by

NaOH_r
 
 

Neither girl could say how long it took but it wasn't very long, a minute or two at the most, until the beam of concentrated sunlight had focused itself into a tight spot on the platform, a spot only inches across.  Rae could only vaguely make out the form inside the light, shimmering and refracting so that the girl inside might have been dancing.  The colors faded and the swirling waves gathered into regular pulses so that the beam and its contents were now gently flashing.  Abruptly, the figure inside moved, took a step, darted through the beam  Ari dashed a few additional steps away before stopping to turn and look back, to slowly spin around, gazing up and out into the enormous space around her.  He skin glowed brightly, with a brilliance pulsing in time synchronized to the pulsing of the beam.  The pulsations were already beginning to dim, to fade.  Rae stepped to the edge of the platform and looked down in horror.

"What have you done to yourself?" she breathed.  "How could you do this?"

Ari looked around in awe and delight.  There was still fear in her expression but it was a minor component now.  Clearly she was enjoying this.  "You don't understand," she shouted up, shrill but clear.  "This is a fantastic thing to do.  Wait until you try it.  You'll see."  She ran to the edge of the platform near the window and looked out into the sunlit scene.  If the studio had become enormous to her, there were no words to describe size of the outside world.   From her vantage, the scene went on forever.  "I didn't look out before," she called.  "I had no idea."

Rae's shock was lifting; she had begun to think again, her brain beginning to accept the sight before her.  That tiny figure was her friend, she remembered, she was a living person.  For some reason, this triggered an interest in her, a desire to touch that little creature, to hold her.  She leaned far over the platform and her hand crept forward toward the other side, toward Ari.  She was about to scramble onto the platform herself when she remembered the beam.  Almost her hand had entered it when she pulled her arm back and stood erect.  The beam was no longer pulsing and it had lost its former brilliance but it still shone to the platform from the last of the overhead mirrors.  It seemed to be waiting.

"Ari!" she forced out.  "What next?  You can't stay that way.  How do you grow back?"  Ari turned regretfully from the view back to Rae and the studio interior and the shrinking beam.  It seemed to her also that it was waiting.

"Grow back," she echoed.  "Grow back.  I just have to step back into the beam.  It will activate again, the process will reverse itself."  She didn't display much eagerness to have the process reversed, to be re-enlarged.

"Well then, get back over there," Rae ordered.  "This is dangerous."

"No it's not," Ari called up to her.  You'll see."  All the same, she walked back to the beam and unhesitatingly stepped into its center and stopped.  This time there was no pulsing, no floating rainbows.  The beam's brightness intensified as if gathering strength before it began to grow.  The girl inside grew steadily too, her face calm, displaying no fear, only perhaps a little regret.  To both girls the enlargement process seemed to take lmuch ess time than the shrinking had but neither really knew for sure.  Rae didn't care.  She only knew relief, and maybe a little repressed guilt, as her friend regained her normal dimensions.  The beam continued to glow brightly as it enlarged, then suddenly went dim.  Not really dim, just the intensity of normal sunlight shining on her now normal-sized friend.  Almost frantically, Rae reached up to grab Ari's hand and drag her from the platform.

"See, it's not dangerous," Ari said.  "Now it's your turn."

"Not me," Rae retorted.  "I'm not going to let you do that," she said firmly.  "I'm not going to let you shrink me," she whispered.

"But your looks," Ari reminded her.  "You're the one who wanted to look as good as I do now.  This is your last chance."

Rae hesitated.  Ari did look stunning now, perfectly fit and healthy.  Perfect in all regards, in fact.  Rae had always wanted to look perfect.

"You'll love it," Ari assured her.  "It'll be the experience of your life."  With much urging and teasing, she persuaded Rae to slowly undress, to approach the platform.  Ari helped her up on to it and the climbed up to stand beside her.  "All you have to do is take two steps now," she told her.  "Two steps into the center of the circle and then just stand there.  You've seen what happens then, it won't hurt you.  Honest, you'll enjoy it."  She stepped aside, leaving Rae alone at the edge of the circle of light.

"No," Rae finally decided, trembling with fear.  "I'm not going to do it."  She lifted a foot to hop off the platform.

Exasperated, Ari made a decision.  She took a step back to Rae's side and shoved her forward, into the light.  Caught unprepared, Rae stumbled to the circle's center before being able to halt herself to look back, alarm and betrayal painted on her face.  "It's for your own good," Ari called lightly but Rae's expression only deepened.  The shimmering had begun, the first shards of color were appearing, wrapping around the terrified girl.  Ari made her second decision.  Once again, she jumped into the beam of light and embraced her friend.

Rae was sobbing, eyes clenched shut, face buried in Ari's breast,  desperately clinging to her companion.  Ari murmured soothingly to her, stroking her hair, trying to calm her.  "It's all right, you'll be glad you did this, just be calm."  She watched the room over the top of her friend's head, watching to see everything's size change.  And the room began to grow, but slowly.  She remembered how it had been and the pace this time was much slower.  The tingling of her skin was weaker, the vibration in her bones fainter than previously, too.  Maybe it's slower to shrink the two of us, she thought, as she continued to hold her friend.

The shrinking took forever.  The objects in the room crept taller, crept further away.  The rainbow swirl around them was dim.  Ari had time to contemplate her actions, to feel guilt about what she had done to Rae.  She'll thank me later, she thought.  It's for her own good.  But she still felt guilty.  When finally the tingling and vibration faded out altogether, the studio loomed around them, Ari judged, just as it had loomed over her earlier.  She shook Rae gently.  "Come on," she said, "It's over.  We have to walk away from the light now."  She got Rae to lift her head, open her eyes, stumble a few paces away.  The two girls stood near each other, no longer touching, and gaped at the huge dim space around them.

"Isn't this amazing?" Ari cried.  "Don't you love it?"

Rae wiped the last of the tears from her eyes and looked around the giant room again before turning to Ari, who was now gazing raptly out the window.  "I hate it," Rae told her.  "Why did you do this to me?"

Ari took her hand in concern but Rae shook her arm free.  "I'm sorry," Ari began, "I thought you'd be able to accept it.  I thought you'd like it like I do.  And anyway, it did perfect you."

"Did it?" Rae exclaimed, forgetting for a second her fright and dismay.  "Did it work on me?"

"Absolutely," Ari assured her.  "You've really, really never looked better."  Without a mirror, Rae couldn't be sure but as she inspected herself, she could definately see some changes.  She knew she was a little pudgy around the waist, carrying a little baby fat.  Gone.  She knew all too well the locations of various blemishes and imperfections.  Gone.  She knew she didn't tan well, that she had pale spots and blotches, not to mention untanned areas where she always remained clothed.  Her skin was a perfect smooth golden brown everywhere she could see.

"It worked," she gasped happily.  "I'm as pretty as anyone now." Then the smile faded and her face dropped when she looked away from herself to her gigantic surroundings.  "We have to get out of here.  Now.  We have to get back to normal."

"All right," Ari agreed, a trifle sadly.  "I've been watching and the beam stopped flashing almost as soon as we got away from it.  Your skin never did flash and I don't think mine did either.  Not like before.  Maybe we can go back in right away."  She walked back to the edge of the circle.

Rae took a step to follow her ,then stopped.  "I just realized," she said.  "You're too tall.  You never used to be that much taller than me."  A new thought occurred to scare her.  "Am I shrinking more?"

"No," Ari assured her. "You're fine.  I noticed it while we were shrinking.  I think it's because you shrank a little before I came in with you, so I wound up a little too tall.  So you need to get back in the beam first and grow a little before I get in.  Then we'll both wind up right."

"Okay, I'm ready.  Do I just walk in?"

"Just go to the center and stand there," Ari agreed.  "I'll wait a few seconds before I join you."

"Here goes."  Rae stepped cautiously into the circle and turned around when she reached its center.  "Has it started yet?"  Ari frowned and waited a moment but she could detect no change in the light; it remained at the same brightness.  The circle didn't seem to be expanding either, nor did Rae appear to be growing.

"Maybe we both need to be in there to activate it.  I guess I'll have to get used to different clothes sizes."  Ari stepped to the center of the circle and stood next to her friend.

Nothing happened.

"Why aren't we growing?  What's wrong?"  Rae was ready to panic again.

Ari didn't answer as she concentrated on the problem.  She looked at the lowering sun out the window, then at the collection of mirrors towering above them.  "Oh no," she muttered.  Rae whirled in alarm.  "I think we have a problem," Ari told her.  "I didn't reset the collector mirror after the first time.  It's still pointed at where the sun was when we started.  The sun has moved since then, it's not hitting the collector as much, the device doesn't have enough sunlight to re-enlarge us.  That's why it took so long for us to shrink."  She looked out the window to where the sun was almost down to the horizon.

"And that means..." Rae prompted.

"We're stuck," Ari said, sinking to a sitting position on the floor, head sunk on her knees.  "I'm sorry," she almost sobbed.  "I'm sorry I did this to you."

Both girls were quiet as the sun sank below the horizon.  The shadows deepened in the room, the shrinking beam now totally extinct.  Now it was Rae's turn to try to comfort her friend, kneeling by her side, gently encouraging her.  "I'm not mad at you.  You didn't intend for this to happen."  But Ari made no response as she stared forlornly through the growing dark.

Then there were sounds, the front door being opened, footsteps on the stairs.  The studio door opened, the lights came on.  Ari jumped to her feet and started waving her arms.  "Over here," she called.  "Look over here."  The man entering the room looked over in surprise, then disbelief, then concern.  He hurried over to the platform and crouched beside it, looking at the two shrunken women in amazement.

""Ari?" he said in a tone of wonder.  "How did this happen?"

"I'm sorry," she sobbed.  "I told my friend and we came over and you were gone and I thought I knew how to do it and.  And I was wrong."  She broke into tears, cupping her face in her hands.  Rae awkwardly brushed her shoulders, trying to think of a way to bring her comfort.  Finally, the tears slowed.  "Can you help us?" she begged.  Can you reverse this?"

The man shook his head sadly.  "Not after the sun has set.  It moves in the sky all the time.  By tomorrow it will have moved enough that it won't have the same alignment on the mirrors as it did today.  I'm sorry.  I'm so sorry."  He looked pityingly at the two tiny women before him.  "I'll cancel my journey, of course.  I'll keep good care of you."

It seemed to Rae that this giant stranger was not as surprised as he could be, that he was ready to offer them help just a bit too quickly.  She found herself distrusting him immediately.  "When will the sun be right?" she asked.  "Won't it come back to the same place in the sky some time?"

"I suppose," he said.  "I hadn't thought of it but it repeats its motion every year.  I guess it will come back.  In a year.  Today was midwinter's day; it will be back next year on this day."

"So it's not forever," Ari exclaimed.  "See, we will get our size back."  She hugged Rae and turned to the man, looking as if she wanted to hug him too.

Rae continued to examine their giant host.  He was good-looking, she had to admit; he was handsome.  Very handsome.  Too handsome.  His features were perfect, he had no blemishes, his body was exactly proportioned.  He was as perfect in his way as Ari had become.  As perfect in his way as Rae now was.

"You've done this yourself," she announced abruptly.  When he looked at her quizzically, she repeated, "You've done this yourself.  You've used this on yourself."  It wasn't a question.  "You had a reason for doing it to Ari.  You wanted her, only you wanted her perfect."

"I don't see what's wrong with that," he told her.  "I didn't hurt her, or you, or anybody else."

"Not hurt," she cried.  "What do you call this?"  She waved her arms before her as if to demonstrate her relative size.  Ari put her arm around her shoulders to reassure her, to calm her.

"He didn't do this to you, I did.  It's my fault we're stuck like this.  And it's only for a year.  We'll survive."  She looked hopefully up at the man looming above her.  "And you can visit us, can't you?  Shrink down to our size sometimes?"

"It would be my pleasure," he said with a smile.  "For visits.  I might even bring someone else eventually.  I have a Friend who might want to meet you both.

His smile was meant to be reassuring but it only alarmed Rae further.  "You will change us back," she said.  "To our full size."

"Of course," he said.  "In a year.  On midwinter's day."

Rae found his smile now even more frightening.  A look of cruelty, she thought.  Then suddenly she realized, no, not cruely.  Possesiveness.  A look of ownership.

He continued speaking.  "Unless, of course, the day is cloudy."

---30---

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