Chapter 1: First Blood

‘Silence speaks louder than words.’

Meilin Clarington winced as the old English adage manifested in front of her. No words had been exchanged, but the thirty-seven year old Asian knew that she was staring into the face of her own death. Two deep turquoise pupils, each with a circumference much larger than her own head, stared back at her coldly and hatefully. Meilin shuddered. Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t recollect ever meeting this much younger, relatively skyscraper-sized woman. Yet this unknown blonde seemed to have a passionate burning hatred for her. The middle aged woman felt her fight-or-flight stimulus kick in, but there was nowhere for her to run. After all, the titaness’ powerful index and thumb fingers had suspended her way above the ground. The Chinese woman flailed her legs in vain, desperate attempts to escape.

She mumbled softly at her captor, “Please, I am scared.”

Her words disappeared into the air - never to be heard by anyone else. She felt dizzy and exhausted, and wanted to faint. It seemed like the best strategy: if this were a bad dream, then maybe the next time she opened her eyes, she would be free of it; if the laws of nature (as she knew it) had been suspended in her case, then a loss of consciousness would spare her the knowledge of the cruel death that this villainous blonde had in store for her. 

“I can’t hear you,” snarled the blue-eyed giantess in a vague European accent.

Her face shaped into a wicked smirk at the sight of her bug-sized prey’s pathetic condition.

In a mockingly nice tone, she added after a brief pause, “You don’t know me, but I know you. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Anouk. It is nice to finally meet you face to face.”

The human skyscraper inhaled deeply - cherishing her victory as she did so. 

“How was the tea?”, Anouk asked sarcastically before chuckling villainously like a Disney movie antagonist. 

Meilin could feel her heart trying to leap out of her chest. She turned her head to look at the now-large jacuzzi-sized teacup on her living room table. What was once within arm’s reach would now take quite a bit of traveling to get to. The weight of the anxiety finally broke the emotional dam, and tears flooded down her cheeks in an uncontrollable torrent. 

Anouk leaned in closer towards the tiny sentient being between her fingers until her lips were right in front of her naked miniature form.

The blue-eyed titaness said softly, “I am more of a coffee person myself. But I am told that you hate coffee.” 

Anouk exhaled slowly and deeply through her mouth, dousing Meilin in a sea of gaseous coffee particles. 

Then perhaps a bit irrationally, the Asian woman shrieked, “My husband will be here any moment.” 

The giant woman burst into a fit of sadistic laughter before composing herself. She said softly and sweetly, “That I could hear - but only faintly. For a moment I was worried that this whole episode would be more of a monologue than a dialogue. But it is great to know that we can communicate.”

She lifted the miniscule two-inch woman up to her eyes and examined her closely.

Anouk mumbled, “Your husband… Professor Henry Clarington…”

Meilin shouted, “Yes - his car should be pulling into the driveway any minute now. But it's not too late - we can still work something out.”

The deep blue-eyed woman responded dramatically,  her voice dripping with sarcasm, “What… Henry will be here any minute you say? I am so scared! I don’t know what I’ll do if he shows up! Oh wait… I know - maybe I’ll just fuck him! Would itsy-bitsy wittle Meilin like that?”

Meilin’s upper incisors bit into her lower lip as if to prevent any more words from escaping her mouth and further infuriating the behemoth of a human being in front of her. She had never been this anxious in her life. Her arms and shoulder were starting to hurt from being suspended for so long.

Anouk continued her verbal onslaught on her defenseless victim, “Ooh - maybe you could watch me fuck your husband! Would you be into that you little cuckquean? Would you like to watch me slurp on your husband’s sausage?”

Meilin yelled, “He would never fuck you!”

Anouk chuckled villainously before responding, “You are beautiful, I’ll give you that. I can see why he married you. But I am far better looking and way more well-endowed than you. I am also far younger. If he had to choose between me and you - one doesn’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to know who he will choose. But, you know what, why don’t we just test my hypothesis by asking the man himself. If he hasn’t passed out that is.”

Meilin watched in shock as the young woman’s slender, long-nailed fingers slipped into her waistband and then presumably her womanhood. A few moments later, they retrieved a tiny humanoid figure.

Anouk smiled and said, “Hi Henry! Your wife wants to know who you’d choose between the two of us: me or her.”

She dropped both him and his wife gently on the living room table.  Meilin rushed towards her husband, wanting to embrace him. But then she realized that he was, rather strangely, about half her size. So she bent her knees and hugged him tightly. Her man was covered head-to-toe in Anouk’s juices, and the scent of the titaness’ womanhood radiated from him. The Chinese woman was greatly disturbed by this.

She whimpered, “Oh baby - what has she done to you! Are you alright?”

Her green-eyed Anglo-Saxon husband whimpered back, “Oh Meilin! Why did you let her in?”

Meilin burst out in tears, “I didn’t Henry, I didn’t. She was already in the house - but I didn’t know. She spiked my tea, and when I drank it, she ambushed me!”

Anouk thundered, “Awwww… look at these two love birds! So cute! I almost feel bad interrupting your little reunion. But I really need an answer Henry: me or her. This has gone on for too long!”

Meilin asked worriedly, “Henry, who is she? What is she going on about?”

Henry hung his head in shame. He whispered, “Meilin, I am so sorry… One thing led to another and…” 

The thirty-seven year old Asian whispered back in shock, “But she’s what - half your age? You are old enough to be her father.”

Anouk pouted sharply and said dramatically, “What are you two going on about? I feel left out! So rude!”

The behemoth bent forward and leaned in until her face was mere inches away from the duo. She barked, “What’s taking you so long to decide Henry? Its such a simple choice.”

Her lover shouted, “I can’t Anouk.”

She snarled back, “Can’t what?”

He hollered, “Can’t choose.”

Anouk was enraged. She said hatefully, “All this while, I thought you were afraid of telling her that you wanted to divorce her. But now I see…” She chuckled villainously before yelling, “Now I see that you still have feelings for her. Four years we have been together and you still can’t let her go!”

The tiny duo covered their ears and fell on their knees in response to the booming, thunderous voice.

Meilin whimpered, “Henry, no - it can’t be, Henry! This must be a nightmare - it can’t be real. You would never cheat on me.”

Anouk continued bellowing, “You can’t choose. Four years together, and you can’t choose. Fine. I will make your decision for you.”

She plucked the tiny Asian woman up from the table.

Henry shouted up at his lover, “Baby, don’t do anything rash and stupid. I know you are very angry right now - let’s just talk tomorrow.”

Anouk replied coldly, “It is too late for that sweetie.”

Henry yelled back, “You are not thinking straight honey. You could hurt her. You are not a monster. Set her back down before you do something you’ll regret for the rest of your life.”

The blond European leaned back and examined her soon-to-be victim. She said coldly, “I know this isn’t your fault but I really hate you. And I want you to suffer.”

Meilin shouted, “Wait, Anouk… let’s talk it out. Please.”

The titaness opened her mouth wide giving her lover’s wife a glimpse of what was to come. Just behind her soft rosy lips, a row of pearly white teeth protruded from each jaw like loyal soldiers waiting to do her bidding. Her tongue flopped out like a bright pink welcome carpet. Strands of saliva connected both jaws like dissipating bridges over a canyon. And beyond all that, pink gradually disappeared into an infinite black abyss. Meilin could feel the warm, coffee-scented breath emanating from her giant competitor’s mouth. Anouk released her fingers and gravity became her partner-in-crime. As she plummeted into the darkness, Meilin could feel her heart racing. As soon as she landed on the blonde’s wet, squishy tongue, Anouk sealed her lips. Darkness surrounded her. The blue-eyed titanness raised her tongue and pinned her tiny rival against the roof of her mouth. Then she began sucking on her as if she were a piece of candy.

Henry watched helplessly from far below. He was mortified. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined that his lover would one day eat his wife. And that is where things seemed to be headed. He desperately tried to get Anouk’s attention by calling out to her - but to no avail. 

Anouk closed her eyes and salivated the moment. She couldn’t believe that another human being, much less her romantic rival, was squirming between her jaws. The power of life and death over another human being lay in her hands. With little to no effort, she, acting as the judge, jury, and executioner, could condemn the object of her hatred to a brief period of immense suffering followed by a ghastly death. And she had already made up her mind about what she planned to do. She felt incredibly powerful. And that made her incredibly horny. When she opened her eyes, she could see her former Professor’s frantic movements on the table’s surface. She moved closer to the table until her lips were inches away from him, swirling Meilin around her mouth as she did so.

Henry yelled, “Spit her out! Spit her out!”

Anouk wanted him to watch up close as she sealed his wife’s fate. She parted her lips and stretched her mouth wide open. Meilin, completely lubricated by spit, was deposited in a small pool of saliva on the center of her tongue. For a brief moment, the Asian woman seemed to believe that her period of oral captivity and torment had come to an end. With hope in her eyes, she stood up and rushed towards the entrance - her feet bouncing off of the moist, squishy surface with each step. But as she neared the entrance to her freedom, her eyes met her husband’s and she immediately knew what her fate was to be. In one swift move, Anouk flicked her tongue upwards, and sent Meilin tumbling down her gullet. Henry watched in complete horror as a (relatively) large bulge moved down his former student’s throat and disappeared.

Anouk said with great satisfaction, “Mmmm… She was delicious.” She slowly licked her lips and massaged her throat. 

Her eyes fixed themselves on her grieving lover. He was on his knees, weeping. But Anouk had no sympathy for him. In fact, his suffering only filled her with immense joy.

She whispered softly, “Your turn sweet plums!”

Before he even had time to react, she lifted him up and popped him in her mouth. She could still taste her juices on him. Now two adult humans were fighting the biological forces unleashed by her body and struggling to survive. Anouk felt divine and very horny. She began to undress herself as she sucked on his body. Henry was only one inch tall - about half the size of Meilin. She had to be very careful so as to not accidentally swallow him. Meanwhile inside her mouth, Henry was facing a similar problem. His disoriented self was surrounded by darkness, and he didn’t want to do anything which might get him accidentally swallowed or crushed by his lover’s teeth. But then suddenly her lips parted and light flooded into the living cave. Henry was relieved and began rushing towards the entrance - but then he remembered what had happened to Meilin just moments earlier when she had tried to do the same thing in the same set of circumstances, and he halted in his tracks. A very large nipple seemed to be making its way towards the mouth. Henry felt a shift in gravity as Anouk’s tongue moved suddenly. For a moment, he feared that he would meet the same fate as his wife. Instead, the Dutch woman’s crimson oral muscle deposited him on her left breast along with a pool of saliva.

“Why, hello sweetheart! Did my wittle daddy like his spit bath?”, cooed Anouk.

Henry spluttered as he wiped a thick layer of saliva from his face. As he gasped for air, he mumbled, “What the-”

Anouk continued cooing, “Awww… looks like somebody’s member is giving me a little Hitler salute! Naughty, naughty!”

Henry looked at his lover in fear. He had known her for four years - but somehow he had never seen this crazy side of her. He said softly, “Anouk please.”

She did not hear him. She simply proceeded to talk sex, “I am horny too baby! I don’t think I have ever been this horny in my life! I want to fuck you sweetie pie!”

Henry shouted to get his plea across, “Anouk stop! Please, if you don’t do anything to save her, an innocent woman will die a nasty, horrible death. Please puke her out before it is too late.”

Anouk smiled mischievously at her lover. She was not going to give him what he wanted. And that was final. She had already made up her mind.

She said cruelly, “I can still feel your wife’s presence all along the route that she took to reach her final destination. Here… let me show you…”

She plucked him up and pressed him against her chin. Then using him, she slowly traced a path down her throat, between her voluptuous breasts, and to her stomach. Henry could hear the monstrous machine loudly rumble and grumble as it worked its magic. However, he couldn’t hear any sounds which even vaguely resembled Meilin. Then suddenly, without any warning, Anouk stood up.

In a calm but cruel tone, she said, “But don’t worry Henry… the two of you will be reunited tomorrow morning…”

Using him, she traced a path from her stomach to her ass-crack.

She continued angrily, “...when she comes out of spa Anouk as a completely changed person through its only natural exit. Then you have my permission to embrace her for as long as you want. You can even make-out with her if you wish - for as long as you want. And you know Henry - because I am such a generous and loving person, I even give you permission to fuck her. Fuck her for as long as you want and in whichever way you want tomorrow - after she exits my derriere.”

Henry was hyperventilating - he couldn’t believe it. This woman was intent on digesting his wife alive. How was any of this possible? How on God’s blue-Earth did she gain the power to shrink people? And how did she gain the courage to overcome society’s moral indoctrination and devour another human being? Had she no conscience? Initially when he had witnessed her devour his wife, he had erroneously believed that she would eventually let his wife out alive. He didn’t believe that she had the capacity to commit murder. He thought that she was only doing this to show how mad she was at him, and that she meant no harm.

Anouk snarled, “You know what Henry… why don’t you stick your head up my asshole and tell that piece of shit that everything is going to be ok. Tell her that you’ll be waiting for her. And that when she is released from captivity tomorrow, she’ll find security in your embrace.”

With the assistance of her other hand, she spread her cheeks open, and began moving him closer and closer towards her rectum. 

Anouk added, “I think I should just shove you up there - that way, I can just release the two of you out of captivity together tomorrow. Wouldn’t that just be so romantic? A certificate of your true, uncontaminated love.”

Just as his face was about to come in contact with her asshole, Anouk brought him back up, and glared at him furiously. 

She said angrily, “I invested four years of my life with you, Henry. Four years. And I think that is a long enough time for things to be serious between us. I am done sharing you. You are mine and mine alone. She is history. The faster you accept this new reality, the better. Because I am not throwing all those precious years of my life down the drain.”

Henry shouted, “If you let her out now, I will divorce her immediately and cut all communications with her. She will never come between the two of us again.”

Anouk thundered, “Unfortunately, it is too late for that. You could have left her a long time ago when I kept pestering you. Your lack of decision-making is single-handedly responsible for her fate. And this is the last that we speak of this. And that is final. She is a piece of shit now, and I will shit her out tomorrow.”

She moved him south to her clit and began rubbing him in a circular motion against it. She had hoped that he would actively participate in intensifying her sexual pleasure. Instead, he abstained from doing anything - there was no licking or flailing or kicking, nothing. For a brief moment, she thought she couldn’t feel his contributions due to his small size.

Anouk lifted him up to her face and asked, “I can’t feel you doing anything. Do you plan on chiming in?”

He called out, “I don’t feel like it.”

Anouk scrunched her nose, and looked at him disapprovingly. She said, “Suit yourself. Where does your wife keep her dildo?”

Just as he was about to respond, he noticed her facial expression change. Her eyes winced, and she stared straight-ahead with a look of horror and realization. Within microseconds, her skin began stretching and her abdomen expanded outwards in all directions. When Anouk opened her mouth, blood flowed out. Both her spine and her rib cage gave away - and she burst open. As her carcass fell to the ground, a pool of body fluids and damaged organs spilled all over the floor. Henry was traumatized beyond repair, and descended towards the ground still enclosed between Anouk’s fingers. Covered in blood and pieces of Anouk’s organs, Meilin emerged from the biological debris - now, a full-sized adult woman.

Looking at the mutilated body, she whispered, “Oh dear…”

Her legs trembled uncontrollably. And she nearly collapsed. She couldn’t take her eyes off of Anouk’s corpse. This was the woman who had tried to kill her by eating her alive. But Meilin did not hold any feelings of resentment towards her, only pity. Anouk was a very young woman, and she had died well ahead of her time.

Suddenly, a very different thought entered her mind. There was a dead body in her house. And if it wasn’t dealt with immediately, then its foul stench would cause the neighbors or passersby to alert the police. How was she supposed to explain this to law enforcement and society? Who would believe her if she told them that she was shrunk and swallowed by another human being? Her gut begged her to get rid of the dead body, but she decided to call the police.

Half-an-hour later, her apartment was crawling with cops and a paramedic team. Initially, they did not buy her story and thought she was crazy. But then they all witnessed her husband, whose presence they were previously unaware of, rapidly grow from a bug-sized creature to the size of an adult human being. Notes were taken, and the duo was carted away for questioning. 

Chapter 2: Drug Epidemic

“So you're telling me that this woman and her husband were shrunk by the lady he was having an affair with, and then this lady who shrank them swallowed the woman alive. And then this woman unshrank while inside of her and burst right through her?”,  asked Captain Malik Johnson.

Sergeant Gabriela Rodriguez and Detectives Natalie Evans and Andre Clark responded in unison, “Yes!” 

Captain Johnson snorted. He said, “This is ludicrous! Do you realize how crazy that sounds?!”

Detective Clark replied, “Atleast, that is what they told us.”

Malik Johnson slammed his desk angrily. He thundered, “They are clearly lying! What’s the matter with you people? They probably killed that woman and cooked up that nonsense story. It's not even remotely believable!”

Sergeant Rodriguez stated, “With all due respect Captain, we believe that the evidence suggests that this could have been plausible.”

Captain Johnson squinted his eyes and asked coldly, “What evidence?”

Detective Evans blurted, “We all saw her husband unshrink. He went from being ant-sized to his original height in a matter of seconds. It was surreal! The Paramedic team saw it too.”

Johnson crossed his arms across his chest. He stated bluntly, “This, Detective, belongs to the world of fiction - not non-fiction. In the real world, such things are impossible because of the laws of physics.”

The Captain began to scratch his chin slowly as if he were in deep thought.

After a brief moment of silence, he spoke, “I’ll tell you what I think happened. I think you were tricked into believing that what you claim to have seen is actually what transpired. That’s the only rational explanation. I don’t know how it was done. That is something that we need to find out. If I were to guess, I would say that some hallucinogens or advanced holographic projection device could have been used against you. But really, it could have been anything.”

Detective Andre Clark said, “That may be true sir. But during the interrogation, the woman said that she had hard evidence. She claimed that the tea in this kettle was responsible for shrinking her.”

Captain Malik Johnson smiled slyly. He asked, “Detective Clark, are you telling me that… that ridiculously large kettle in your hands contains this magic tea?”

Detective Clark said candidly, “Yes sir.”

Captain Johnson proposed, “Very well Detective. Let’s conduct an experiment. I think I have some paper cups in my office.”

The elderly African-American Captain opened the lowest drawer in his office desk and separated a paper cup from a row of paper cups. He then said confidently, “I shall now proceed to drink this tea that you speak of. Let us see if it helps me defy the laws of physics.”

The policemen exchanged uneasy glances as their boss chugged one cup of tea after another - consuming a total of four cups. The pin-drop silence of the room was only broken when Captain Malik Johnson broke into a fit of laughter. 

 
He pointed at the kettle and said, “See, absolutely nothing happened to me, nada. Looks like this magic tea is just regular tea after all. Hypothesis confirmed.”

Sergeant Gabriela Rodriguez bit her lip. She said softly, “But sir- we know what we saw.”

Wiping a tear of joy from his eye, the elderly African-American man said with a smile, “Research has shown that eye-witness testimony is unreliable. And today, that fact has been proven true in my very office. Snap out of it. And that’s an order.”

The policemen saluted him and said in unison, “Yes sir.”

But then, just as they were about to leave the room, it happened. The Captain momentarily looked visibly queasy - and within a fraction of a second, he shrank instantaneously. The detectives panicked.

Detective Natalie Evans whispered, her lips quivering, “Oh no… what are we going to do?”

Sergeant Rodriguez stepped forward and said, “He is lost somewhere inside his clothes. I’ll retrieve him.”

“Careful, Ma’am… You might accidentally hurt him while sifting through his clothes... He is very vulnerable right now - even the slightest of movements could toss him far away and he could get injured.”, warned Detective Andre Clark.

Suddenly, there was a loud thumping on the office’s door and it swung wide open. The policemen, not expecting company, were spooked for a split-second.

A petite Asian woman breezed in and said hurriedly, “Captain Johnson, this is an emerg-”

She fixed her gaze on the pile of clothes and froze.

Andre greeted her, “Uh… Lieutenant Kobayashi.”

She said solemnly, “Don’t tell me - he shrank?”

Andre responded, “Yeah, he is somewhere here in this pile of clothes. But how did you know?”

She said grimly, “It's happening everywhere - all over the city, all over the country, and all over the world. The phones won’t stop ringing. The division is having an emergency meeting now.”

Gabriela replied, “Yes ma’am. Detective Clark and I will be right out with you. And Detective Evans, you can join us once you find our Captain.”

Lieutenant Kobayashi added, “And do bring him along. After all, seeing is believing.”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Just as Anahit Baghdasarian was settling into her cubicle, the telephone on her desk greeted her enthusiastically. She took a deep breath before grabbing the receiver. The first call of her shift. 

She said calmly, “9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

A female voice sobbed uncontrollably on the other side. In a panicked and emotional tone, the caller said, “My husband - he disappeared!”

Anahit responded calmly, “Please take a deep breath in for me, ma’am. I’m here to help you. What is your name?”

The voice responded, “It's Olivia! Please, I am scared.”

Anahit said, “Don’t worry, Ms. Olivia. I am here with you. Now, when did you last see your husband?”

Olivia said sobbingly, “Just seconds ago - he was sucking my breast when he just disappeared.” 

Anahit smiled awkwardly, and then she asked in a tone which was as polite as possible, “Are you sure that he’s not just hiding somewhere nearby?”

Olivia cried out, “No you don’t understand. He shrank to nothingness. He just disappeared somewhere on my nipple. I can’t even see him anymore. I think he has gone microscopic!”

Anahit frowned. This was unusual, very unusual.

She asked, “Ma’am, are you under the influence of any intoxicants at the moment?”

Olivia responded, “No, no, you have to believe me. I think he overdosed on Pumpkin Spice. I kept telling him that we should take baby steps. Try very little. Not a lot. But he took a lot. And now he shrank to nothingness.”

Anahit closed her eyes, and rubbed her eyelids repeatedly with her thumb and index fingers simultaneously. ‘Is this some kind of code?’, she asked herself.

She asked politely, “Could you tell me more about this Pumpkin Spice?”

The caller explained, “Pumpkin Spice is this new trending thing in the market. Surely you must have heard of it! It has a magical ability - it can shrink people for a short period of time!”

Anahit rolled her eyes. Now she was convinced that the caller was on drugs. But she maintained a calm demeanor, “So how long does it shrink a person for, and how small does it make them?”

Olivia replied, “I think it depends on the dosage. At least that’s what we were told.”

Anahit said calmly, “Ok Ms. Olivia, I need you to stay calm. Are you at home right now?”

Olivia answered, “Yes. Yes, I am.”

Anahit asked, “And your home is the same address that your phone number is linked to?”

Olivia said amidst sobs, “Yes it is.”

Anahit cooed reassuringly, “I need you to stay calm Ms. Olivia. I am dispatching an officer to come help you out. Will you be able to open the door for the officer?”

Olivia cried out, “But if I do - I might accidentally kill my husband!”

Anahit asked, “Right. Then would you give the officer permission to enter your house with a special key?”

Olivia responded enthusiastically, “Yes, I would. Just save him. I don’t want him to be killed by some kind of microorganism.”

Anahit’s keyboard cluttered loudly and rapidly as she typed the details of the case into the Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. Within seconds, a police unit on patrol received the dispatch information, and began heading their way to the address.

She said, “Alright ma’am. I am dispatching an officer to your address right now. Please stay calm. I will remain in touch.” And with that, she put her receiver down.

“I see you got your first pumpkin spice call.”, a familiar voice said.

Anahit swirled her chair around towards the source of the sound, and found two of her co-workers looking at her goofily. Both of them were trying very hard to hold back their laughter.

She asked quizzically, “Did you gals get a similar call?”

LaToya Thompson, an African-american woman, said smugly, “We all did.”

Anahit frowned and said, “Wait a minute… what do you mean by ‘we all did’? Like everybody in this center?”

LaToya chuckled. Twirling her braids with her fingers, she said, “Yes. Every. Single. One. Of. Us.”

Anahit’s jaw dropped. She asked, “Isn’t that odd? What does it mean exactly? You think its code for something?”

Her other co-worker, a young blond woman by the name of Elizabeth Wilson, retrieved the head of a bright crimson lollipop from her mouth. She then said with a goofy smile, “Pumpkin Spice is trending on X and every other social media platform. Thousands of videos about it have popped up on YouTube.”

LaToya pushed her phone on Anahit’s face and began scrolling upwards with her thumb. She smirked when she saw the look of amazement creep into her coworker’s expression. Anahit could see countless pictures of shrunken people of varying sizes - posing on objects, other people, and even animals. One particular picture caught her eye. In it, a young brunette woman stretched her jaws wide open to reveal a miniscule gummy-bear sized man meditating on her tongue, strands of saliva on either side of him. He himself seemed to be a bit wet from all the drool around him- but his eyes were closed and unbothered, and he wore a calm expression. The woman, on the other hand, seemed to be relishing the power that she had over him.

Anahit asked, “Photoshop?”

Elizabeth nodded and said, “Photoshop, Dall-E, Midjourney, you name it - with technology, these things can be created instantaneously with the click of a button.”

The Armenian-American asked with a puzzling look, “Then, what’s with all the calls?”

LaToya shrugged and said, “Prank calls probably. You know how this generation is.”

Elizabeth asked with a smirk before popping the lollipop back in her mouth, “So… what was your call about?”

Anahit said with a blank expression, “The lady said that her husband was sucking her breasts after taking too much pumpkin spice, and that he shrank to a microscopic size on her nipple. She couldn’t even see him anymore.”

Her coworkers chuckled.

“Can you imagine if it were true though?”, LaTonya asked mischievously. 

Anahit replied, “Oh God. She said he was nearly microscopic. He would be terrified if it were true.”

Her braided co-worker stated, “With his wife sprawled out all around him like a living, breathing landscape, I think he would be more aroused than terrified.”

Elizabeth added, “ Especially since he is on top of a nipple.” 

Anahit said, “Yes, but it is important to keep in mind that he would be microscopic. At that size, even the pores in her skin must be like deep pits for him. If he fell into one, he could get injured and potentially drown when she sweats.”     

LaTonya said, “Damn. That is an insane level of power to have over someone.” 

The blond woman added, “And to add to his problems, he would probably be actively hunted by microorganisms. And because these creatures would be so alien to him, he would have no idea as to how to interpret their behavior and defend himself against them. They would be his biggest problem at that point.”

LaTonya nodded and said, “That is true! I don’t think he would last longer than a minute. If your boyfriend shrank down to the size of a microscopic speck on your nipple, how would you save him?”

Elizabeth said jokingly, “Babe, I think I would just suck him off my nipple at that point and swallow him.” 

Anahit said jokingly, “What! That is horrifying!”

Elizabeth replied, “I mean think about it. There are microorganisms everywhere. All around me and over me. How am I supposed to protect him from them? Plus, even the slightest of my body movements could kill him. At that point swallowing him would perhaps be the most merciful thing to do. At least this way, he gets to become a part of the person he loves instead of being torn to pieces by microbes.”

LaTonya giggled and said, “Girl, you are WILD.”

Elizabeth continued, “When he dissolves into me, his essence would circulate through my bloodstream and flow into my heart.”

Anahit asked jokingly, “And you would feel absolutely no remorse at all?”

Elizabeth replied with a twinkle in her eye, “In my defense, swallowing him doesn’t necessarily mean that killing him. He can probably find a floating piece of fry or half-eaten pieces of burger to climb onto while I go find help. Maybe he can even use a grain of rice as a life vessel.” 

LaTonya said mischievously, “If my boyfriend shrank to the size of a microscopic speck, I think I would just stick him up my vagina and start masturbating.”

Elizabeth asked with a smile, “You’d drown him in your cum?”

LaTonya nodded and said, “That’s the best way to go to be honest. Drowning in a lake of your lover’s love.” 

Anahit said jokingly, “Girls, girls, girls… you know we can’t be having conversations like this in a work environment.”

Elizabeth said with a chuckle, “La, tell her about your first pumpkin spice call.”

LaTonya said, “So this chick called. And apparently somebody got stuck in the gap between her finger and fingernail. And she was like how do I get him out.”

Anahit asked with a giggle, “What? How is that even possible?”

LaTonya answered, “Apparently this chick was jogging in the park when she saw this guy rapidly shrinking in front of her. She tried to grab him. But as he shrank, he slid down her fingertip and into the space between her finger and her nail. She was having trouble dislodging him in a way that would be safe for him.”

Elizabeth commented, “You’ve got to give it to their creativity. 10 out of 10.”

Anahit asked, “What did you tell her?”

LaTonya said with a chuckle, “Well, I wanted to ask her if she had tried sticking her finger up her ass and farting on it. But of course I couldn’t say that.”

Both Anahit and Elizabeth let out a giggle.

LaTonya continued, “I simply reminded her that pranking 911 was an arrestable offense. And she ended the phone call.”

Elizabeth jumped in, “My turn.”

Anahit gave her approval, “By all means, spill the tea.”

Her blond coworker said, “The woman who called me said that her boyfriend was broken, battered, and not breathing after she used his doll-sized body as a dildo. She wanted to know how to conduct CPR on him.”

LaTonya commented, “Like I said, drowning in your lover’s cum is the best way to go.” 

Just then, their shift supervisor, a middle-aged Italian-American man by the name of Antonio Puccini, breezed towards them. 

“Ladies,” he greeted as he handed each of them a file.

A 3 inch tall fully-clothed woman, approximately double the size of a lego man, was perched on his shoulder. She waved at the trio enthusiastically, but all they could manage was a gasp of shock. Anahit couldn’t take her eyes off of her - even when shift supervisor Puccini began speaking to them.

He said, “This file contains all the latest information about how we are going to handle this pumpkin spice problem. I want you to study them very carefully. The center will have a meeting in half an hour.”

Elizabeth asked with an equal mix of awe and shock, “Can I hold her?”

Antonio let out a heavy sigh. He said, “Ms. Wilson, Rebecca here is a person and not an object to be toyed around with. She is also my niece and I want to keep her out of harm’s way. So no, Mrs. Wilson, you may not grab her.”

Rebecca said loudly, “You can examine me during the meeting as long as we all take efforts to be as safe and gentle as possible.”

Antonio interrupted, “That is- I still haven’t made up my mind about that yet. Now, if you’ll excuse us…”

As Antonio waltzed away, the trio exchanged glances. As this new reality dawned on their faces, all three of them said consecutively, “Shit.”

Chapter 3: Puccini’s Law

In an empty police interrogation room, abuzz with silence, Professor Henry Clarington sat nervously, as he had for hours. The room was warm, but his body was as cold as a corpse whose soul had long departed. He shuddered violently, partly because he felt devoid of heat, partly because of what had just transpired over the last couple of hours, and partly because he was afraid of being charged by the law despite his innocence. Instinctively, his body pushed his thighs onto his abdomen and his arms wrapped around his shins such that he was sitting in an upright fetal position. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling the increasing weight of his uncertain future on his shoulders. It was heavy - perhaps even heavier than the weight of the heavens on Atlas’ back. He tried collecting his thoughts but found himself unable to do so, for it was both a Herculean and Sisyphian task. But there was one repetitive thought that he couldn’t escape: his marriage was almost certainly destroyed. 

As the door suddenly barged open, a furious Detective Andre Clark rushed in, his face radiating blood-red. He slammed his fists violently on the table and leaned over towards the middle-aged Professor.

The policeman hissed, “You look thirsty. Would you like a cup of tea?”

Managing a weak smile, Henry said softly, “No, I am good. Thank you officer.”

Andre asked aggressively, “Why not? Are you afraid that it might be spiked with Pumpkin Spice?”

Henry mumbled, “Wha- Pumpkin Spice? What are you talking about, officer?”

With his index finger wagging inches away from the middle-aged man’s face, the young cop said, “Don’t act smart with me Mr. Clarington. We know everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything. And things don’t look good for you Professor. If I were you, I’d fully cooperate.”

Henry replied slowly but bluntly, “Don’t pull that crap on me son. I know what you are trying to do. And I am not going to fall for it. I have a PhD in psychology with a specialization in criminal psychology. So I am well aware that the law enforcement frequently fabricates information to confuse and manipulate their suspect.”

As Andre glared at the trembling husk of a man in front of him, he felt a deep, bitter sense of hatred swell within him. Then, without thinking, he emotively grabbed the psychology Professor by his shirt and lifted him up.

Baring his clenched teeth, the brunette detective warned, “Listen to me carefully Professor Smarty-Pants. I know it might not seem like it, but I like you - or at least I have a soft spot for you. I think it is because there is just something about you which reminds me of my late father. I also really respect intelligent guys like you - professors and researchers - the intelligentsia.You are the movers and shakers of society - the silent heroes whose discoveries and inventions shape our very futures. You are an asset to humanity, and I wouldn’t want to see your potential being wasted behind bars. Think about it Professor - All your future potential contributions to the World will never come to be if you were to go to jail. So cooperate with me, and I’ll see to it that your sentence is very light. And depending on how easily and usefully you cooperate, I could ensure that you get amnesty.”

Henry spat, “That’s the best they’ve trained you to do? It wasn’t even remotely believable. But hey, at least you managed to use all the four principles of Kautilya’s Saam-Daam-Dand-Bhed. So bravo young man. But for next time, here’s some constructive criticism. Don’t blurt everything all out at once. And take an Improv class or two. It will really help you think on your feet and come up with cohesive narratives on-the-spot.”

A blond policewoman breezed into the room through the open door. With a look of concern on her face, she chided, “Andre, what are you doing? Let him go.”

The policeman turned to the source of the voice, releasing his grip on the green-eyed psychology Professor as he did so, and said, “But Natalie, he’s not cooperating!” His face, a cauldron of churning emotions: terror, anger, and panic all bleeding into each other in varying proportions.

Tapping her headphones as she walked over to the Professor, Detective Evans asked her colleague, “What are you doing here anyway?”

Detective Clark countered, “What am I doing here? Better yet: what are you doing here?”

Feeling Henry’s forehead with her left hand’s three longest fingers, Natalie Evans said, “His skin is cold. He’s most certainly in shock.”

Andre sighed defeatedly, his face shimmering with regret and guilt.

Natalie continued, “When I saw you storm out of the meeting, I knew you’d do something stupid. So I followed you here.”

The brown-haired detective persisted, “You better cooperate with us or we’ll have you arrested for adultery. You understand? That’s punishable with a 10,000 dollar fine and up to five years in prison.”

The Professor countered, “In Maryland. And we are not in Maryland now, are we? This is exactly why nobody trusts the cops anymore.”

Natalie intervened, “Andre, he’s in shock. Don’t push it any more. Please, you are only going to make it worse.”

Henry asked, “What is this? Good cop, bad cop?”

Natalie said, “No-”

Henry interjected, “Enough. I grow weary of your games. I have had a very long and very rough day. I just want to go home and rest.”

Natalie said, “Professor Clarington-”

Henry interjected again, “Officer, read me my Miranda rights. I have the right to remain silent. Anything I say can and will be used against me in court-”

Natalie interrupted, “Professor Clarington-”

Henry demanded, “I want my lawyer. Now.”

Andre said angrily, “Fuck him. He’s not going to talk.”

Natalie warned, “Andre!”

Andre questioned furiously , “Where is the Captain? Didn’t you have him? Weren’t you in charge of keeping him safe?”

Detective Evans tapped her headphones twice and said, “He’s right here.”

Her colleague asked, slowly and inquisitively, “You put him in your headphones?”

She responded, “Well actually… he’s inside my ear canal.”

Andre asked, freaking out, “What?! Are you out of your mind?!”

She retorted, “What other place would be safe enough for a man the size of a grain of rice? At least in there, he doesn’t have to worry about predators or getting crushed!”

Andre remarked sarcastically, still freaking out but now making wide hand motions, “Great, just great! Did somebody ever tell you what a genius you are? No, really - you are one of the greatest minds of our times!”

The Professor asked concernedly, “Your Captain shrank to the size of a grain of rice? How did that even happen?”

Andre continued his sarcastic tirade, “Riddle me this. If you come across a man, the size of a grain of rice, who will randomly unshrink instantaneously at any given time, how would you keep him, this literal biological time bomb, safe such that nobody gets hurt?”

Natalie responded, “Well, he drank four cups of the wonderful, magical tea that your mistress prepared!”

Andre went on in the background, “Why you stick him up a hole deep in your skull of course! Duh!”

Turning to Andre, the Professor said, “So that’s what you meant by Pumpkin Spice.”

Detective Clark spat, “Yeah, but you knew that already.”

Henry said modestly, “I didn’t.”

Andre countered, “But you did though.”

Heaving an exasperated sigh, the Professor turned to Natalie and asked, “But why on Earth would he do that? Didn’t my wife tell you that drinking the tea caused her to shrink?”

Natalie replied, “Yes, but he thought that story was BS. And he wanted to decisively disprove it. So he drank the tea.”

The Professor said, “I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t have believed it either. May I see him?”

Slowly pulling her headphones back, she said, “Yes, you may. Most people wouldn’t have believed it either…under normal circumstances…”

Natalie cupped her palm underneath her ear and tilted her head sideways. A miniscule, naked man tumbled out onto the safety of her palm. Clearly petrified, he stood up and looked around at the familiar yet paradoxically unfamiliar world around him. A world of light. A world free of sticky earwax. A world full of danger.

Natalie continued with a smile, “But things have- there you are- but things have changed. It's pandemonium out there. Pumpkin Spice is flooding the streets. Suddenly, people have the power to settle scores and advance their interests using unethical and illegal means. And they are giving in to their base instincts. The sheer number of incidents are overwhelming the police departments. And if the legal system has no way of enforcing laws or justice, society could unravel.”

The Professor commented quietly, “He’s much smaller than I was.”

Natalie said with a meek smile and a nod, “Yeah, he is about half the size you were.”

Shaking violently, Captain Malik Johnson fell to his knees. He tried to wipe the ear wax off his body but it clung to him like lotion. He crossed his hands across his chest, his body still shaking.

The blond Detective said, observing his condition, “Hey, hey. It is going to be alright. You are safe with me. Don’t worry.”

As Captain Malik looked up, he saw a pair of lips, painted in bright crimson, move down towards him. He wasn’t sure if the biological ground beneath his feet was rising upwards towards them, or if they were descending down from the sky towards him. Maybe it was a bit of both, but he was unable to tell. The puckering facial features pressed him against her palm, and then a strong suction forcefully lifted him upwards through her parted teeth and into her open maw.

“Mwah!”, Natalie sounded before lifting her face back up.

In a state of panic, Andre said, “Oh my God, you ate him.”

Calmly, Detective Evans stuck her tongue out, and the naked African-American slowly slid down the mighty organ and onto her palm. He had a prominent erection.

Natalie said, blushing, “I am so sorry Captain Johnson. That wasn’t intentional.”

The green-eyed Professor stood up and said, “Listen, I understand that you are in a bit of a bind here. But I don’t understand what I can do to help you with this crisis. I would like to return home and rest if possible.”

Andre said, “Rebecca Puccini. You know her?”

Henry replied, “No, that name doesn’t sound familiar. Why do you ask?”

Natalie said, “We received a file today… This file had all the information that the Police Force knew about Pumpkin Spice - which, much to our dismay, was not much. There was hardly any useful information whatsoever. And much of its contents, we were told, was pure speculation. We were asked to expect significant changes.”

Andre added, “Naturally, we were very dissatisfied with this. So we began doing some research of our own… to get a better understanding of what was happening. And that is when many of us stumbled into a certain Rebecca Puccini.”

Natalie wetted her lips and said, “She attends your university. Does her name ring a bell now?”

Henry Clarington replied, “I am afraid it does not. Have you tried reaching out to the University directly? They may be better able to help you.”

Andre said, narrowing his eyes, “We discovered that she keeps an extensive online blog about herself. In which she claims to have taken a few of your classes.”

The blond Detective pulled out her phone, and began fiddling with it.

The Professor let out a nervous chuckle before saying, "It's quite plausible. Each of my classes attracts hundreds of students. And with such large class sizes, it becomes impossible to personally know each and every student. Why are you so interested in her anyway? What does she have to do with the Pumpkin Spice crisis?”

Natalie said, “You see Professor, Rebecca is a YouTuber. And her channel specializes in - you guessed it - Pumpkin Spice. She started her channel fifteen weeks ago - long before the rest of the world discovered Pumpkin Spice. Each day, she posted three videos about the topic. But then suddenly, a week-and-a-half ago, she stopped posting all together.”

She handed him her phone and said, “Puccini’s Law. This was the second video posted on her channel. It has garnered over three billion views since yesterday. Take a look Professor.”

As he clicked the play button, Henry mused, “Three billion views in a day - that’s quite unusual isn’t it?”

Natalie smiled and said, “It is! If her ad revenue was enabled, she probably made a lot of money over the last 24 hours alone.”

As the screen came to life, a minuscule young woman, approximately as tall as a small bead, could be seen delicately and gracefully traversing the interior of a giant, thin golden ring, which was presumably being suspended from somewhere; an organic tea-coloured backdrop dominated the background.

The raven-haired tiny looked straight at the camera with a smirk and said, “Hello Spice Ladies and Lads! Today, I am going to be introducing you to Puccini’s Law. And it IS GUARANTEED to BLOW YOUR - AAAAAH!”

Without any prior warning, the protagonist of the video was sucked upwards almost instantaneously. The camera zoomed out to capture the loud squeals and giggles of three much larger women, revealing that the minuscule heroine had been walking across the interior of a South Asian woman's nose ring.

The young Desi woman flared her nostrils and said, “Oh my God, I think I snorted her all the way up my nose.”

Henry let out an inaudible gasp. He knew who the tiny was: Becka Roo, a close friend of his newly-deceased girlfriend. ‘So she is Rebecca Puccini,’ he mused to himself.

A familiar voice said with a tinge of fascination, “You DID NOT.”

Henry let out another inaudible gasp. It was undoubtedly the voice of Anouk, his newly-deceased girlfriend.

The Desi woman said in a panicked voice, “Oh my God, I can’t feel her anymore. I don’t know where she is.”

A latina woman, presumably the owner of the third voice, asked, “Can’t you sneeze her out?”

Anouk warned, “No Preeti, don't do that. You could kill her.”

Preeti asked in an annoyed tone, “What am I supposed to do then? Oh my God, I can feel her slipping slowly down my throat!”

Unexpectedly, she broke into a coughing fit before slowly opening her mouth and sticking her tongue out.

The camera lens zoomed in, and an annoyed ‘Becca Roo’ could be seen transitioning from an all-fours position to standing up on her feet. Covered in saliva and mucous, the miniature Italian-American shook both her fists up at the camera, and said irritatedly, “I thought I told you to breathe through your mouth, you dumb-”

The camera zoomed back out momentarily to show Anouk plucking the tiny from Preeti’s mouth.

The Dutchwoman cooed, “Awww… somebody is a bit cranky! Here, let me help you…”

She shaped her mouth in the form of an ‘o’ and gently blew the sticky stuff off her miniscule friend. The camera zoomed in to show the audience Rebecca’s predicament. To an outside observer, it looked as if she had just been on a rapidly accelerating roller-coaster: the wind from Anouk’s breath pushed both her hair and her cheeks backwards.

The latina woman asked jokingly, before bursting into a fit of laughter with the other two giants, “What does Anouk’s breath smell like?”

Rebecca said defiantly, within earshot of the audience but not her ginormous friends, “Henry. Her breath smells like Henry.”

Professor Clarington glanced from one detective to another in embarrassment, only to see both of them roll their eyes. 

With her hands, Becca Roo signaled to the titannesses that it was time to move ahead with the video. And much to their credit, they proceeded quickly without any more shenanigans. 

Turning her attention to the camera, the protagonist said with a hint of slight irritation, “As I was saying, Puccini’s Law… Rebecca Puccini’s First Law of Spice Physics dictates that an individual’s size and the spice that they require to shrink are inversely proportional. In other words, the smaller an individual, the less spice they require to shrink. When applied, this law yields… interesting results.”

As the camera passed from the Latina's hands to Anouk's, it diverted its attention from Becca Roo to the tanned-skinned giantesses. Both of these college students, whom Henry most definitely had in class as well, held similar-sized ziplock packets with golden-brown powder.

Rebecca commented, “We will now see Puccini’s First Law in action. Both our participants in this experiment, Preeti and Andrea, have been given exactly the same amount of pumpkin spice. But they will consume the drug in very different intervals.”

Wasting no time, Preeti opened her mouth wide. And within seconds, the golden-brown contents of her ziplock vanished into the dark abyss of her throat. Then, almost instantaneously, she shrank to the size of a barbie doll. Recognizing that she was now nude, the Desi woman peeked her head out shyly through the heap of clothes and glanced at the camera.

Andrea, on the other hand, pursued a very different strategy which involved pacing herself: she consumed about 25% of the ziplock’s contents, waited until she shrank, then consumed 25% of what remained, and repeated the process. By applying this process, she was able to achieve a far greater reduction in size.

The screen briefly turned black and featured the following text: “In order to keep the video family-friendly for YouTube, we had to briefly pause recording to clothe both the participants in cut fabric wrappings.”

Upon the video’s resumption, Andrea was so small that she could no longer hold the ziplock bag; so she simply crawled into it and continued applying her strategy. When she finally decided to fully consume her remaining portion, she shrank to the size of a lego man.

The screen turned momentarily black again, and when the video resumed, all three tinies were seated comfortably in Anouk’s palm, appropriately clothed enough for all ages to see on YouTube.

Becca Roo, the smallest of the three, grinned ear-to-ear and said, “So there you have it Spice Ladies & Lads, Puccini’s First Law of Spice Physics right before your own eyes!”

Andrea asked jokingly, “First Law? How many laws are there?”

Rebecca responded, “Two so far.”

Preeti asked, “What does Puccini’s Second Law of Spice Physics say?”

The raven-haired tiny answered, “Puccini’s Second Law of Spice Physics says that the smaller a person is, the longer it takes them to grow back to their original size.”

Andrea commented, “Cool.”

Rebecca said, “If you enjoyed watching this video, please give us a like, leave a comment, and share it with your friends, so that the algorithm shows it to more people! And please subscribe to our channel if you would like to see more videos on Pumpkin Spice! That’s it for today! See you tomorrow!”

Detective Evans said, “When she first started making these videos, the general public had no idea what Pumpkin Spice was. People thought she was making macrophiliac art and that she was really great with CGI.”

Detective Clark spoke, “So here the question arises: how does a woman with a working class family background and little to know prominent connections gain access to Pumpkin Spice before everybody else?”

Natalie added, “And she has clearly had access to it for longer than fifteen weeks. She has been experimenting with the drug to gain some expertise on it.”

Professor Clarington said quietly, “You make a very valid point.”
 

Andre smiled smugly at him and asked, “So you still don’t know who Rebecca Puccini is?”

Henry conceded, "I knew her by the name of Becca Roo. She was a close friend of Anouk's."

Natalie mumbled, “Becca Roo… interesting nickname. I’ll take note of it.”

Andre flashed a knowing grin at Henry, as if to say ‘I got you,’ and asked him, “Here another question arises. Despite knowing the intricacies of how the drug worked, more so than the vast majority of people on this pale blue dot of ours… why did she decide to swallow your wife? She must have known that this would prove fatal when your wife eventually regrew inside her.”

Henry responded, “I don’t know. What are you implying, Detective?”

Andre chuckled and said, “What am I implying? I am implying that there are many other plausible explanations for what happened than the narrative that you presented. For instance, it is possible that you deliberately shrank your wife and fed her to your girlfriend. After all, this makes more sense if Anouk had not known that she had swallowed her romantic rival.”

The Professor asked in a frustrated tone, “Why on Earth would I do that?”

Andre postulated, “Maybe because it is cheaper than a divorce. Or maybe because it satiated your perverted sexual kinks. Or maybe it is because you couldn’t bear the thought of your wife finding happiness in the embrace of another man. There are so many possible motives.”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The Secretary of Defense, General Martinez, waited impatiently for an audience with the Leader of the Free World. While he understood the President's busy schedule, he found it incredulous to be kept waiting amidst such an urgent and perilous crisis.

When the most powerful man in the world finally met him, he began by asking a simple question, “Is it done?”

General Martinez replied, "Yes, Sir. Across all seven continents, vast fields of pumpkin spice have been burnt to the ground."

The President simply responded, "Good. I anticipate no backlash. These nations will likely be appreciative that we've thwarted the cultivation of such a dangerous substance within their borders."