“Sweetheart…”

 My heart dropped into my stomach as the echoes of Jennifer’s lilting voice drifted in from the foyer. She was already home?! My eyes shot to the clock—it was only 2:00! She should’ve been at work for another three hours, at least! I was supposed to have the rest of the afternoon to figure out how to get away from her!

 I mean, I could’ve just run. I can still reach doorknobs… for now. But where would I have gone? I’m too small to drive a car now, and she took my phone away weeks ago, storing it on a high shelf in the kitchen where I had no hope of reaching it. I thought I still had the rest of the day to formulate a plan, but now, here she was, strolling into the living room as I just stood there, dumbfounded.

 “Surprised to see me?” she asked. I just stared, frozen. She was dressed plainly: a pair of jeans and a light blue blouse, her blond hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. She smiled warmly at me, and despite everything, I felt my heart flutter. Jennifer’s always been pretty, but ever since I’ve started shrinking—ever since she’s started shrinking me—something about her is just… different. She’s so big now, compared to me. Every single part of her, the curve of her hips, the swell of her breast, her crystal clear blue eyes… everything about her was magnified from my perspective. Just seeing her stride toward me, towering over me at more than double my size, was completely overwhelming.

 When she reached me, she scooped me up in her arms without even breaking her stride; ever since I’d gotten light enough for her to lift, she found an excuse to pick me up whenever possible. As she carried me toward the sofa, she planted a kiss on my cheek and hugged me to her chest. My anxieties started to drain away as she pressed her warm, soft lips into me. I breathed in sharply and my lungs were filled with her scent, and I could feel my muscles relaxing in response. I struggled against the feeling, screwing my eyes shut. Focus. Don’t let her do this to you again.

 If she noticed the grimace on my face, she didn’t pay it any mind.

 Jennifer sat down on the sofa and set me on her lap, her massive arms snaked around me. Sitting on her left thigh, my legs dangled off of her right, not quite long enough for my feet to reach the couch cushion. Even on her lap, I only came up to her chin. I was barely three feet tall now, but nothing ever made me feel as small as when Jennifer held me like this. I tried my best not to tremble as I fought the urge to give in to her warm, gentle eyes.

 “I faked sick to come home a little early,” she explained as she gently ran a hand down my leg. “I was worried about leaving you home alone for so long. And besides, I had to be here to do our daily routine!”

 No. No no no no no no no.

 “That’s right, sweetie!” she said in response to the alarm on my face. “It’s 2:00, and you know what that means!” I tried to say something, but panic robbed me of my words. My mouth was suddenly bone-dry.

 “It’s time for you to get smaller!”

 As soon as she said the word “smaller,” I felt the temperature of her body rise. I sat as still as a statue. Her arms at this point were bigger around than my legs; struggling against her was pointless. Instead I just whimpered as the heat radiating off of her washed over me. I closed my eyes and shuddered as I felt the denim texture of her jeans shift beneath me, her arms gradually getting thicker and longer as I dwindled in her embrace.

 She pulled me in closer to her, running a hot hand through my hair. “And do you remember why you get smaller?”

 I had to say something. I had to fight the urge to give in. I was so small already. It was now or never.

 Jennifer continued on, he lips tickling my ear as she whispered into it. “You get smaller for three reasons. One, because I say so. Two, because you get a little cuter every time you shrink. And you’re so cute already!” She paused to give me another kiss, and I held back a groan of pleasure as I felt the heat of her huge lips against the nape of my neck.

 Don’t let her win. Fight back. Don’t listen to her!

 “And three, because you love it.”

 “NO!” I managed to shout. It was the first word I had gotten out since she walked in the door.

 Instantly, the heat was gone, and so was the feeling of Jennifer’s embrace expanding around me. She sat up straight and loosened her grip on me slightly.

 “No?” The question sounded so innocent.

 “No! I don’t like this, Jennifer! Of course I don’t! Who would?!”

 She stared down at me with a mixture of concern and confusion.

 “You don’t like getting smaller for me?” I felt a sudden pang of guilt at the thought that I was upsetting her, but I fought past it.

 “Jennifer, look at me. I’m getting too small to even take care of myself anymore!”

 “Well… you don’t need to take care of yourself. That’s what you have me for.”

 “That’s not the same thing and you know it! Please, please, I’m begging you to stop.”

 Jennifer was quiet for a few minutes, staring off thoughtfully. I thought about how pathetic I must look, sitting in her lap, looking up at her with pleading eyes.

 “Sweetheart, if you haven’t been enjoying this… why haven’t you said anything until now?”

 “That’s, I—! Jennifer, what could I possibly say!? I found out that my new girlfriend is a… a witch or something! I didn’t know what else you could do to me! And before long, I couldn’t even hope to overpower you physically!”

 Jennifer sniffled a little, and I could feel my willpower crumbling. It’s just a side effect from the shrinking, I told myself. Or, who knows, if she can cast a spell to change my body, maybe she can mess with my mind, too. Stay strong.

 “Baby, I… I had no idea you felt this way. I wish you’d spoken up sooner. I thought we were having fun together. You seemed like you were enjoying yourself.”

 “Well, I… I don’t know, I guess I kind of was at first? But—”

 “Why didn’t you leave? If this has been so terrible for you, and you didn’t feel like you could talk to me about it, then why didn’t you just… leave me? You’ve been here alone all day, after all.”

 “That’s… that’s exactly what I was planning to do. But I didn’t know where to go or… I was still making plans, and you surprised me.”

 “Well, that’s it then.” Jennifer gently set me down on the floor before standing up. Since the spell was interrupted, I hadn’t shrunken as much this time, but I had still gotten noticeably smaller. A lump formed in my throat as I processed the fact that she towered over me just a little bit more now.

 “If you aren’t enjoying this, then there’s absolutely no reason to continue. I’m so sorry, babe. I promise, I never wanted to upset you. I’ll restore you back to your full size, and you’ll be free to go.”

 “Wait, really?” She was taking this surprisingly well.

 “Of course! Here, give me your hand.”

 I held my hand above my head, and even so she had to stoop a little to grasp it. My tiny hand was completely lost in her grip as I felt a pulse of warmth shoot through me.

 It happened so quickly that I lost my footing, landing on my butt with a thud. My head swam a little from the sudden change in perspective, but as I pulled myself to my feet, I saw that she really had made me normal again.

 “Thank you, Jennifer, I—”

 My voice caught in my throat.

 “Something wrong, sweetheart?”

 My breaths got heavier as I looked around the room. I was back to normal, but… normal felt wrong. The living room had been cavernous just moments ago, and now the walls felt too close together, the ceiling too low. It was a normal room but it felt oppressively claustrophobic. My hand brushed against the armrest of the sofa, and that too felt wrong; the threads of the upholstery felt too fine to the touch. Being big again made me feel… uncomfortable. Exposed. I was the same size I’d always been, the same size I’d been only two weeks ago, but it felt completely alien to me now.

 And Jennifer. She just stood there, smiling that same sweet smile as she studied my reactions, patiently looking at me. Looking up at me. Moments ago she had seemed like an impossible titaness, a creature of legend, a goddess that made my heart melt just by looking at me. Now, she just looked like an ordinary woman, standing an ordinary five foot six. I was a full head taller than her, and for some reason, that notion filled me with anxiety.

 “What… w-what did you do to me?” I managed to finally say. If she can change your body, she can mess with your mind.

 “Oh, baby,” she cooed, taking a step toward me. I took a step back. “I didn’t do anything at all. I gave you exactly what you asked for.” She took another step forward, and this time I stood still. She slipped her arms around me, and I found it oddly stomach-turning that her body felt so… insubstantial compared to mine now.

 “That’s all I’ve ever done, is give you exactly what you ask me for. Because, you see, I know a little secret about you.” She stood up on her toes to whisper once more into my ear.

 “You’re full of shit.”

 I had at least a foot of height and probably a hundred pounds on her now, and still she was effortlessly able to make me panic and freeze up.

 “You haven’t kept your mouth shut because you were afraid of me. You haven’t stuck around just because you couldn’t figure out an escape plan. The reason you haven’t said anything, the reason you’ve stayed here even though I’ve never once tried to force you, is because you like it. Shrinking for me, surrendering yourself to me, that’s what you want deep down in your heart.”

 “N-no, Jennifer, that isn’t true. I—”

 “Baby. That’s how the magic works. I couldn’t shrink you if you didn’t want it. That’s why it stopped when you said no. It has been adorable watching you wind yourself up, convincing yourself that I’m a big, bad, evil witch who’s shrinking you against your will, but that just isn’t true.”

 “You’re lying, that, that isn’t…” I raised a hand in front of me, and she quickly moved to clasp both of hers around it. My train of thought was completely derailed as I looked at the way her dainty fingers fit into my palm. When I was shrunken, seeing her hand completely engulf my own had been terrifying, but now that I was back to normal, I realized that it had also brought with it something else. A sense of… security, something that her grasp now lacked.

 “It’s the truth. You’ve been telling yourself a story this entire time. And as fun as it’s been, it’s run its course. That’s what today was all about.”

 “Wh… What?”

 “I left you here alone on purpose, sweetie, to see what you would do. Well, to let you see for yourself what you would do. I’m a witch, I don’t have a job. I’ve been at the coffee shop on the corner all morning! I wanted to give you the chance to escape that you’ve been telling yourself that you’ve been looking for! And what did you do? You sat here and you made up excuses for why you couldn’t leave! ‘Still making plans?’ The front door was unlocked, you didn’t need any plans.” Jennifer gently guided me toward the sofa to sit down. Every step I took felt awkward, lumbering. The couch cushion sagged under me and I was briefly struck by the fear that the seat couldn’t support my weight anymore, now that I was so big.

 Not big, normal. You’re normal now. 

 Why don’t I feel normal?

 “No, but, I couldn’t leave. My, my phone…” 

 Jennifer leaned in against me, looking up at me with her blue eyes, still as stunning as ever. A part of me ached at how small they seemed now. 

 “Baby… you weren’t that small. You could’ve gotten that phone if you really wanted to. Or you could have just left without it. If you were as scared of me as you say, then surely it would’ve been worth it to take your chances? You could’ve run to the neighbors, or to the police. They would’ve protected you from your big, scary girlfriend.”

 I was hyperventilating as she spoke. She was wrong. She had to be. I just, I just needed to think of how to explain my thought process to her. Except I couldn’t think because the damn walls felt like they were closing in on me. Why was this living room so small!

 “Hey, hey, hey,” she whispered gently, putting a hand to my cheek. “It’s okay. I know this is a lot to take in. You’re being confronted with a side of yourself that you don’t want to acknowledge. But I’ve seen it in you from the moment we met. It’s the part of you that I’ve been attracted to from the beginning. The part of you that yearns to be protected, and nurtured, and treasured.” She scooted away from me a bit and gently guided me to lean down and rest my head against her chest. It was so much more awkward now that she was the smaller one. 

 “You’re big on the outside, but you’ve never been big on the inside, sweetie. You’re a tiny, precious, frightened little creature. And you’ve had to spend your whole life pretending to be something that you’re not. I’m trying to give you freedom, not take it away. Freedom to be exactly what you’ve always wanted to be. What you’ve always been.”

 I breathed in, my nostrils once more filled with her scent.

 Don’t listen to her.

 She’s trying to trick you.

 You’re so close. Don’t give up now!

 “Okay,” I muttered. She immediately propped me back up, looking at me adoringly.

 “Okay?”

 “Okay,” I confirmed, though I couldn’t bring myself to look her in the eye as I spoke. Jennifer smiled coyly.

 “Okay what, baby?”

 I took a deep breath. “Okay. You can… You can shrink me again.”

 Immediately, Jennifer was back on her feet, pulling me back off the couch. A voice in my head was screaming, but I didn’t have the energy to do what it told me. The room was too confining, and Jennifer being so little was stressing me out. I wanted to feel the safety of her enormous embrace again. I needed it. I’d been taking it for granted all this time, and now that it was gone, all I could think about was getting it back.

 “Oh baby, I’m so glad! I really would have let you leave if you wanted to, you know.”

 “I know.” I looked at the ground, ashamed.

 “Well, all that’s left is to decide just how much to shrink you! I’ve been taking it slow to help you get used to it, but I can make you any size you’d like. So, just how little do you want to be?”

 My head shot up and I looked her in the eye. She wanted me to decide? I… I had no idea. I was still getting used to the idea that this was something I wanted at all. I tried to say as much, but all I could do was stammer. Jennifer placed a finger to my lips to hush me.

 “Let’s explore some options, hm? After all, I want to be sure I’m giving you exactly what you want. If you’d like, we could take it slow again. I could make you… my size.”

 A wave of heat cascaded from Jennifer, and as it crashed into me I was overwhelmed with a sense of vertigo. In an instant, I was looking straight ahead into her eyes.

 I already felt better, and whatever was left of the old me hated that.

 “That’s really not too much of a change, though, is it? Would you like it if I took a bit more off the top?” She giggled a little at her own wordplay as another wave of heat rolled over me, and I was suddenly craning my neck to maintain eye contact. She pulled me into a hug, and I was no longer tall enough to see over her shoulders.

 “Anything you want, sweetie. Just name your size, and I’ll make it happen.”

 “I… I…” I had found my answer, but I was struggling to speak it. Jennifer gently stroked my hair and patiently waited.

 “I want to be… I want to be as s-small as you want me.” Jennifer’s face broke into a wild grin.

 “Oh baby,” she purred. “Good answer.” Her body got hotter than I’d ever felt it, almost too hot, and her embrace grew tighter.

 “Remind me, sweetheart. What are the three reasons you’re getting smaller?”

 I shuddered. She was holding me so tightly that as my body diminished, my feet lifted up off the floor.

 “O-one, because… Because you say so.” She adjusted her grip on me, cradling me in her arms.

 “Two… because I… Because I get cuter every time I shrink.” She nodded along enthusiastically, and I felt her hand expanding beneath me. In seconds, I was small enough to fit in her palm, and she gently cupped her hands around me as she brought me up to her face.

 “And… and three… Because…” Her fingers slowly turned into pillars, then towers, then mountains. The ridges of her palm rose up beneath me, growing and rolling away like waves. I was no more than a speck, lost in the creases of her hand. The living room had grown so large and so distant that it was nothing but an abstract smear of colors, far too massive for me to make out any distinct shapes. High overhead, Jennifer’s eyes hung like twin suns. It seemed impossible that she could even still see me, let alone hear me, and yet I was certain that she could; the adoring gaze of that far-off, cosmic face couldn’t possibly be faked.

 “Because I love it.”