A twenty minute walk later, and the children were free of the bathroom, now free to wander the desert plain of hardwood that made up the living room floor. Joanna was busying herself with makeup, and clothes, and would be for a while. It was good that they knew her routine; they could plan accordingly, and if timed right, could find safety, and a route to higher ground.
Another half hour passed without incident. The kids were quiet, mostly, other than a soft moan from one of them. They were all hurt, but knew that complaining would do very little. They had decided that climbing the couch, which had material hanging down to the floor, would be the best case scenario. It was centered in the living room, which meant it was only a short walk, for normal people to get to anywhere in the house. Their mom would have to pass by it eventually, even if it was hours later. She may even sit to work out her schedule before going to the office. It was the best chance they had for survival. There were no obstacles in their path; it was a straight shot from the bathroom, through the foyer/entryway, to the living room. As long as Joanna stayed in the bathroom as long as normal, they were golden.
Well, until something unexpected happened. They‘d heard something familiar in the distance coming from the entryway, but couldn’t place it, until seconds later, the much more familiar sound of the front door opening.
“Hey, mom? You still here?” The voice of Tiffany, the kids’ older step-sister, rung loudly through the house. They couldn’t see her yet, but it was unmistakable, and a chill ran through their spines. Tiffany was an unexpected visitor, who lived with her boyfriend half an hour away.
“Tiffany? What on earth are you doing here?” Joanna’s voice called from her bathroom. The kids froze in fear. They were at the mid-point of their path, directly between the entryway and the living room, which meant both women would have to go by them to meet each other. It was an unforeseen obstacle, as it only got worse.
“..RUN!” The word had become the theme for the trio’s tiny lives. Those all too familiar thuds haunted them once again, this time in doubles, as both women headed to meet each other. Ahead of them, they watched as Tiffany’s black flip-flop clad feet turned the corner around the couch, the familiar *THUD, CLOP* sound threatening to decimate their ears with each of her steps. Behind them, the higher pitched sound Joanna’s leader, heeled slip-ons resonated threateningly. Allison and Danny ran in one direction, while Jake ran in the other. They both knew splitting up was a terrible decision, but they also had no time to argue in which way to run.
“My dad said he was going to drop my brothers and sisters off here yesterday, and wanted me to pick them up this morning…they didn’t tell you?” Tiffany spoke, taking her final step into the living room, just as Joanna did. The young mother reached out to embrace her oldest daughter, grinning widely. She hadn’t seen Tiffany in easily two weeks, which used to be far too long.
“No! I haven’t heard from your father, or the kids since your father picked them up Friday, but it’s not unlike them to do something without asking me…or even telling me.” She sighed, letting go of Tiffany, to allow her hands to embrace her cheeks. “Oh gosh, Tiffany, you’re so beautiful…just like I was when I was your age.”
“Mom, no! “ Again, Jake was at the wrath of his mother’s feet, this time though, it was much different. The inch-tall heel raised above his head like a sky scraper, as Joanna stepped forward to hug Tiffany. The entire arch of the shoe was like the entrance to some magnificent coliseum, and he could see the intricate stitching and detail of its creation. He ran desperately in the opposite direction, hoping to catch up witch Allison and Danny.
His other siblings, however, had less room forever. While Jake had the high arch of Joanna’s heels to protect him, these two were at the flat, unforgiving flip-flops of their older sister. The platform of the soles towered above them as high as their house had been when they were normal sized. Obviously used and worn, there were numerous scratched and cuts in its surface, easily climbable for the miniature siblings. Farther above, Tiffany’s ominous toes rested gently in the footwear, innocently lying still as Tiffany was hugged by her mother.
“Danny, we have to climb onto Tiffany’s shoe, c’mon!” Allison called out, heading towards the massive structure that supported their sister’s foot. Danny followed with hesitance.
“What about Jake?” He asked, trying to keep up with Allison’s larger strides.
“He’ll be fine, I promise…come on, before she moves her foot and squishes us!” Allison stood at the base of the idle footwear, and Danny approached, taking his sister’s advice. She put her hands together, leaning down for Danny to step in, and with a heavy push and a groan, Danny grabbed hold of the highest crack in the sandal, pulling himself up, and climbing the rest of the way up to the sole of the shoe. Allison climbed, using her 6 inches over Danny to step into the highest crack she could, and soon, they both stood in front of Tiffany’s massive, pink-painted toes. They wiggled just barely; threatening to crush the children under their weight should they make a wrong move. There was no choice though, as they began to crawl on their hands and knees towards the sweet smelling digits.
Jake had a similar plan, and was closer to Tiffany’s other foot. He’d arrived in front of Tiffany’s toes on the opposite foot at a similar time as Allison, but could not see each other. Less afraid of the petite toes, even with the reared up threateningly, and crashed down in front of him, he headed towards the thick thong of the flip flop, where there was less chance of being crushed. Once between the toes, Jake remembered that familiar smell of flesh and lotion. The toes created massive canyons with rippling intricately toe prints, easy hand holds for someone his size. For now, he took residence deeper between his sister’s toes, grabbing hold of the thongs surface, and bracing for her first step.
As the women continued to chat, Danny and Allison had reached Tiffany’s toes, and used those similar toe prints as Jake had noticed, to climb the soft, fleshy skin. With each other’s help, they scaled the massive middle toe, and reach the crevice where their goddess of a sister’s giant toenail met the flesh it was attached to. The pink paint was barely peeling here, but they found that the skin in Tiffany’s toenail bed was slightly more calloused, and easy able to hold on to. The two didn’t speak, other than a worried look from Danny to Allison, and a confident, gentle smile in return to her little brother.
Looking behind them, they could see across the vast, pink field that was their sister’s toenail, all the way back to the fleshy cuticle. Once she was more settled, they would eventually cross that threshold. It gave Allison goose bumps to know that she was so small, that her older sister’s toe dwarfed her like it was giant. She just hoped Jake was safe. The massive toe arched up as Tiffany prepared to take a step, and the duo held tight, fearful of tumbling down the length of the soft toe.
It would be a long day.