Jolene Hexx lay on the couch, her breathing heavy as she watched the tiny being crawl across the room. It was day four since the shrinking disease had taken hold, and she was growing ever more bored with it all. The tiny creature, its name long forgotten, was barely even noticeable at this point. It was nothing more than a stain on her floor, a constant reminder of what she'd done.
She'd loved the idea of being tiny at first. The feeling of being held close, of being taken care of. But now it was just... dull. The tiny thing had no real purpose anymore, no way to make her feel anything. It was just a toy to play with when she was bored.
A smile curled on her lips as she thought about her date for the evening. A real man, someone who could make her feel alive again. She didn't even notice the tiny creature as she dressed, her thoughts consumed by the anticipation of the night ahead.
As she left the house, she paused at the door, only half-aware of the tiny thing sitting on the step. With a casual flick of her foot, she sent it flying through the air, laughing as it landed in a puddle. A real man wouldn't be interested in something like that, she thought.
The night was a whirlwind of excitement and passion, and Jolene forgot all about the tiny thing. But when she returned home in the early hours of the morning, she found it waiting for her on her bedside table. It had crawled all the way there, determined to be with her again.
With a sigh, Jolene picked up the tiny being, studying its trembling form. She'd never meant for this to happen, never meant for it to become such a burden. But now that it had, she couldn't help but feel a strange sense of ownership over it.
She held it up to her mouth, debating for a moment before finally deciding. With a shrug, she swallowed it whole, feeling it disappear down into her stomach. Another day, another respawn. Tomorrow would be the same, she knew.
As she crawled back into bed, she wondered if there would ever come a time when she didn't need the tiny thing anymore. Or if she even wanted that to happen. Maybe this was her new normal, her new kind of love. And maybe, just maybe, she was finally starting to grow comfortable with it.
