Petite Love: Katie and Meg's Shrinking Journey

Katie has always been drawn to science, and specifically one experiment that she has been developing in her lab since she was an undergrad at Harvard. She was drawn to the possibilities of shrinking other things to the size of dolls. However it was her roommate, Meg, who was almost an obsession. In private, she would lay out dozens of pictures and notes of Meg, her secret object of longing.

Unknown to Meg, Katie had been feverishly working on her shrinking machine, but never let anyone know about it. Although her inventor's heart raced at the possibility of test subjects, she kept quiet about it, until one day, when Meg arrived home from the library, Katie could take it no longer.

Speechless, Meg watched as Katie revealed the theory behind her invention and the plans on how to bring it to fruition. His desire outweighed the sensible part of his mind and with a shaky hand, Meg embarrassedly signed the important confidentiality document. But once the ink was dry Katie launched into full on lab installation, transforming the living room into her personal engineering playground.

Regardless of how enthralled Meg was with her work, Katie made a promise to only test out the shrinking machine on herself. Meg had to go about her business as usual and retire for the evening, trying to forget about whats going on around her.

Meanwhile Katie stayed up overnight as a million butterflies took over her stomach, her hands trembling with a cold sweat as switching on the levitating machine created an electric currents that ran up her spine and illuminated the room in a brilliant blue light. Her heart beating thunderously as the dizzying effect the contraption created caused her to collapse onto the ground with force.

When she opened her eyes, she realized it was working and that she had been successful. Katie, still coursing with adrenalin, locked her gaze onto Meg's innocent face and as her utmost desires took over with a blink, she walked slowly over to the nearest closet and shut Meg in, small enough to be carefully carried away.

Katie had a plan, take her now mini improved version of Meg to a secure location and roleplay out a simplified version of the world she was trying to understand. She made several creatives projects for them to try out to see the difference between me for Meg and herself- self intelligence, trait empathy, and most of all, control over emotion.

Katie spent this time pampering Meg with anything she wanted. They tried computers, ice-skating, puzzles, and suddenly felt happy being petite - even if little it was way of physical distance for two was, emotionally Meg was starting to drift away. She became cold and distant, unwilling to talk to, much less cuddle with her captor. Katie thought she broke her.

Still, Katie knew that their time together was coming to an end, with the results she wanted to reap dwindling by the day. That’s when something inside her—some reckless impulse—decided to use the shrink machine on Meg without consulting with her. Taking a deep breath, held onto Meg with one arm and switch on the machine. And in the midst of thick electrical current, Meg shrunk to the same size as Katie.

Bewildered, Meg look upon her creator and demanded explanation. Katie shrugged her shoulders, trying to avoid a long awkward explanation. Instead, Meg grabbed for the machine and use it on Katie. Suddenly Katie was the one who shrink to half her size and Meg was left victorious.

Katie begins to understand the vulnerability Meg must feel, as she herself a shrinking toy stuck in a strange room with a captor. She agrees to team up and use her genius brain to help her find a way back, to get back what had been stolen from Meg by Katie’s selfish wish.

They start working on a plan, accessing several methods to make the machine work overtime. Katie researches, opens her laptop and puffs of smoke come out, as their plan went head on into peril. Within their research they discovered they had targeted the molecular level, and their entire search stalled as the results stayed evidence-less on their desk. As they can no longer think of any solutions they curl up, exposing the fragileness that Meg felt during this entire time.

The clock ticked away, tauntingly and as the energy petered out, suddenly, a breakthrough. Katie stares again with wide eyes as she had thought outside the box—finally seeing the puzzle of how nanotechnology and bioengineering were the solutions to their problems. She ran back and forth, solving equations and confusing Meg with her crazy talk—until a series of occasions just came up.

Excitedly Meg and Katie scrambled around the room; gathering ingredients, splitting apart pieces of the machine, lifting tiny doll like legs up onto the table. Within a frantic dance of fingers and tongues, a sense of accomplishment started to reveal itself.

Finally, after hours of trial and error, shouting in frustration most of the time, convincing themselves they usually found ‘it’. Finding the very molecule they were looking for, their clever plan to erect the size back.

And up they go, hands clasp tightly as the the current crackles energy awakens the machine, bringing the house alive with color again. Relief floats in the air, as Meg wraps around Katie’s waist. The girl she has come to love, appreciate and value. Her mission of understanding such a powerful sensation of love in its purest amalgamation had been fulfilled. This is her beam of light within the meander of thoughts.

Hand-in-hand, together Meg and Katie ventured into a mountain, of their deep longing and ultimately, understanding an activation higher than a basic physical exchange. Their mission this time was to find the purest form of love, one that transcended the physical boundaries that the Shrinking Machine had created.

Katie and Meg looked upon the dusky skyline that unfolded within the twisting paths. Remembering the turning moment of truth, when they had risked it all to achieve the higher goal, and come to cherish the lesson of greatness that comes from understanding each other and embracing cosmic love.

Finally the final ascent was reached, revealing a spectacle the two of them never seen before. Side by side, feeling the strength each other's gentle grasp and holding firm in a mission of greatness on its own. Until finally there was an urge to collapse, breathlessly entranced, content in the knowledge of what two broken souls had become.