That was the last thing I can remember. A mental battle with myself, breaking down inside, running right off of the shelf, and finally blacking out. I recall a second or two of free falling but that was it. Everything turned to black . . . . when I opened my eyes everything was white.

Literally, I was standing in the middle of an empty void. Nothing but endless nothingness all around me. I stood up and it felt like I was standing on some kind of floor, but I couldn’t tell. All around me was just whiteness that stretched on forever. When I walked it sounded like I was walking in a big empty room, my footsteps echoed off of walls that I couldn’t even tell were there.

“What is this?” I asked out loud to myself. “Am I dead? Is this purgatory or something?”

I began to walk in any direction, even though I had no sense of direction here. “Hello!” I called out. “God? Someone? Anyone?”

My voice echoed as well but was met with no reply. “An angel or something would be nice!” Still nothing. I growled in frustration as I spun in a complete circle trying desperately to see something, anything at all.

And see something I did.

Just as I completed my spin I was left facing the entrance of the LEGO maze. I couldn’t figure out what was scarier. Facing the maze where I almost died in or the fact that it appeared OUT OF FUCKING NO WHERE! But the freakiness didn’t stop there. As I stepped to the side to get a look at the maze I saw that, from the outside, it was only about as long as a single LEGO brick. It was like looking at an arch standing in the middle of no where. But when I looked through the arch I saw that it went in deep, too deep to be possible. From the outside it was just a single arch, on the inside it was a hallway. It was straight out of the fucking Twilight Zone.

I put my hand to my mouth as I tried to grasp what the hell this was. It was impossible is what it was, it was very very impossible. I didn’t know what to do either. The logically part of my brain would have told me not to go inside the maze of witchcraft. But then again that part of my brain went binge drinking as soon as it saw the goddamned maze appear out of no where, and that it was far deeper than should have been possible. All the same I was hesitant to enter it, I was scared honestly.

CLICK CLICK!

My eyes snapped open wide. That was Joseph.

I gazed straight into the maze. At first there was nothing to see, only bricks that didn’t seem to appear on the outside of the maze. But then at the very end of the hallway Joseph stepped out from around a corner. There was no doubt about it, that was Joseph. Even from a distance I could recognize him.

“Joseph? What the hell are you doing here!” I called out to him.

Joseph just stood there staring at me. CLICK CLICK!

I began to walk towards him but when I got about twenty feet away he took off scurrying around the corner.

“Dammit Joseph come back!” I yelled. I took off after him, but there were two problems wrong with that plan. The first problem was that Joseph is much faster than I am. Considering he’s got six legs compared to my two it only makes sense. The second problem was that this maze was built differently than the one in Emily’s room, and it was bigger. A lot bigger. I was lost from the first turn, all around me were hundreds of different choices of hallways. There was no rhyme or reason to anything I did, I just ran down hallway after hallway without stopping to consider anything. My only sense of direction was the sound of Joseph’s clicking, that was all I followed. Hallway after hallway, corner after corner, I ran through everything without ever hitting a dead end. I don’t know how long I ran for, ten minutes, maybe twenty. Eventually I became so frustrated I stopped.

“Joseph! Where the hell are you!” I screamed.

CLICK CLICK!

Without any indication that he had been there at all, Joseph stepped out from behind a corner not too far from where I stood. He clicked at me a few more times before disappearing around that same corner. I grit my teeth and ran after him again.

When I had rounded that same corner I was standing in outer space.

There is no other way for me to say it. I stepped out from the maze and was staring right at planet Earth.

And by God it was beautiful.

It was like a jewel, perfect in everyway visible. The oceans were bluer than I’ve ever seen, and the continents were just as green. Finally a broken layer of milky white clouds glided just above the surface in a hypnotic pattern. And all around me were trillions of stars among the infinite void of space. I didn’t float like you would normally do in outer space, I just stood on that same invisible floor and took it all in. The Earth, the moon above my head, the stars around me. As I was looking around I noticed that the maze had entirely disappeared. It shouldn’t have surprised me considering that it appeared out of no where is the first place, but I took the time to look around for it in case it might still be somewhere. When I went back to looking at the Earth I saw someone else was gazing at it as well. He was tall, six and a half feet tall if I had to guess. It was hard to get a read on what kind of person he was. His face was hard, with a strong jawline and a few wrinkles. But his eyes were soft and warm as they looked upon the planet. He had a mop of salt and pepper hair that was kind of shaggy even if it wasn’t much longer than his ears. He had a beard of the same color but it was well kept. As for clothes he wore a blue buttoned shirt under a brown jacket he left open, jeans, and boots.

“Enjoying the view?” he asked me in a deep yet soft voice. “I always love this sight so I thought it’d be the best place to speak with you.”

It took me a moment to find my voice and address him. “Uh . . . yeah it’s uh . . .” I sighed. “It’s beautiful.”

He smiled at me as he nodded his head. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

I chuckled a bit. “So uh . . . is this Heaven or something? I mean, I’ve seen Tom and Jerry and they get to Heaven by an escalator, not a maze of LEGOs.”

The man threw back his head and laughed a deep, genuine laugh. “Yes and I believe at the end of that escalator is a train station. So it’s safe to say this isn’t Heaven.”

“Oh . . . So where am I then?” I asked.

“What’s the last thing you can remember?”

I paused for a moment. It wasn’t that I had to remember, it’s just not something I’d ever enjoy remembering. “I remember running off the edge of a giant shelf and then blacking out. That’s all. So does that mean I’m dead? Or dreaming?”

He shook his head. “It’s a little more complicated than that, I’ll explain. Here, take a seat.”

I looked over my shoulder and saw a finely crafted chair of, what looked like redwood, and velvet cushions. By now I actually was used to things appearing out of no where, so I just sat in it. It was pretty comfortable and when I sat down I saw that the man had an identical seat of his own.

“Now there is a lot to go over so I ask that you be patient with me,” he began. I nodded and he continued. “Right now you’re having a sort of lucid dream. What you are right now is the embodiment of your conscious mind. I am unable to actually visit your mind so I brought your mind to me while you were unconscious.”

“What are you?” I asked before thinking.

The man quirked an eyebrow and I averted my eyes. “I’m sorry. Please continue.”

He smiled. “Normally I’m only supposed to observe you but in extreme emergencies I am allowed to interfere. Jumping off of a shelf at your height was a pretty big emergency.” He said with a smirk. “So I brought your mind here that I may explain everything to you. I think you’ve more than earned the right to know the origins of your situation. Are you ready.”

I nodded once.

“Believe it or not this all can be traced back to an ancestor of yours who lived in, what is now, Italy. This ancestor was found in the woods and raise my a powerful sorcerer.”

The word sorcerer caused me to perk up. I opened my mouth but said nothing, waiting for him to give his permission to speak. “So there really is such a thing as magic?” I asked when he nodded.

“Yes,” he said. “Magic has always existed in the world. But the capabilities to wield such forces are rare to find. One must be born with the ability to exert any control over magical energies. Your ancestor was able to survive alone in the woods for years with his brother from the time that they were toddlers. When the sorcerer took them home with him he discovered it was because they had the inborn talent to wield magic. So he taught them all about how to use magic and why to use it. You see magic is a part of nature, it’s a force of life. He taught them never to use it for destruction in any way. And finally, when the boys grew to be men, became heroes. They raised an army of followers and overthrew a tyrant and his army. But one of the brothers contracted a disease neither knew how to heal. He passed from this world and his body was burned and cast into the wind. His brother, without any other purpose in life, used his power to build a city for himself and their followers. He governed over the city until the day of his death bed. For all of it’s power, magic cannot halt death. So, before he passed from this world, he channeled as much magical energy into an object. His will was that the charm would be passed down to each one of his ancestors. Whomever was worthy enough of heart would be granted one wish from the charm.”

I swallowed a lump that was beginning to form in my throat. “What was the charm he used?” I asked.

The man grinned. “I think you’ve already got an idea.”

I reached down into my shirt and withdrew my coin necklace. I’ve been wearing it this whole time, but never once did I suspect it was what caused me to shrink. But then again this was the first time I had any idea magic existed. The coin was the same as it had always been. Gold but gritty and hard to make out. On the one side was a picture of some animal, on the back was an inscription in Latin I couldn’t accurately translate.

“W-what  uh . . . what kind of animal is this? D-do you know?” I asked in a shaky voice.

The man’s face was neutral as he nodded. Maybe he understood the shock I was feeling. “It’s a wolf.”

A wolf. A wolf plus Latin can only mean one thing.

According to legends a great city was built by one of two brothers. The brothers were left alone in the wild when they were born. A tyrant of a king had ordered their deaths because he feared that the two would overthrow him in power, just as the king had overthrown their father. A she wolf found as raised them until they were found again by a shepherd. The shepherd took them home and raised them as his own children. The two brothers grew up and lead an army to overthrow the king who ordered their deaths in the first place. After one of the brothers dies the other one built a city for himself. The brother who died was named Remus, and the one who built the city was named Romulus.

Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome.

“Romulus,” I whispered. “Romulus was real!”

He nodded. “That he was. He and Remus were both powerful sorcerers. That is where your coin get’s it’s power from.”

I had to take a deep breath while I allowed the information to sink in. “This . . .” I chuckled nervously. “This is a lot that you expect me to believe.”

The man smirked. “Believe it or not, either way you’re still two inches tall.”

“Touche.” I replied. I took another deep breath to gather my thoughts. “Has anyone else ever used this coin before?”

He nodded. “It’s very rare but every now and then a few individuals from your ancestral line have been able to use the magic in one way or another. For example Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus. Aka Scipio Africanus the Roman General who defeated Hannibal. Hannibal himself was the only man to ever defeat the Roman armies every time they fought. Even today the two men are considered two of the greatest military leaders in history.”

I exhaled sharply. “And I’m related to both of these guys?”

He nodded.

“Wow. Ubisoft is going to sue me for Assassin’s Creed rip off.”

He laughed again. “You could sue them. Romulus was born first.”

I laughed with him. “Well all of this is pretty cool to know but how did the coin make me shrink? I never made a wish for that.”

“Maybe not to shrink but you did wish for something,” he explained.

I shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That night of the party, after everyone went home, you went onto a giantess fetish website to finish a story you had been reading for a while. Do you remember what you started thinking to yourself after you finished reading?” he asked.

I lowered my head as it all came back to me. “I remember wondering what my friends would think of me if they knew I liked this. It upset me when I started imagining their reactions. I was afraid they’d think I was a freak. I didn’t want them to think that about me.”

He nodded. “Your wish at that time was that you wanted your girl friends to know what kind of person you really are. You were tired of having to keep this secret all to yourself for so many years, never once telling anyone. You wanted to be able to confide within someone close to you without them seeing you as a freak. So the coin shrank you and sent you to Emily’s house where you could live out your ultimate fantasy. Telling your close friends your secret without them believing you’re a freak.”

“So . . . will I ever grow back to normal?” I asked.

The man fixed an intense gaze on me, it made me nervous. “That depends.”

I swallowed another lump in my throat. “Depends on what?”

That gaze of his never wavered once, the weight of it was almost physical. “You’ve kept one secret from them, from everyone. I think at this point they deserve to know.”

I sighed a deep sigh. “I . . . I guess they do.” My head suddenly perked up. “How can I tell them though? I threw myself off of a shelf.”

His face finally lightened up as he chuckled. “Now I wouldn’t be doing my job if I let you die now wouldn’t I?”

I looked at him in confusion. “Your job?”

He nodded. “I was tasked with keeping an eye on you while you were shrunken, to keep you safe.”

“Like a guardian angel?” I asked.

He nodded. “Something like that.”

“Well is there a name I can call you by?”

He grinned. “I’ve actually become quite fond of the name you’ve already given me. Joseph’s a good name.”

My jaw fell to the fucking floor. “W-www-what! You mean to tell me . . . the whole time . . . you! You were my pet ant!”

Joseph laughed harder than he’s laughed before. “I must admit it was a somewhat enjoyable role. Especially when you actually started talking to me. The funny thing is I could understand you the entire time.”

Right now my jaw was going up and down but no sounds were coming out.

He continued laughing. “I’m sorry I didn’t have a harmonica for you that one time when the girls came over. That would have been hilarious to watch though. You sitting on a plastic Bat Cave and playing the harmonica to an ant.” At this point he had to stop talking because he was laughing so hard. After a moment I joined him. Maybe I was laughing because I had finally lost my mind.

Or maybe I just needed a good laugh.

We sat there and laughed for a good two minutes over the image of me playing the harmonica to an ant right before meeting my friends again. When we had finally settled down I wiped a tear from my eye.

“You know,” I said after a while. “You mentioned that I was still alive. What happened?”

He nodded. “Emily grabbed a pillow as soon as she saw you jump. Adrenalin rushes are funny things. I doubt she’s ever moved that fast before.” He said with a wink.

“Wow. You’re good.”

“Thank you. Now,” he said as he stood up. “I believe it’s time to send you back to your body. They must be worried to death over you.”

I sighed as I got up. “I guess I deserve it, having to face all of them after what I just did and explain.” I paused for a second as I remembered my necklace. “Joseph, you said this was a wolf. Well what does the inscription mean?”

He took the coin in his fingers as he read over it. "Non est spes ejus, et non vult oblivisci. No wish is without hope. No dream is ever forgotten.”