"Did you want to ask me something?" she said.

"Yes."

"Well be quick about it. I was about to swallow you whole."

"When you do, I'll never be able to be with a beautiful woman like you. Is there any chance you could spend one night with me on your pillow beside your cheek, and tell me all about your life? It's the closest I'll get to sharing it with you."

"You can snuggle up to my cheek on my pillow this afternoon, while I'm awake, but tonight, I shall have to put you in a locked cage on my bedside table. I'll leave the reading lamp on, so we can talk, but when I fall asleep, you'll still be trapped. I'll eat you for breakfast in the morning instead. Is that alright?"

"Thank you. I'm so grateful."

He enjoyed his afternoon with her. Then they had dinner, and she put him into a cage, and padlocked it, and put the key well out of his reach. They talked until she fell asleep. Then he had an idea. He put his tiny hand in the padlock, and worked the mechanism quietly, and managed to unlock it. He slipped out of the cage, jumped onto the edge of the bed, slid down the side of the blanket to the floor, and ran to the study. There was enough moonlight for him to see his way. So he climbed the desk lamp cord to the table, and found the growth serum, and took it.

Then he grew to normal size, and the light came on. He turned to see her standing in the doorway, with her hand on the light switch.

"How did you manage that?" she asked.

He explained about his escape, but was unaware that the fluctuating effects of the dispersed shrinking energy from the Ring of Reversal had since restored his size.

"I'm sure it would have been an honour to end up in your shapely stomach, but I'm young, and I have many things to do in life, including more time travelling."

"I know. Well you can't blame a lady for trying."

"I guess this is goodbye."
"Dance with me once more, before you go?"

"In the middle of the night? Why not?”

They danced for a while, and then she said, "I guess you'll want to be going. I'll walk you out to your time machine."

He farewelled her, and travelled back another twenty years further into the past, and met her 35 year old self. He did not tell her of his encounter with her 55 year old self only twenty years into his past, but did admit to being a time traveller. Then, before their eyes, his machine suddenly started smoking, and exploded.

"I guess I'm not old enough to understand the quantum physics as well as I thought," he said, "My invention must have burned out its power source or something."

"Stranding you here," she said, "as an orphan. I've been left a widow by the war, for two years now. Would you like me to adopt you?"

AT THIS POINT THE WORD COUNT HAS BEEN REPEATEDLY CHECKED AT MORE THAN 500 WORDS AND YET GIANTESSWORLD KEEPS RETURNING THE “FAILED TO MEET THE MINIMUM WORD COUNT OF 500” MESSAGE. SO I WILL USE THIS PARAGRAPH TO BOOST THE WORD COUNT AND SEE IF THAT BYPASSES THE MALFUNCTIONING ONLINE SOFTWARE..