My house has changed. It is getting smaller every day. Even my bed is now too small, my feet are cold when they should be nice and warm under the covers… But it was the right size when I went to sleep. Something is very wrong here.

Oddly enough, my daughter too seems to be shrinking every time I look at her. She doesn’t appear to notice, though. I need to get out of this house. I pick up my coat, kiss my daughter good day and head out. I’ll be early for work, but at least so far everything there is the same size.

The usually busy street is oddly quiet at this hour, sending shivers down my spine. I’m just overthinking, maybe it’s something I ate? Ah, here we are. At least the building hasn’t changed… Wait. It has, hasn’t it? Yes. The door used to be huge, now I can barely fit through it. What is going on here?

The girl at the reception, the one with the pretty smile and deep green eyes, waves me hello. I really should invite her to dinner someday, I don’t know why I keep waiting… Why not now? Okay buddy, you can do this, it’s only dinner, at worst she’ll say no, it’s no big deal really, of my god she’s even prettier than usual today, what should I say, oh dear I’m screwed…

“H-Hi Sonia! No, I mean--Uhh... Sarah! Hi Sarah! How are you today? Beautiful day isn’t it? I love sunny days like this, they’re so… eehh… I screwed up, didn’t I?...” Of course I did I’m so stupid! Beautiful day? SONIA? Now she’s not even going to wave to me, she’ll just think I’m a jerk, oh dear, can this day get any worse?

“Who is Sonia?” she is so cute when she cocks her head like this! Oh no, what do I say? I don’t even know anyone called Sonia! “It’s… uhh… nobody?” Okay bud, you’re definitely done. Just run away while you still can and find another job. On the other side of town, preferably. “Sorry I need to… I need to run away from this terrible display of stupidity”

I screwed up I screwed up I screwed up I even said that out loud and... wait. Wasn’t this a 10 stairs building? Why can I look over it? Is the whole town shrinking? Oh no, oh no, it’s me isn’t it…

I’m turning into a giant monster…

What do I do now that my feet are the size of a car? Hold on, did I say car? I hope there is none on this street, this is the beginning of morning rush… Oh no, there are people around me! Why are they screaming, I am just trying to get out of their way… Oh dear, I’m so sorry ma’am, I really didn’t mean to crash on your appar-- Sorry sir, I’ll pay for tha-- watch out kid! Oh no, what have I done?

I need to get out of this nightmare! Okay, deep breaths… No no no, too deep! I hope this building was empty… Oh well you know what? I’ll do less damage if I just run away. I can already see before my eyes the ruins left by my attempts at being careful.

What is this crumbling noise? Something has hit my knee… Or is it my knee that hit something? The majestic oak of the central plaza is snapped in two like a bunch of twigs. Oh no… How far will I have to jump to make it out to less populated areas? Can I even make that jump?

Apparently not. The city hall is completely destroyed. I landed straight on it, after all, and I’m still growing… Why is the sky so white? I’m fairly certain it used to be blue. And much farther away. This is not good at all, I have a terrible feeling about all of this… And the city hall wasn’t empty after all, judging from the screams I can barely hear.

I’m scared. And angry. I’ll never see my daughter again, will I? I’ll never get a chance with Sarah, or go to work, I’ll never be able to go home now… I don’t know what caused this, or who, but if I find the source of all this mess I’ll… What the hell is this thing?

I cover my head with my arms as the gigantic pointy thing is getting ever closer to me. Not that it would make a difference. Hold on a second… Is that a pencil? A giant pencil, bigger than the monster that I have become? Am I a drawing on a sheet of paper?

I let my arms drop back to my sides. If I face death, I’ll do it proudly. And if what I am starting to believe is true… I will need both of my hands.

I can hear the soft scratching of a pencil on a piece of paper, like mice scurrying through a hole in the wall. So I was right. I am but a drawing. My whole life was never mine to live. Even my daughter… Oh hell no. Not her.

As soon as the scratching stops I feel an awkward sensation on the top of my head. Is this what a baby feels when getting out of the womb? It’s like being forced out, bit by bit, with a huge pressure on my head, my body no longer in control of itself. Like breaking the surface tension of water, I could feel my body being pushed along the veil that had kept me for so long.