As Sarah slipped quietly into the apartment, she felt the familiar thrill rush through her, a delicious secret she had kept hidden for so long. Every time Chris worked an overnight shift, she would come over, knowing he’d be dead asleep, giving her the chance to indulge in her private obsession. She adored his feet—their scent, their warmth, the way they felt against her hands as she pressed her face to them while he slumbered. She knew it was strange, maybe even wrong, but she couldn’t resist. She’d never had the courage to tell him, afraid he’d think she was some kind of freak, terrified he’d leave her.
But today, as she reached for the door to close it quietly, a strange sensation washed over her—a tingling that rippled through her body. She looked down, dizzy, and gasped in horror as her entire body seemed to shrink, the room expanding rapidly around her. Before she could even process what was happening, she found herself dwindling, her perspective shifting as everything in the room grew monstrously large. She tried to close the door, but it was already out of her reach, slamming shut with a loud thud.
The noise woke Chris, who stirred on the couch, his head lifting slowly, eyes bleary and unfocused. Sarah felt a surge of desperate hope. She was still shrinking but was large enough that, maybe, he’d see her. She stumbled forward, raising her hands and shouting his name. “Chris! I’m here! Please, look!” Her voice was small, almost inaudible, but she screamed with everything she had, praying he would hear.
Chris squinted around the room, rubbing his eyes, his gaze sweeping in her direction. “Sarah?” he mumbled, his voice thick with sleep. For a brief, heart-stopping moment, he looked directly toward her, and her heart raced. He had seen her! He must have!
But by the time his eyes focused, she had already dwindled down to the size of an insect, too small and too far for him to notice. He blinked, shook his head, and muttered to himself, shrugging off the silence. “Just another dream,” he sighed, his voice a rumbling echo to her tiny ears. After all, it wouldn’t have been the first time he’d thought he saw her here, dreamt of her standing there near his feet. A few times he’d even woken up to the strange feeling that she’d been there, only to shake it off and go back to sleep.
She tried to scream again, but her voice was nothing more than a faint whisper in the vast, yawning space around her. Her hope faded into terror as she continued to shrink, watching helplessly as Chris pushed himself up from the couch, stretching and yawning, blissfully unaware of her plight. He leaned back against the cushions, flipping on the TV, the low hum of the sound drowning out her last cries.
Now the size of a flea, she stumbled forward, disoriented and desperate. Her gaze lifted toward his feet, which towered above her like a vast, rough landscape. The smell of his skin, once a faint and enticing hint when she’d worshipped him in secret, was now overwhelming, saturating the air with an intense, humid musk from his time spent in work boots. She took a shaky breath, her lungs filling with the thick, stale odor, and coughed as the scent clung to her, making her feel as though she were drowning in it.
Chris settled comfortably, stretching his legs out, his foot planted on the carpet, toes flexing in satisfaction. The movement released another wave of scent, a humid fog that washed over her, filling her senses. She stumbled, gasping, the potent smell she’d once loved now overwhelming, pressing down on her like an invisible weight. She tried to breathe, but every inhale only filled her lungs with more of the thick, stale musk. She coughed, gagging, as her vision blurred, her tiny world dominated by the heat radiating from his skin.
Oblivious to her struggle below, Chris picked up his phone, scrolling lazily before typing out a quick text to her. He was beginning to wonder where she was, assuming she was out with friends or maybe with her mom. He sent a simple message, “Where are you, babe?” thinking nothing of it as he hit send, happy to have the place to himself, thinking she’d be thankful not to be near his unwashed feet.
She heard her phone buzz beside her, a cruel, mocking sound as her strength faded, her body growing weak, every breath shallower than the last. The irony pierced her—she’d always loved being close to him, his scent something she’d adored in secret, but now it was the very thing consuming her. She took one last shuddering breath, her vision fading as her lungs filled with the musky fog, her body surrendering beneath the weight of his unknowing presence.