A Short Story

A Short Story

Upon waking up, Kathryn discovered that nearly five feet of her height had been shaved off.  She was now considerably smaller in size (everything seemed to have shrunk) and somewhat resembled a Barbie doll.  It was odd indeed, but she didn’t think much on it.  Her immediate thought was that she was feeling suffocated, for the sheets on her bed were now much too large for her rather small body.  It took some time, but she finally managed to untangle herself from the covers. 

She noted that her current condition was a bit like Alice’s in Wonderland, which made her very happy as it was one of her favorite stories.  However, she couldn’t remember drinking or eating anything out of the ordinary and she quickly became perplexed again.  What could have caused this?  Her stomach growled and she resolved that now was simply not the time for such mind-boggling questions.

At only one foot in size, the world, which already seemed quite big to Kathryn, now seemed even larger, and the step down from the bed that had once seemed like not such a big deal, now seemed like a very big deal.  “Well, I really don’t need to eat anything.  Come to think of it, I’m not hungry at all!  In fact, I’m quite comfortable where I am right here, on this bed.”  Her stomach rumbled once more, reminding her that she could not fool her body.  She did need the food, whether she was comfortable or not.  Her only solution was to call for help.

She tried calling her mother first; surely her caring and compassionate mother would help her!  But she was disappointed to learn that her mother could not aid her in this particular situation.  She then called to her father, who she was less sure about, only to confirm her suspicions were correct.  Finally she called to her brother, who was in the next room over.  He had to hear her!  But sadly, he didn’t seem to hear the tiny squeaks that were now Kathryn’s voice. 

She shrunk back down in disappointment.  How was she ever to get off of her bed!  “I could jump,” she proposed “but that would be much too scary; especially with no one here to catch me!”  She hung her head and began to weep.  “Whatever am I to do?” 

She sat crying for a while, but because crying solved absolutely nothing, she moved on to pacing the edges of the bed in frustration and anger.  “Stupid bed!  Why must you be so far away from the floor?”  She continued to walk for a while, but gave up on that as well, and plopped down on the mattress. 

Her stomach at this point was on the verge of exploding.  It growled ferociously and the pain of hunger shot through her body.  She needed food, and she needed it now.  “That’s it,” she resolved “I must jump.  No matter how afraid I am, I must do it.” 

She stood up and walked to the edge.  The floor looked menacing, but she closed her eyes and reassured herself that it must be done.  She bottled up every last ounce of courage in her body and took a step off of the bed.  Down she fell, faster, faster, until the ground met her feet.  She opened her eyes to discover that her body had grown back to normal size, and that the jump turned out to be not so scary after all. 

The End