“What? What's that noise, what's happening?” I asked, feeling my stomach rise into my throat.

Candice held up one large hand, motioning me to silence. “Stop. Stop talking, and just listen to me. Something is going to be here soon. When it shows up, you have to do exactly what I tell you. Don't ask questions, don't argue. It is vitally important that you give me your complete trust right now. Can you do that?”

“SOMETHING is coming? I....”

“There's just no time for this. I need an answer.”

I took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “Can I trust you? Well duh, that part is easy. It's just...I have no idea what the hell is going on here. But I promise you this: whatever happens, we're in it together. No matter what.”

She flashed me a broad smile, and all but the faintest hint of worry drained from her eyes. We embraced, her gigantic frame completely enveloping mine. The rushing sound continued to build around us, but still we held each other. Her body was warm, and familiar despite its size. As the strange noise reached a crescendo, she released me at last. “You might want to stand back,” she said cryptically. I obeyed.

The air between us shimmered, and I saw a cloud of energy gathering in front of Candice. The cloud swirled, picking up speed, and something that I might call an animal began to congeal out of it. I've thought on this long and hard, and there is simply no way that I can adequately explain what this thing looked like. Imagine a cross between a trilobite fossil and an alien, specifically the kind of alien that is sometimes called a Grey, with the big oval head and black almond-shaped eyes. Imagine also that it is composed entirely of wispy fog, with little specks of glitter floating around inside its semitransparent body. It's alive, or something very much like alive, and it's aware of you. You see it clearly enough, and you might trick yourself into believing that what you're looking at is real. Yet you also get the sense that this is not its true nature. But by far the strongest impression you get is of the terrible, terrible anger it is emitting. And, without knowing how you know, you can tell that the target of all this anger is none other than your oversized girlfriend.

“Whatever you do, don't let it know you're afraid,” she whispered. Candice smiled at the thing placidly, seeming perfectly at ease. “We can use it, or it will use us; those are our only options. Now, while it's focused on me, walk over here and hold my hand. Slowly.” I did, trying my best to ignore the inter-dimensional horror floating only inches away from her face.

“This thing is...well, it's complicated. Let's just say that it's the physical form of the power I was using earlier, free of any of the restrictions I put on it. Right now, it wants me. It wants to feed off my body the same way I was feeding off its energy. We have to dissipate it, use it up. The only problem is, it isn't going to take orders from me anymore. But if we're really lucky, we might be able to trick it. And I'm sorry to tell you this, but you're the only one here who can do it.”

Much to my credit, I gave no outward sign of the cold terror that her words instilled in me. “Okay,” I said, my voice barely cracking at all. “Tell me how.”

I think she knew what must have been running through my head just then, and she squeezed my hand reassuringly. “Close your eyes, Seth. Think of something, the thing you want more than anything else in the world. Feel your desire for it, feel how badly you want it. In your mind, reach out to the creature, and use it to get what you want. Don't ask it, don't order it – use it. Like a hammer, or an axe. When it's in its raw form like this, there are almost no limits to what it can give you. Fame, fortune, powers beyond your wildest dreams. But whatever you do, do it now. I don't know how much longer I can hold it off.”

I nodded, and through sheer force of will managed to quiet my pounding heart. It seemed I had a decision to make – and what a decision! Probably every person who has lived in the last two millennia has thought about this: the Aladdin scenario. To be able to wish for anything you want – it's almost a primal fantasy. People think it through, they plan it carefully, knowing full well that in any rational universe there is no chance whatsoever that they will ever have the opportunity to make that one, perfect wish. I am no exception – in fact, I've probably spent more time at it than most.

And yet, at this most impossible and wonderful moment, the only thing I could think about was everything that could go wrong. A wish for wealth brings only the fear that it will be taken away; a wish for fame the loss of privacy and of any semblance of a normal life. I could try to bring about world peace, to right the wrongs of the world. But I am realistic enough to know that if I started making broad, sweeping changes to a complex system that I can't even begin to understand, that I could only bring ruin to that which I'd hoped to save.

I froze, locked in indecision. And all the while I could hear the creature's horrid breathing, could feel the cold sweat gathering on my girlfriend's outsized palm. I looked up into her eyes, the top of her head stretching almost two feet above my own. It seemed as though hours had passed since her last growth spurt – or maybe more like it had happened in a different lifetime. I remembered how elated and carefree I had felt watching her grow, and how strangely erotic the whole process had been. It was strange to think that I had been thrust into the position of protecting someone so large, who looked perfectly capable of defending herself. But what was size against a threat like the one the creature posed? How big would she have to be to stand any chance?

I don't think I actually SAID the word 'Eureka' at that point, but I damn sure felt it.