My bath turned out to be an interesting experience. Mom took me to her bathroom and filled up her washing basin with hot water. She put a few drops of her shampoo on the edge of the basin, then she cut off a small chunk of her bath sponge and a flake of her soap for me to use. She also gave me a few sheets of tissue paper to use as towels. When everything was ready, she left me to myself and promised to collect me in half an hour’s time. I took off my dress and lowered myself into the seven-foot-wide basin. The warm water all over my body felt amazing. I washed myself and splashed around in the water for a bit, then lay back and relaxed, feeling totally at one with the balmy water. Eventually I got out and dried myself off with the tissues. I put on the doll’s dress again and waited for my mom to come and collect me.

I also needed to use the toilet then, but Mom had a better idea. She emptied out the basin and told me that I could use it instead, since the actual toilet was now much too big for me to use. She also gave me some toilet paper I could use. Since I was so small, there was no danger of my waste blocking the basin’s drain. After that had been taken care of, I was feeling pretty sleepy and decided it was time for bed. I was fine with sleeping in my own bed, but Mom didn’t like the idea of me being alone at night, in case anything unexpected happens.

“Please, Mom I’ll be fine!” I insisted. “Just because I’m the size of a baby doesn’t mean I am one! Besides, where the hell else am I gonna sleep?”

“Well, you’ll have to stay either with myself or with Emily,” Mom replied. “As to what you’ll be sleeping in, I think I have an idea.”

That idea turned out to be a little baby’s crib, less than three feet long, with wooden bars all around it. Like the blanket earlier, it had once been Emily’s, but of course she hadn’t used it for many years. My mom carried it into her room, with Emily following her, while I sat helplessly by on her bed and wondered if I should object to this further assault on my dignity. Mom didn’t give me any time to raise my objections, though. She simply lifted me up and lowered me down into the crib, then covered me up with some blankets. The bars around me were over two feet high, too high for me to climb over. I was trapped. Mom and Emily looked down at me from their lofty height, very obviously amused at my situation.

“He’s just too adorable like this!” my little sister said, grinning from ear to ear. “He can sleep in my room, Mommy. Then we’ll both know that he’s safe, and if he wants to go to the bathroom during the night, he can just wake me, and I’ll take him.”

“That’s very nice of you, Emily. Yes, I think it’ll be best if he stays with you tonight. If he’s too much trouble, I can always take care of him from tomorrow onwards.”

“Oh, he won’t be any trouble at all – will you, little Benny? He’s so small and cute, I just want to cuddle him all night!”

She stooped down and scooped me up in her great arms, then cuddled me tightly against her chest. Mom knelt down beside her and hugged her as well, and I was surrounded by the enormous bodies and arms of my mom and sister. It was an amazing feeling.

“I wish he could stay like this forever,” Emily sighed, as she lowered me back into my crib.

“I know, darling, but you know he can’t,” Mom replied. “He’s probably already tired of us two treating him like a little baby, aren’t you, Ben?”

“Uh…yeah…a little,” I said. “But I don’t mind being tiny if it’s for a few weeks only. Can I go to bed now, please? I don’t know why, but I’m just really, really tired, and I wanna get some sleep…”

“Of course. Good night, dear, and sleep well. I’ll come and fetch you tomorrow morning before work. I’ll also have made some new clothes for you by then, I promise.”

Mom lowered her head down all the way into the crib and gave me a little kiss on the forehead. Emily then picked up the crib, with me lying comfortably inside it, and carried it all the way to her own bedroom. She put it down next to her bed and looked down at me adoringly. She had always been fond of me when I had still been a big brother to her, but now that I was essentially her new favourite doll, she seemed to adore me even more.

“Good night, my little Ben-doll,” she said. “I hope you sleep well – and thanks for letting me dress you and everything. Most of my friends’ older brothers and sisters would never let them do something like that. But you’re not like most older brothers, are you? You’re much more awesome!”

“Thanks, Emily. You make a pretty awesome big sister, you know? If you like, we can hang out tomorrow, once Mom brings me back from work.”

“Yeah, that’ll be great! I have to get back from school too, but then we can have some fun. See you tomorrow!”

I slept like a log that night, and when I awoke the next morning, I found that Emily was already awake and had left the room, leaving me to sleep on. Instead, it was my mom who greeted me, looming tall above me, and lifting me up in her arms after I woke up.

“Good morning, little Ben!” she said happily. “You look like you’ve had a good night’s sleep, am I right?”

“Yeah,” I mumbled, still feeling pretty sleepy. “Oh God, this still feels so weird.”

So began the second day of my new miniature life. Settling into it proved to be a lot easier than it had been yesterday. Mom and Emily had both been very supportive all the way and I felt lucky to have such a great family to spend time with. Mom had also made good on her promise and made some new clothes for me – mostly simple T-shirts and pants, which she’d sewn together from some loose fabrics she had lying around. She put me down on my sister’s bed and handed me my some of my new clothes, then told me that she’ll give me some time to try them on, while she went downstairs and fetched me some breakfast. We would be leaving immediately afterwards. Mom was already dressed for work in a dark blue jacket, knee-length skirt, and high heels. After she’d left the room, I slipped off Emily’s dress and tried on my new, more masculine clothes. They were comfortable enough, but they were bit bulky and didn’t fit me exactly. I couldn’t complain, though. It was better than having to wear a dress, in any case.

After breakfast, it was time to set off. Emily usually took the bus to her school, so she left a little bit earlier. I would be riding along with Mom in her car. Since I was still supposed to be a secret, Mom didn’t want everyone at the facility she works at to know about me, merely the couple of co-workers who’d helped her to develop the shrinking serum. So, she decided to carry me in a small basket once we arrived at the place, covered in several blankets. This would look innocent enough and she could always make an excuse as to what she needed a basket filled with blankets for. On the way there, however, she gave me the choice of sitting in the passenger seat next to her or in her lap while she was driving. I chose to sit in her lap, of course – it was way comfier, after all. Only the lower bit of the oversized seatbelt covered me as I sat on her skirt, but it was almost as wide as my torso and more than enough to hold me down securely. Mom’s huge arms stretched above my head from her shoulders to the steering wheel. I was way too small to see out through any of the car’s windows.

“Do you still like being this small?” she asked once she’d pulled out of the driveway and onto the road. “I’m guessing you do – even things as ordinary as riding in a car must feel like strange new experiences to you.”

“Yeah, it’s incredible!” I replied. “It’s so much fun, being this little, riding in the car with you like this – although it wouldn’t be nearly as great if you weren’t such an awesome mom.”

“Aw, Ben, that’s so nice of you to say! I was actually afraid I was being a bit too…what’s the word…overprotective of you. I know you’d much rather get by on your own, but of course that’s not an option for you right now.”

“Nah, I like it…being taken care of, I mean. Like I said before, I feel like a little kid again, and I get to have fun and not care about anything, ‘cause I know you’re there for me, Mom.”

She laughed affectionately and gave my shoulders a squeeze, her hand easily taking hold of my upper body. I sat back and enjoyed the ride. It didn’t take long for us to reach the research facility. Mom pulled into an underground parking area and parked in an empty space. She unbuckled the seatbelt and I immediately stood up. Even though I was standing on top of her upper legs, her chest still completely dwarfed me.

“Well, here we are,” she smiled. “Are you ready to spend the next few hours being your mother’s lab rat, dear?”

“Well, I already kinda am one, so…”

“Ha, you’re funny! Okay, come on, let’s hide you inside the basket. Climb in and lie down, then I’ll cover you with the blankets. And please let me know if you’re not comfortable in there, okay?”

I did as I was told and got into the two-foot-long basket. The blankets were a lot heavier than they looked, but Mom put several of them beneath me to cushion me, so it wasn’t that bad. She also folded up the ones on top of me a bit, giving me room to breathe while still concealing me completely. She then got out of the car and gathered up her briefcase, handbag, and other work items, before tucking the basket under one arm and heading to the nearby elevator. I was looking forward to my first day away from home while shrunk and to meeting some new people. The only thing that could go ruin my day was if things between me and Kara fell apart. Mom had promised to call her this afternoon, and then perhaps tomorrow or Wednesday she’d pop by for a visit. I was really eager to see Kara again, though I was also dreading it, since so many things could go wrong. But I guess it wouldn’t do for me to back out now. I’d accepted my mother’s advice, and I was going to trust her that things would turn out okay.