“Mmmmmm, Ren.” Molly’s eyes remained shut, lost in a dream too good to be true. Renton kissed her again. Her lips curled upward. “Stop it, babe. I’m trying to sleep.” He kissed her one more time. “Oh, I love you too.” The tiny man stood up and turned to her ear.

            “Molly! Wake up!” he shouted, his squeaks just audible enough to reach her. Slowly, her eyes blinked open, dazed by the sudden interruption.

            “Ren?” she asked. Her eyes were pointed straight ahead, not thinking to look down at what little of her face she’d even be able to see. She was too drowsy to notice the little feet standing above her lips.

            “Molly! I’m right-” Renton felt his world slip out from beneath him as Molly sat up. She turned her face forward as she rose, sending Renton tumbling onto her pillow. Looking up at her, Renton was mesmerized by the half-naked woman towering over him. The face he was standing on only seconds ago was now a mile out of reach. Her bare breasts, already voluptuous at a regular size, were nothing short of mammothian, each nipple more than twice his height in diameter. Renton was frozen beneath the feminine monolith.

            Molly glanced around her bedroom in search of the voice she thought she had heard. Realizing it was just a dream, she sighed and started to fall forward before noticing something on her pillow. She leaned forward, her face zooming to unfathomable focus before the puny Renton, too astonished to react. Her dreary eye hung over him like a pall, filling his sky as the woman processed what she was observing. She pulled back and rubbed her eyes, shocked when the shrunken image of her dead lover was still there.

            “Fuck, now I’m hallucinating?” she muttered to herself. Renton broke free from his trance and waved his arms.

            “No, Molly, I’m real!” he shouted. Ignoring his squeaks, Molly slid the tip of her index finger behind him, pinching him between it and her thumb. The force with which she pulled him should have snapped his neck as she brought him to her wakened eye. The pressure between her fingers was enough to crush his organs to paste were he still alive; it was almost as bad as being caught beneath her sneaker, though Renton much preferred the warm touch of her skin to the rubber sole.

            “He even feels real,” she muttered.

            “That’s because I am!” Molly clutched her forehead, wondering if grief could cause concussions.

            “This is too intense. I gotta call Dr. Chapra.” Molly dropped Renton carelessly onto the bed as she got up to find her phone and call her therapist. The mattress lurched violently as Molly stood up off it, sending Renton bouncing on its well-worn yet supple surface. Molly’s phone was among the contents of her purse scattered outside her bedroom, but she was too flustered to remember that at the moment. She searched high and low for it, sifting through clothes and feeling around the nightstand for the device, taking the occasional glance towards the tiny man on her bed to see if he was still there. Once he could stand uninterrupted, Renton racked his brain for a way to convince her he was real. Admittedly, it was understandable that she would mistake her centimeter tall, undead lover for a figment of her grief-stricken imagination. All the while, Molly continued her fruitless search. “Dammit, where did I put that thing?”

            Knock-knock-knock!

            Molly was startled by the banging at her front door. “Who the?” She quickly slipped on an undershirt and sweatpants, taking one last glance at Renton before leaving the room, upset that he hadn’t dissipated.

            Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock!

            “I’m coming!” Molly yanked open the door. Standing on the other side was an excessively cute, pink haired woman in an Evanescence t-shirt and blue plaid skirt. She stood a foot shorter than Molly.

            “Heya, superstar!” the stranger greeted with a toothy grin. “Have you seen Ren around?”

            Who the hell? Molly thought “I’m sorry, he… passed a few days ago.”

            “I know that,” she pouted, placing her hands to her hips. “I mean, have you seen him recently, like, in the past minute or so.” Molly’s skin went pale, and beads of sweat dotted her forehead. Who the hell is this woman?

            “Who are you, and how do you know Ren?”

            “Name’s Petra. I’m Ren’s guardian angel!” Two white dove wings spread out from her back. Molly stared at her, eyes wide open and mouth agape. Petra held her hand out to shake Molly’s. After a minute of motionless silence, Molly slammed the door in the angel’s face and rushed back into her bedroom. Renton hadn’t moved, still clueless on how to advance. Molly practically slid across the floor as she fell to her knees by her bedside.

            “Ren! Ren, is that really you!?” she asked, cupping her hands around him, forming a high-rise barrier of fingers and palms. Her statuesque face filled in the gap between her wrists, making it so Molly’s body was the only thing visible to the tiny, save for the ceiling miles overhead.

            “Yes! It’s me. I know this is insane, but I’m really back!” Molly couldn’t breathe, her focus trained on the mite of a man before her.

            “I need proof. I need to know I’m not just seeing things.” She squinted, her dry eyes prepping for another stream, but she was all dried out by this point. “If this all a dream, then I can’t bear to wake up. I can’t lose you again.”

            “What can I do?” Ren asked. “I’ll do anything, just tell me!” Molly thought for a moment.

            “Tell me something you would know that I wouldn’t,” she came up with.

            “How can you verify what I’m saying’s right?”

            “Um, I don’t know.” Molly shifted her eyes, desperately searching for an idea.

            Something I would know that she wouldn’t? Renton’s eyes lit up as he remembered something. “Molly, remember that coffee mug you misplaced? The one that belonged to your grandma?”

            “Yeah, what about it?”

            “You didn’t lose it. I knocked it off the shelf and broke it. I knew it was special to you, so I hid it and feigned ignorant about where it went. I was going to glue it back together, but that was when my health really started deteriorating and it sorta slipped my mind.” He scratched at the back of his neck, embarrassed he’d forgotten to fix it.

            “Well, where is it?” Molly asked.

            “In the closet, in that tin lunch pail we keep old photos in.” Molly jolted to the closet and felt around the top shelf until she found the tin box. She grabbed and opened it. On top of some childhood photographs sat the crumbled remains of an antique mug. Molly looked back to the bed; Renton was still standing there. There were two possibilities: a healthy young woman who had shown no previous signs of mental illness created an extremely elaborate illusion in her head to reunite with her recently deceased lover, going so far as to construct multiple characters and objects to flesh out the dream, or Renton had miraculously resurrected and was now no bigger than one of her fingernails. Her brain told her that the former was the only logical conclusion, but her heart led her to the truth.

            “Ren!” Molly flung herself onto her lover, nuzzling him against her tear-stained cheek. From a sudden twist to her emotional state, the faucets in Molly’s eyes turned back on, showering Renton’s puny frame in her love. “You’re alive! You’re actually alive!”

            “I am!” he cried, his tears lost in the sea of his partner’s. “I’m so sorry! I’m sorry for everything I put you through!”

            “It’s okay! You’re back, and that’s all I care about!” she pulled him away from her face and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Though, I have to ask: why are you so small?”

            “Allow me to catch you up to speed,” Petra said, leaning against the bedroom’s doorframe. Her wings were folded up against her back.

            “The angel?” Molly muttered. With the revelation that her husband was alive, she had completely forgotten about her mysterious visitor. “Is this your doing?”

            “Sort of,” Renton chimed in from Molly’s all-encasing hand. “It’s a long story.”

…

            The three situated themselves in the living room as Petra regaled the couple with the inner workings of the afterlife and the Heaven’s Reborn Initiative. Molly sat on the love seat, its vacant spot no longer taunting her as Renton was nestled in her grip. Her index finger was wrapped around most of his body while she fussed his hair with her thumb. Petra sat across from them, her skirt-clad butt planted on the coffee table. During the interim, she had set up a soul connection between Molly and Renton, allowing the woman to hear her puny husband’s voice in perfect clarity without him having to shout. In all honesty, Molly was only half paying attention to the angel, too elated by her lover’s return to be interested in anything else, but she picked up the important parts.

            “That’s a lot to take in,” Molly commented, having just been lectured on the true nature of the universe. “But I get to keep Ren forever? There’s no catch, like a time limit or ritual?”

            “Nope! You’ll have him the rest of your life. Then, when it’s your time to die, you’ll both go to-” Petra stopped herself, almost revealing too much. “I mean, he’ll return to Heaven and wait there for your judgment. Oh, but you can’t let anyone else know about him!”

            “Not even his parents?” If Molly was only half-listening, then Renton was paying even less attention, hypnotized by the rhythmic motions of Molly petting him.

            “Absolutely no one. As far as everyone else is concerned, Ren is dead and buried. If anybody sees him, I have to take him back to the afterlife, immediately.” Molly tightened her grip around Renton, scared by the very thought of losing him again. The pressure was immense on his miniscule frame, like an extra tight hug from his beloved. “But at that size, you shouldn’t have much problem keeping him out of sight.” Petra turned her focus to Ren, amused at him being smothered by Molly’s hand. “And if you need anything at all, I’m always a simple call away. Think of me like your personal butler, ready and willing to accommodate for your… diminutive stature.”

            “There’s no more tests?” Renton pleaded. “You’re not going to get me stepped on anymore?” Molly cocked an eyebrow, curious as to what the two had been up to while he was dead. Petra leaned back and tugged at her collar, unwilling to meet the sprite’s eye.

            “You’ll get a kick out of this,” she chuckled. “Turns out the rulebook Cindy lent me was an older edition. We haven’t required a test for, um, a few decades after too many sprites wound up stuck under their loved one’s footwear.” Renton’s head was barely poking out from Molly’s grip, much of it obscured by her massive thumb pressing down onto it, but even a slight glimpse of the red dot was enough to realize he was seething. “I only caught the error a half-hour ago, that’s why I came here in the first place. I would’ve helped you sooner if I could.”

            “I’m not entirely sure what you guys are talking about,” Molly said, bringing Renton closer to her face, “but I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you. If that means keeping you a secret from the world, then so be it.” She released her grip on him and pushed his body up her index finger with her thumb like he was a small toy. She pressed her lips to her fingertip, enveloping Renton in a full-body kiss. The soft flesh consumed him, the warmth of her breath dispersing all the misfortune he had ever felt. He was in paradise, and having been to the actual Heaven, Renton could confirm that it couldn’t compare to his wife’s heavenly presence. Molly pried her husband from her lips and giggled when she saw him covered in lip gloss. “I can’t get over how adorable you are now.” Petra chanted an incantation, and a silver rune passed through Ren, wiping away the makeup staining him. “Petra, you know, I can take care of him myself. I’ve been doing it for a long time now. You don’t have to trouble yourself over him.”

            “It’s no trouble. It’s literally my job,” she said as a point of pride. Renton felt bad that, even after death, he was still so dependent on the generosity of others. He was finally healthy, invincible even, but now he was so small it was as if he hadn’t recovered at all. Having two beautiful, colossal women fawn over him was a blessing, one he refused to take for granted, and he hoped someday he’d find a way to repay the favor. “Well, now that everything’s settled, I’ll leave you two be. And remember, if you need anything just gimme a call.” She held her thumb and pinky out mimicking a phone and then vanished in a flash of light.

…

            The clock approached midnight, and Molly was laying sprawled out on the floor. Renton walked along her outstretched arm like a balance beam, holding his arms out while he inched towards his wife’s torso. The two hadn’t left the apartment all evening, having no interest in anything but each other. They had spent most of that time kissing, cuddling, and playing little games with each other. The five days they had been separated for felt like an eternity, and they were taking their sweet time making up for it. The beatific bliss felt too good to be true; Molly was still terrified that at any minute she’d wake up and learn that all this was a cruel dream, but she suppressed her doubts, unwilling to let them taint her euphoria.

            “With you being pocket size, you realize I’m taking you everywhere from now on.” Molly said as Renton reached her bicep. “It’s wild that, after all that time you spent stuck in bed, I can just keep you on my person and carry you wherever I want.”

            “We just have to be careful I don’t get spotted,” Renton added. “Heaven’s nice and all, but I couldn’t stand to be stuck there without you.” The sprite reached her shoulder and leaned in for a kiss, his wife covering the remaining distance as she smooched him.

            “Don’t worry, I’ve been thinking up plenty of hiding spots. My pockets will work; they’re too small for anything else anyway. There’s also my purse; that thing could double as an entire house for you.” Molly picked him up and dangled him over her body. She rested her right foot onto her left thigh and held Renton up to her bare sole, her toes wiggling excitedly. “If you misbehave, I could always toss you in my sock, use you as an insole or a toe divider.” Renton gulped, unsure how he felt about the prospect. “Who knows? You may even develop a foot fetish at that size.” She stretched her leg back out and brought Renton to her chest. “But I get the feeling I know where you want me to put you.” She cupped her considerable breasts with her forearm, making note of the semi forming in her love’s white silk pants. “And if you’re really good…” She lowered him until he was above her crotch. “…I’ll let you into heaven’s gate. Through the front or back, if you’d like.” It was hard to see, but Molly could swear she saw teardrops fall from Renton’s eyes onto her clothes. She sat up and quickly pulled him up to her face. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

            “I’m sorry,” he whimpered, rubbing his eyes. “That day in the hospital, I was so scared I would never see you again, and… and… I’m so happy to be with you.” The waterworks started back up in Molly’s eyes as she pressed Renton against her chest, holding him tightly against the pounding drum of her beating heart.

            “It’s okay, honey. I’ll never let you go. We’ll be together always, I swear.”