked, mija. Remember past tense.” 

“I am good with the irregular ones you taught me, see? It is taught, not teached.” 

“Most Americans say It’s, not it is.” 

Hearing them talk so casually about her mistakes made Alex appreciate just how much English Nerea already knew. She still had some way to go before she could have a conversation that isn’t a little broken, but she seemed to be improving fast.

Alex wondered how much English Nerea actually didn’t know. She asked her madre often what different words she said meant, but Never never did so with Alex. How well could she actually understand Alex when he spoke? That could be the root of many of their misunderstandings. Perhaps when Nerea asked him to play dolls, she meant to do so for a much longer period of time than her statement conveyed, and why he wasn’t able to communicate the danger of being put in her bikini or flat. 

“Can we turn on the air tradition?” asked Nerea. 

“It’s broken, we have to suffer with the heat.”

Alex was starting to feel really hot, he just thought that it was because of the heat he felt radiating off Nerea’s toes. Though now that Madre mentioned the car having no air conditioner, he noticed the increasing heat. 

Nearea’s toes were sweating a lot more than they were moments ago. Droplets of sweat rolled down her toes and bursted on Alex’s face and body. It was disgusting, and his body squirmed from the moist liquid. The massive toes were becoming slippery, and they rubbed over Alex’s body a lot faster due to it, soaking sweat into his body. 

It didn’t help that Nerea constantly wiggled her toes to feel where Alex was. Alex knew she was having way too much fun, and she probably liked that her toes were getting really sweaty. She shoved her big toe into Alex’s face, pressing it right up against his nose. The smell was disgusting, and Alex forced his hands out from under her littler toes to try and push it off, but he was unsuccessful. 

Nerea’s sweat dripped into his mouth. Alex spit it out, but that didn’t get rid of the salty taste that plagued him. He gagged on the taste, yet there was so little room in the little girl’s flat that another glob of sweat soon took the place of the one he spit out. 

The sweat soaked into the insole below then, and Alex figured that was how foot prints must’ve formed in insoles. The flat would reek of sweat for the rest of the day even if her foot stopped sweating. There’d probably be a dark spot from where Alex’s body was too, since he was covered in so much of his own sweat on top of Nerea’s that he couldn’t even tell the difference anymore. 

“Why are you laughing?” asked Madre. 

Nerea kicked her foot forward, her toes sliding into Alex and making him grunt. “I was thinking of a funny yoke. No translate well into English.” 

“Honey, how many times do I have to teach you this?” complained Madre. “You need to use the English word ‘To Do,’ it does not translate well.” 

“Pero mama,” Nerea became upset, inching forward in her seat and stomping her foot on the floor. Alex winced in pain as her smaller toes sliced down the side of his body. “We no say do in spanish.” 

“But we do in English. You need to practice.” 

Nerea pouted, but the conversation did seem to dampen her mood with playing with Alex. The rest of the car ride was smooth except for the copious amount of sweat seething from Nerea’s toes. She only wiggled her toes over him once more before remembering she was supposed to be in a bad mood. 

The car stopped some time later. The car door slid open, and Nerea hopped from her seat in the car to the ground below. 

As she fell, Nerea’s toes slid over Alex, and as she fell her toes pulled him back. He screamed as her foot slammed against the ground. Alex’s body was halfway under Nerea’s toes, and they scrunched to support her landing. His entire body ached from the impact. If Alex had been under the ball of her foot, or forbid if he were under her heel, that jump would’ve done serious damage to him. 

Nerea walked towards the restaurant. Each step was painful, but didn’t hurt as much as the jump. Nerea foot lifting in the air gave Alex little reprieve. Not only because each step was short, but because he was too preoccupied with the pain from the previous step to enjoy not being stepped on. 

The giant girl’s foot weighed back onto him. This was all happening way too fast. How was a little girl’s foot hurting him this much? Each step down felt like her toes were punching him all over his body. 

Alex’s face got it the worst, since Nerea’s big toe was large enough to cover all of it and sweated more than her other toes, but her second and third toes pressed into his neck and chest while the third and forth made good work on punishing his stomach. He tried not to think where the other end of the 4th foot pressed into, and her pinkie drilled into his upper leg. Even the part of his legs and feet that wrapped around the side of her foot took part in the beating, as her foot stepped just as hard on that. 

The air became cooler, and Alex figured that must’ve meant they were in the restaurant. Nerea steps fell a little easier too, must’ve been something with the flooring. As she walked, Alex tried pushing against her toes to push himself free. The problem was that her foot was so slippery that his hands glided right over them. 

He pressed his hands harder into the toes, but they slid between them over and over again as Alex was crushed by them. Alex decided to try pushing from underneath, pushing on part of the girl’s undersole, but the rest of her body was too heavy and her foot only crushed his hands. 

Thankfully, he didn’t have to suffer through being stepped on for very long. Nerea slid into her seat at a table, and her little kid feet just barely reached the floor, giving Alex a nice break as her foot hovered just over him.

“Do they have a cheese burger here?” asked Nerea. 

“You’re at a nice restaurant Nerea, pick something better than a cheese burger.” 

Nerea whined, swinging her feet and kicking it against her chair. Alex’s head spun, his body being wedged deeper under Nerea’s foot. She inched forward, the tips of her toes touching the bottom of the floor. 

Her toes were completely over him. Nerea’s foot sweat poured over his body. She shifted again in her seat, moving her toes around with them. The big toe pressed into Alex’s jaw and forced it open. 

Alex tried to close his jaw, but Nerea’s big toe was too strong and the angle he was at made it difficult. As he struggled, Alex’s eyes caught a glistening glob of sweat drip down from her big toe. It headed right for Alex’s mouth. He screamed, wiggling under the toe, but nothing stopped the sweat from rolling right into his mouth. 

Alex winced at the awful taste, but with Nerea’s other toes pressing into his chest he couldn’t take in enough air to spit it out. If he didn’t want to choke on the sweat he had to swallow it, and he did it quickly to get it over with. 

That was the first thing Alex drank since the water at the waterpark. His stomach growled, reminding him of how hungry he was. Drinking Nerea’s sweat reminded Alex’s throat how dry and raspy it was. The worst part was that his body actually liked the nourishment, and yearned for more. 

“No,” Alex whispered, the sound distorted since he couldn’t use his jaw. He refused to drink any more of Nerea’s sweat. 

Nerea shifted again, letting go of Alex jaw. “How do you say this?” she asked, likely pointing to something in the menu. 

“It’s spaghetti, same as English.” Madre said. “The waiter is coming, be ready to order.”

The waiter greeted them. He had a thick accent that didn’t sound like he was from Spain. Actually, given his accent and Nerea’s choice in dinner, they might be at some kind of Italian restaurant. Alex never thought of going to an Italian restaurant while he was on vacation in Spain, but he guessed if a person was already from Spain that they might find enjoyment at a different ethnic restaurant.

“Da bere?” asked the waiter.  

“Vino,” said Madre.

"Vorrei dell’acqua, per favore," said Nerea. 

Alex was stunned. They were all speaking slowly, but he couldn’t decipher anything they were saying. He mastered how to order in restaurants, he’d done so he could order well at bars, but it was like they were speaking a different language. 

They continued to order. It was harder to hear now that Nerea’s foot pressed into his entire body, but maybe they were speaking italian. 

“Vorrei una spaghetti, per favore,” said Nerea. As she spoke Italian, she spoke fast and concisely. She didn’t have the same blocky speech that she did when she spoke English. She wasn’t still learning Italian like she was still learning English. 

This girl already knew a second language, English was her third. Alex was amazed at how somebody so young could know so many languages. He cursed himself for not knowing one. If he knew either Spanish or Italian, he could speak more fluently with her and they wouldn’t have misunderstandings that resulted in him spending a dinner under her foot in her flat. 

The waiter left and Nerea continued to talk to her mom in English. She was getting better as the conversation went on. She spoke better in past tense, and her mom worked with her on pronouncing J’s correctly. She still struggled with saying, do, did, don’t and didn’t, but she was trying. 

Nerea scrunched her toes over Alex. It didn’t hurt as much as it did annoy him, but there was another problem. There was so much sweat that it was starting to expand Nerea’s nylon, making them stretch and cling onto Alex’s body. It pressed into his mouth, making breathing difficult.

With Nerea’s nylon wrapped around Alex’s mouth, each breath was filtered through a vacuum of sweat and foot stank. He breathed in tiny droplets of sweat, forced to swallow since spitting it out would only spit it back onto the nylon and onto himself. He pushed against the toes, but they didn’t let up. The foot was too sweaty anyway, and all pushing against the massive toes did was give Nerea a nice little foot massage. 

As Alex pressed against the giant toes and nylon, Nerea pressed harder against him. She rubbed her toes over him, really pressing her toes into him. It hurt, and Alex felt his nose bend and press into his skull. What was she doing? Was she telling him to stop fighting her, or did she just like the way he felt under her foot?

 This treatment continued until the food arrived. Nerea was too focused on the delicious smelling food to pay too much mind to Alex. His stomach growled as he listened to Nerea and Madre munch down on their dinners. He was so hungry, so starving. 

And it was boiling hot in the flat. It was hotter in the flat than it was when Nerea had sat on him in the jacuzzi. Sweat poured all over Alex’s body, drenching him in a thick layer of it. 

The entire day had been nothing but humiliating since he shrank— being yelled at and bullied by a bunch of Spanish people on the pool deck, being reduced to a doll by a 10 year old, what was one more thing? It was so hot, and Alex was so thirsty. He pressed his lips up against Nerea’s nylon and sucked sweat right off her foot. 

It was a disgustingly salty thing, but his mouth welcomed it. The foot sweat was thicker than water, but as long as Alex didn’t think about what he was drinking it wasn’t hard to swallow. If he were to be honest, he’d put a lot worse things down his throat over the years. 

Alex sucked the Nerea’s nylon dry, but he was so desperately hungry. He shoved his face into Nerea’s big toe, wrapping his lips around it and sucking as hard as he could to get any ounce of sweat from it. If he closed his eyes and listened to his nose smelling the food above, he couldn’t tell what he was doing. He smelled Nerea’s spaghetti, Madre’s steak. 

He licked Nerea’s toe. He did this several times before he realized what he was doing and stopped. Nerea scrunched her toes, this time hard enough to make Alex squeal. Alex would flush red with embarrassment if his face wasn’t already red from the heat. If she said anything, he’d come up with a lie as to why she felt him lap at her toe with is tongue.

Alex steadied himself for the rest of dinner and dessert, only licking up sweat when enough of it built up to not be noticed. Nerea did pay a lot more attention to him throughout dinner. She occasionally poked at him, pressed her toes over his body, and her toe did something that felt like she was petting him. 

Nerea stood up to leave, and Alex learned what it felt like to be completely crushed under her foot as she walked. His screams were muffled by her nylons and big toe. He wished she could hear him because maybe she’d fix his positioning. 

The pain was overwhelming, but not the worst pain he’d ever felt. It was like before when he was being sat on, only this time he didn’t have the support of the water making her weigh less. He was thankful she was only a child, being crushed like this by someone like her mother would flatten him. 

The weight alleviated as Nerea slid back into the car, but the pain still resided. 

The shoe dropped, and Nerea’s foot flung out of it. Nerea had kicked her flat off, letting her foot hang in the air before she brought it up to her seat to sit criss-crossed. She smiled down at Alex and blew him a kiss. Even though he was in pain, drenched in sweat and wrecked of foot odor, she seemed like she was in a good mood. 

At least the car ride was easy. Nerea didn’t talk much with Madre. The food must’ve been really good for her mom to go an entire car ride without complaining, and Alex thought about how he had to drink a little girl’s sweat for dinner because nobody thought to feed him. 

Nerea held Alex in her hand as she exited the car, picking him out from her flat before she slipped them back on. Going limp was a much better idea than going stiff. That way his muscles didn’t need to work as hard and he’d still look like a rag doll if somebody saw him.

Madre and Nerea went right into their rooms when they got back to the hotel. Nerea placed Alex on her pillow, her smile wider than he’d ever seen before. 

Now that they were alone, Alex was going to yell at her for keeping him in her sweaty flat all evening and not feeding him. But before he could, Nerea laid down on the bed and gave Alex a big, wet kiss on his cheek— which actually ended up being his whole face and neck consumed by her lips. 

“¡Te quiero, te quiero!” Nerea kissed him several more times, the spit from her lips causing his hair to stick up. What was happening? “I love you so much Alex. I didn’t think you liked being my doll, pero I felt you massaging my toes and giving them licks and kisses during dinner. You are the best doll ever.”

Alex was speechless as Nerea kissed him again. He worried that Nerea might’ve felt him drinking her sweat, but he never assumed she would’ve thought he liked it or was doing it to make her happy. 

“I’m going to have so much fun with you as my doll!” Nerea cupped Alex in her hands and pressed him against her chest in a hug. She twisted her body around from excitement, speaking fast in Spanish. Alex stayed still, humming to keep himself calm. Nerea had no intention of helping him grow back.

He had to escape. Tonight.

Nerea slept soundly with Alex between her soft arm and silk purple pajama shirt. Forcing himself to stay awake was excruciatingly painful for Alex, who had already been up for 3 hours since Nerea first kissed him goodnight. He was tired enough as it was, and Nerea’s calming heartbeat and gently rising chest made me feel at ease. 

But things weren’t at all at ease. Nerea was under the impression that Alex liked being her doll, and she wanted to keep him that way. His chest already ached from how much it’d hurt her when she woke up the next morning and saw that he was gone, but he couldn’t possibly stay her doll forever. 

He’d been away form his girlfriend for too long, if he didn’t return soon she might end her vacation early and leave without him. She probably wouldn’t believe him if he told her he was shrunk, but at this point he didn’t want to lie to her. Alex just wanted to be back with her. 

Nerea muttered to herself as she slept. It was cute, but Alex kept getting cold feet about leaving because he thought she was going to wake up. It was strange seeing her sleep so peacefully. There were points in the day where Alex compared her to an all powerful god— one with the powers to completely control him, destroy him, and give him life. But now, she only looked like a sleeping child. 

Alex planted both hands on Nerea’s arm. She held him tight to her chest, but it wasn’t hard to push himself free since she was sleeping. Alex tumbled on the bed, finding his bearings and slowly walking to the top of the bed. He pulled on an extra pillow to the end of the bed and pushed it off. 

The drop was intimidating, but if Alex could survive being sat on and stepped on he could survive a drop onto a pillow. He jumped, sinking into the pillow as he landed unscathed on it. 

Unlike the main door, the bedroom doors had a gap at the bottom big enough for him to squeeze under. He ran to Madre’s room, not wanting to waste any time getting there. Alex was lucky Nerea didn’t wake up when he slipped out from her grip, but he couldn’t chance that she wouldn’t sense he was gone eventually. 

While Nerea was peaceful in her sleep, Madre snored like a truck’s engine. Even at Alex’s small size the sound was ear piercing, but at least he knew she wouldn’t wake up. 

Earlier that morning, Alex was sleeping in that bed. He woke up next to a girl that wasn’t his girlfriend, and she gave him a pill that shrunk him and sent him on this entire journey. He was found by Nerea, the only person in the entire hotel who seemed to understand English, and he became her doll for the rest of the day. 

But now it was time to grow back. Walking under the bed, Alex took in just how much space he had to cover. The pill was small before, but now it was probably the size of an actual pill. Alex was small, too, after all. 

The dust caused Alex to sneeze. It made searching difficult as his eyes water and nose clogged, but at least that meant the cleaning crew hadn’t cleaned under here. Chip crumbs and even a dirty sock were under the bed, but Alex couldn’t find the pill. He knew he dropped it, but was it possible it was on the carpet outside the bed? Would it still be there if it were? 

The bedroom door opened. Alex turned to it as a pair of skinny legs walked in the room. “Shit…” Alex cursed. What was Nerea doing coming in her madre’s room? She had to be looking for Alex. He cursed himself again for telling her where the pill was, she knew exactly where to look for him. 

Nerea’s giant feet reached the base of the bed, but she didn’t bend down to look under it. The bed shook, and Madre stopped snoring. 

“Mija?” said Madre groggily. “Qué… What are you doing in here? You know I don’t like it when you come into my room.” 

“I had a bad dream.” Nerea’s feet disappeared from view as she climbed in bed with her madre, the bed weighing lower and creaking. It was still after sundown, Alex figured that was why they spoke english together. “I want our vacation to last forever. I no want to go back home.” 

“Why not?” asked Madre. Nerea didn’t respond, at least not verbally. “I know you don't like Jorge, but he’s not so bad. He’s trying his best to take your papa’s place, papa would’ve wanted you to have a strong man looking after you.”

The silence was deafening. Alex was definitely intruding on something personal. Perhaps in Nerea’s delirious state she forgot about Alex, which meant she wasn’t looking for him at all. He returned to searching for the pill as mother and daughter cuddled right above him. 

There it was! The pill wasn’t under the bed, but under the dresser a few feet away to the bed. Quietly as to not alert anyone, Alex walked out from under the bed. The pill was so close he could already feel it sliding down his throat. 

Alex heard a kiss sound. “Why don’t you let mama go back to bed? We both need sleep for tomorrow.” 

“Okay mama.” Nerea sounded like she had been crying. A shadow fell over Alex, though he barely noticed it in the dark room. The bed creaked, and Nerea’s foot fell right on top of him.

When Nerea lifted her foot to see what she stepped on, her face looked like a mix of anger and trying not to cry. She clenched Alex’s neck between her big and second toe and stormed out of the room. The bottom of Alex’s body was trampled by Nerea’s foot as she stomped back to her room.

Slamming her door shut, Nerea let go of Alex and turned her lights on. Alex coughed as he grabbed his neck. She almost choked him to death between her toes. 

“When I saw you left the room, I thought something was wrong,” hurried Alex with a lie, his voice raspy from being choked. “So I left and came looking for you.” 

“Mentiroso!” Nerea screamed, sorrow and pain in her voice. Alex flinched as Nerea walked past him. She pounded her pillow before screaming into it. It looked like she was mad at something more than just Alex. 

“r03;r03;Volevi lasciarmi,” Nerea yelled at him, too mad to remember he only knew english. “You were looking for that stupid thing weren’t you.”

Nerea was becoming hysterical, the best thing he could do was calm her down by backing up his lie. “I slipped from your arm and fell on the floor, you were having a bad dream right? I heard you crying with your mom and—”

“Liar!” Nerea didn’t want to hear any excuse he had. “You’ve been a bad doll. Bad doll!” Nerea’s leg lifted high behind her before swinging down. Her foot collided with Alex’s chest, her kick sending him flying across the room and slamming against a wall. 

Alex screeched and gripped his back as he slid to the floor. His back erupted in pain, but he didn’t have time to focus on that. Nerea was already stomping towards him. 

“You were so nice earlier, I thought you loved me too.” Her feet stomped on either side of him. Alex watched a tear fall from her cheek and soak the carpet. 

“I’m sorry, okay?” Alex’s lies weren’t working, but if he didn’t do something soon she could do something really bad to him. “I wasn’t trying to run away.” 

“You’re a liar!” Nerea screamed so loud that Alex was surprised her madre didn’t come to see what was wrong. 

Crying, Nerea placed two hands on the wall above Alex to support herself as she swung her leg behind her. “I hate you!” Nerea’s toes drilled into him and the wall as they swung into him. The air was forced from Alex’s lung as Nerea’s toes slammed into his stomach and Alex’s head made a dent in the wall where it banged against.

And she wasn’t done. Nerea brought her leg back, this time swinging at Alex faster. Her foot slammed into him, causing him to scream with her. The little girl’s toes hurt so much Alex thought his body was about to snap in two. 

Nerea swung at him again with no signs of stopping. As her foot slammed into Alex, she also swung into the wall. With a loud scream, Nerea brought her foot higher behind her than she had before, and the swing down hurt more than any swing before either. 

Blood flung from Alex’s mouth as Nerea’s foot pounded his body. She cried, falling to the floor and banging against it. Alex looked down at the blood he coughed onto himself and the floor. It was a dark shade of red, and the light above reflected against it. It still dripped down the corner of Alex’s lip and down to his chin as it stained his teeth. 

Alex touched it in disbelief that it was real. Nerea was only a 10 year old girl, yet she made him bleed with just her foot. Not only that, but his ribs were definitely sprained. She was only a kid, yet he was lucky that he was still alive. If Nerea had decided to stomp on him instead of kicking him, he would’ve flattened under the young soles. Did she do that on purpose, or did Alex just get lucky her punishment wasn’t fatal? 

Nerea’s screams subsided into a silent cry. She curled into a ball, sobbing to herself. Alex waited for a few minutes for something to happen, but she never moved. Her madre never came in to check on her, and if Nerea wasn’t comforted soon she might fall asleep crying on the floor. 

Her madre had to have heard her, why wasn’t she coming to check on her daughter? Alex already thought it weird how quickly she kicked Nerea out of her room, maybe the two didn’t have the best relationship. Or maybe she wasn’t the best mother to Nerea. 

Alex approached her hesitantly, still afraid of Nerea acting out against him. But she looked so sad, so pitiful, how could Alex not comfort her? She was mean, and at times a bully to him, but before a second ago she had never shown malice in the things she did. Even in punishing him, she was only sad that he tried to run away. Something was definitely up with her family, and Alex wanted to make her feel better while he could. 

Walking up to her toes, Alex wiped off the blood he had gotten on them. Her toes flinched as he touched them, Nerea had certainly hurt them when she was kicking him into the wall. 

Alex rubbed them gently, trying not to hurt them. He even kissed them, despite how disgusted that made him. It made Nerea happy earlier when she thought he was doing it, he hoped it’d make her feel better now. 

It seemed to work a little bit. Nerea’s cries faded, but she wasn’t back to her usual self. 

Wanting to do more for her, Alex rubbed his way down her foot. It was dirty, and dust clung to the ball of her foot. Alex brushed it off before kissing her foot, even going as far as to give Nerea a couple of licks. There wasn’t much sweat on her foot, but Alex licked it up when he saw it. 

Nerea liked this, and wiggled her toes in gratitude. She sat up, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. Nerea made sure to keep her feet near Alex, and Alex continued to rub it.

“I do like being your doll,” Alex lied as he pressed his hands into her soft arch and kissed it gently. It was warmer than the other parts of her foot, and Alex tried not to show any signs of being grossed out. “I liked the way you held me as you fell asleep, could we do that again?” 

Nerea sniffled, wiping her eyes again. She nodded, picking up Alex in her fist. She climbed in bed, sliding slowly under the covers. Nerea rested her head on the pillow, holding Alex against her wet sleeve and heaving chest. 

Nerea kissed Alex on the head, and it didn’t take long for either of them to fall asleep.