An unexpected visit

Thesis Project, Chapter 1: Strolling

Taking a simple stroll around a city can become a whole new experience if it’s done in a different scaled city. It’d be an overwhelming situation if you were much smaller than the rest. You’d have to do your best to avoid being stepped on or kicked by pedestrians, who might not even notice you down there.

However, the situation would be considerably riskier if you were the giant one compared to the city’s inhabitants. A simple walk through the city could turn you into a potential Godzilla monster if you’re not careful enough. Even a simple misstep could end up in a catastrophe. This means that someone so large compared to her surroundings should be extra careful with each movement. At that scale, she’s a one-person mass destruction device...

***

The doorbell rang next morning. My head was aching and my eyes hurt. He was totally right. I was feeling like crap.

“So this is why everyone always complains about hangovers, huh?”, I thought, making an effort to stand up as the doorbell rang again.

I walked to the door and lazily opened it, rubbing my eyes. At first I didn’t see anyone, but then I noticed the tiny man standing by my feet, ringing the “Mexican” doorbell.

“Daniel?!”, I said, surprised.

“Good morning, Lena! How did you sleep?”

“I…I…I…”, I was paralyzed. Not only was I wearing totally girly pink PJ’s, with little flowers, ponies and rainbows, and a pair of fuzzy, bunny slippers; but I was also having my first hangover, and I most likely looked like a fairytale’s evil witch. Plus, considering the size difference, he probably could see much more detail of all that as if he was my scale.

“Wh…what are you doing here? How did you even know where I live? Are you stalking me?”, I asked, begging for the earth to swallow me right there.

“Stalk you? I…walked you home last night, remember?”

I felt like the biggest idiot on the planet.

“Yes…yes, hehe, of course. I was just kidding.”, I said, trying to find a way to excuse myself and freshen up a little. I found none, though, so I just said the truth.

“Why don’t you come in, then? I’ll go get changed in a second.”

“Oh, it’s OK. You look really cute with those PJ’s.”

“Oh…really?”, I asked, incredulous.

“Yes, of course. Nothing’s cuter than a girl in that kind of PJ’s. My little niece has one exactly like yours. She’s 6, and she looks adorable in them!”, he said, bursting into laughter.

I frowned, faking anger.

“Just get inside, OK?”, I said, pushing him inside with my foot and closing the door.

“I’ll be right back, Mr. Funny Guy. You can watch TV if you want.”, I said, and immediately ran into my room.

I didn’t witness what happened meanwhile, but he told me later.

He stared up at the TV. He was obviously too tiny to even turn it on, so he decided to explore the place a little bit. It was the first time he was in a home so big compared to him, so it was obviously overwhelming from his point of view. After taking a look around the living room, he walked into what seemed to be a giant kitchen. The fridge alone seemed like a skyscraper as he stood before it. Before he could explore much in there, though, he started feeling the floor shake a little, rhythmically, obviously caused by giant footsteps.

Expecting me, he turned around, only to barely get a glimpse of a descending giant bare foot before it landed right next to him, knocking him off his feet. Startled, he stared up, seeing a giant woman, about my height, dressed only in bra and panties, reaching into the fridge and picking up a carton of milk and drinking directly from it.

Daniel then stood up, cupping his hands around his mouth and calling the new girl.

“Ummm…hello?”, he said, thinking it’d be best if he just let the giantess know he was down there before she accidentally treaded him.

Suddenly hearing a squeaky voice next to her foot spooked the underwear-clad girl, causing her to yelp and drop the carton of milk, which immediately released a stream of the white, lacteal liquid inside it and washed him off his feet. Both surprised and angry, the woman reached down and picked the tiny man up, holding him tightly in her fist in front of her face.

“What the Hell do you think you’re doing in here?!”, she asked, squeezing his tiny body a little harder. “Are you a burglar?”

Daniel was terrified. Not only was he being held really tight, feeling like his ribs were about to explode, but he also couldn’t even explain her, since her fingers were squeezing the air out of his lungs. Desperately, he tried to break free, but her hand was much stronger than him.

“Well?!”, she asked, impatiently. At first, she thought he was just too scared to answer, but then she saw his face start to turn blue. Not wanting to kill him, or even hurt him, she opened her hand, causing him to drop onto her palm. He coughed during a few seconds before being able to speak again.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”, he said, still on his knees. “I didn’t break in. I just came here to see Lena. She let me in and went to change.”

“Lena? Really?!”, she asked, raising an eyebrow. “But she never has boys over. I do sometimes, but none of them are as tiny as you.”

“I am, honestly. We went out yesterday. Didn’t she tell you?”

“Well…now that you mention it, yeah, yesterday she was really nervous while dressing up, but I just thought she was going to a job interview or something.”

“She went out with me. You can ask her if you want.”

“No, no, it’s OK”, she finally said, seeming much calmer and nicer than a minute ago. “I’m really sorry about the way I handled you before. I really thought you came to steal. It wouldn’t be the first time it happens.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it”, he said, standing back up to his feet.

“Thanks. Could you please not tell Lena I did this? She really doesn’t go out much, and she’ll hate me if she thinks I scared you away from her.”

“No problem”, he lied.

“Oh, and also, please don’t tell her about me drinking milk from the carton. She hates that.”, she said, giggling. “Oh, the milk!”

She quickly reached down and picked it up before it continued spilling milk. She placed it in the fridge and closed the door. She then put Daniel on the kitchen counter, leaning closer and resting her chin on her hands to get a better look of him.

“My name is Sarah, by the way.”, she said, smiling down at him. “What’s yours?”

“Daniel”, he said, still trying to catch his breath after all the tumult.

“Nice to meet you, then, Daniel.”

“Likewise.”, he said, still finding her giant face pretty intimidating. Staring at her from so close made him realize that her facial features were nothing like Lena’s. She didn’t seem Canadian, even though she was about the same size as Lena. Her face wasn’t Caucasian at all. He wasn’t sure, but he thought she was probably of Arabic origin.

“So…”, he said, shyly, “wh…where are you from, Sarah?”

“I’m from Beirut, Lebanon.”, she said, proudly. “The land of the cedar. And you were born here, I bet.”

“Yes, yes, born and raised in Mexico City.”, he said, trying to sound proud too. “Also…I…I know we just met, and I don’t want to sound rude or ignorant for that matter, but…”

“Yes…?”, she asked, grinning curiously.

“Well…aren’t Lebanese people…like…Muslim?”, he said, feeling he was being too bold to say that. “What I mean is…are you supposed to be wearing that? I thought you women had to cover your hair, or even wear those black blankets and the like. I really don’t mean to be disrespectful! I’m just curious, that’s all.”

Sarah’s expression changed from curious to angry. She stood back up to full height, looking down at him with hands on her hips.

“Oh, I’m sorry! Is it too reckless of me to show so much skin?”, she asked, sarcastically. “Maybe I should go cover up. And it’s called a Burqa, by the way. Not a black blanket.” She sighed, seeming annoyed. “You know what? I’ll do Lena a favor and get rid of you.”

She then lifted her hand, closing it in a fist. Daniel barely had time to take one step back when the fist had already slammed the counter, missing him by merely centimeters (his scale), which knocked him off his feet. Just as before, however, her expression changed. This time, from angry to playful, and burst into laughter. Daniel was still really confused and scared to ask what was going on.

“Oh, my God!”, she managed to say while laughing. “I’m so, so sorry, little guy! I just couldn’t resist! The look on your face was priceless! Of course you’re not being disrespectful of rude. That’s a valid question, since you’re not familiar with Muslim culture. The thing is that I’m Christian, so I don’t think I’m the indicated person to explain you how the Burqa thing works with women.”

“Wait, you’re Christian?”, he said, his heart still beating like a drum, but now starting to calm down. “I really thought Lebanon was a Muslim country, I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, no, no, you’re right, actually.”, she said, now starting to talk like a teacher. “You see, most Lebanese people are Muslim. However, what most people don’t know is that around 40% of Lebanon’s population is actually Christian.”

“Oh…I see…”, he said, feeling ignorant again. “I didn’t know that. And again, sorry about my comment. I didn’t mean to complain about your…outfit.” He couldn’t help but check her body out for a second as he said that.

“Up here, little man”, she said while snapping her fingers. “If Lena catches you doing that…well…let’s just say that, unlike mine, her fist won’t miss.”

“Oh, no, no! I wasn’t…ugh, sorry. I’m a man. It’s hard to resist taking a glimpse when a woman so huge and in her undies is standing right in front of us.”

“Wow…well, at least you’re honest, I’ll give you that. But don’t worry, I won’t tell Lena. And I was just kidding, by the way. She’s a sweetie. She’d never hurt you. Plus, it’s kind of flattering that you say that, hehe.”

Daniel was extremely embarrassed now. This woman was the opposite of me. She was bold, self-confident, and didn’t mind to say things as they were. As appealing as it was, he certainly found that very intimidating from someone so big. No wonder he picked a girl like me, huh?

“Anyway, I should go get my day started.”, she said, waving down at me. “Take care and see you soon. Lena should be here any second.”

“Thank you, Sarah. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. Bye, bye!”, she said, and walked away.

Daniel sat there, on the counter, waiting for me. Poor little thing. Sarah was usually too much for any guy to handle. I can only imagine how it was to him. Soon enough, though, I walked back, causing him to sigh in relief. As this wasn’t exactly a date, and he had already seen me in PJ’s, anyway, I felt freer to dress up casually. I just tied my hair back in a ponytail, put on a purple, one-sleeve top, a pair of jeans and Converse sneakers. Plus, he was wearing a shirt, jeans and sneakers too, so it felt right. I was a bit confused when I saw the puddle of milk on the floor, though.

“Daniel? Where are you?”, I asked out loud, looking at the floor around.

“Up here, Lena!”, he called from the counter. I immediately saw him standing there.

“What are you doing there? And how did you even get up there?”

“Long story. Your friend Sarah came to get some milk and…well, we just chatted for a bit.”

“Sarah was here? I see. That explains why there’s milk on the floor, and yet no glass anywhere around. Ugh…I’ll just deal with her later.”, I said, annoyed. “So, what did you think of my roomie?”

“Oh, she seems nice. And seems to care a lot about you, too. But you two are so different from each other. I wonder why you get along so well.”

“We actually complement each other pretty well, since we usually compensate for one another’s flaws and the like, so…yeah, we get along just fine.”

“I understand. Anyway, I’m sorry about coming here uninvited, but I didn’t get your phone last night, and I wanted to show you I actually wanted to see you again, like I said.”

I could almost feel my heart melting as he said that.

“Awww…really? I wanted to see you too!”, I said, happily.

“Yeah, yeah, you two love birds really missed each other”, said Sarah, heading towards the door, now fully clothed. “You should clean the kitchen before you leave, since you’re spilling so much honey! Hehe. See you!”, and walked out the door.

“Don’t mind her”, I said, faking a sigh. “She’s always like that. Hates romantic comedies, love letters, corny phrases, etc.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised, hehe. Anyway, should we get going? I know a Colombian Café nearby. It’s really good.”

“Sure, sounds good. Let’s go, then.”, I said, picking him up and walking out the door, locking it before leaving.