It was finally happening, after weeks of waiting Sara finally made it to Europe and Barcelona of all places! Her aunt had moved away for work a few years prior and Sara had many fond memories of her fun aunt Sam, who was only 8 years older than Sara. Spending a week with her aunt was going to be beyond awesome.

The flight was long and uneventful and her excitement builds as she arrives outside her Aunt's apartment. The sun was beating down and slipping inside the cool shade of the building was welcome relief from the heat.

The apartment was on the second floor. The front door opened to a large room with high ceilings. A long corridor ran off to the side containing bedrooms. Sara dropped her cases andheaded to the kitchen and spotted a note.

"Back in a few days, away with work, Sam"

"Oh, great!" Sara rolled her eyes, "I'm here alone"

Grumbling to herself she drops to the sofa. Sleep follows soon after.

Feeling refreshed from her nap, Sara decided it was time to explore her new surroundings. She wandered the enormous apartment, moving from room to room. The apartment was mostly decorated in the scandi style, very minimalist in the bright sunshine made the apartment feel light and airy. At the end of the long hallway, the last door on the right was the master bedroom. Curious, Sara opened the door and stepped inside. The door squealed on its hinges and a small bell rang, not unlike the door on a shop to announce the arrival of a customer. Sara tested the door a few times and frowned

What's that all about?

The room was dominated by a massive four-poster bed with heavy, knotted and knarled oak posts. There were two night stands either side of the bed, each with a single deep drawer. At the foot of the bed was a battered and decaying tea chest. Sara drops onto the bed and give it a test bounce or too. She slips off her flats, swings her feet off the floor and drops onto the pillows and lays there for a moment, huffing an exasperated sigh. The room is silent but for the faint noise of the busy street below and faint birdsong. Just as Sara's mind begins to wander her thoughts are interrupted by two distinct knocks. Sara's eyes snap open as the rush of adrenaline surges through her body - that knock was from inside the room. She lays still, straining her sinews trying to listen. Nothing more. With a shrug, she goes to lay back down on the bed, when a louder, more insistent knocking is heard.

Okay… officially starting to freak-out!

Sara knocks on the bedside table with a rat-a-tat-tat. After a few seconds the same sequence rattles back. Sara trembles as she traces the sound back to the tea chest. She gasps as the tea chest lid rattles. There was something alive inside.

Does Aunty Sam have a cat? No, she hates cats, Sara swallows hard and the adrenaline surges once more, Cats can't knock, can they?

Peering over the edge of the bed, the tea chest sits, innocuously. Sara, reaches down and raps the lid lightly with three slow knocks. She gets the same three knocks back.

"Hello?" Squeaks Sara.

The box remains silent. Sara grows in confidence, after clearing her throat, she raps the ancient wood lid and  calls out "Hello?". Silence.

Sara listens for a minute, wrestling with the thought that the last five minutes was all in her imagination. She looks back to the door, thinking it's time to leave and head out into the city to explore. But her insatiable curiosity gets the better of her as she slides off the bed and onto her knees in front of the tea chest. The chest is not very large, a little less than 2ft by 1ft by 1ft wide. There is a tarnished and corroded brass hasp closed over. It squeals as it's lifted and the hidden hinges shriek as they are opened. Inside, box contained white cotton bedding, the sides are thickly padded with velvety material, and the lid has been crudely covered with soundproof foam. On closer inspection, the bottom corner of the foam has been torn away and there are faint half moon indents on the wood Sara runs her fingers over them. The scratches run under foam. Sara pulls the foam away carefully and seems more scratches and gouges that look almost like…

"Fingernails…" She slams the lid shut. The box sneezes "atchoo!"

The sneeze is followed up with an immediate "shush".

Sara officially panics and scrambles away from the box on her hands and knees. She breathes hard for a moment with her knees drawn up to her chest, her bare toes curling against the wooden floor. Gathering up her courage, she once again inches towards the tea chest. Breathing har enough to make her nostrils flare she wrenches open the lid. The folded bed sheet has a peak within it, something pointy was hidden underneath. Sara rips the sheets out and screams.

"Er…. Hi… Sara?!" Her middle-aged Aunt Sam grins nervously from within the tea chest.

Sara's aunt has been twisted and folded into an impossibly contorted shape within the small box. Her head was pressed tight into the folds of her body, her right foot was pressed against her left ear, her chin appeared to be resting on the small of her back. A hand wriggled away in the top left corner and her left foot and left hand were wagging away along the front edge of the box. Sam's long, straight, raven black hair frames her face and spills across her contorted body. Her long narrow feet flex and curl as she stared up at her niece.

Sara looks on, jaw on the floor, mouthing words but not finding sounds.

"I- I- I- I thought you were on holiday with mom!"

Sara bites her lip as she glances to the left where the rumpled sheet was resting. Sara gingerly lifts the sheet where she finds her mother, blushing furiously under the covers. She gives a brief "eeep" as her predicament is exposed.

Sara fumbles for her mobile and starts punching numbers

"Sara, what are you doing! Put that phone away!" Sam glares furiously at Sara.

"But, I mean… you-" Sara's words fail as she offers exasperated gestures with her arms

"Honey, it's fine"

"How can it be you be, your… This!?"

"Sweetie, it's okay, my master will let me out in a few days and I'll be all fine and back to normal."

Sara's brow furrowed "Master?!  Who is that? What are you talking about, you can't just expect me to just wal-"

"Sara!" Sam roared, snapping Sara to attention, "listen carefully, shut the lid, walk away now and all will be well. He will not like that I have been disturbed and he cannot find out that you have seen me like this. Walk away. Now."

"Bullshit!" Sara snorted, "He can't do anything to me!"

Sam raises an eyebrow, "honey, look at me."Sam spreads her bare feet and toes wide. You'llvery lucky not to be going home in a shoe box, if he catches you."

Sara hesitates, But "Aunt Sam.."

"Sweetie, it will be fine",  Sam says soothingly, "if you want to help, scratch my nose, it's been itching for days?" Sara, numbly obliges, scratching her aunts nose.

"Oh my… so good"

Sara frowns, "How did this happen? How are you like this?"

"Like what, Hun?"

"You know, all folded up and stuff"

"Oh," Sam blushes "well… the how I don't know but the why… let's just say this predicament can be fun."

"Fun how?"

Sam raises an eyebrow and gives a knowing smile. "Really?"

Sara pauses for a moment "Oh,"she exclaims thoughtfully. "Oh…" she frowns Aunt Sam… ewww, I don't want to think about that."

Sam laughs "you asked, dummy"

"Glad you cleared that up," snorts Sam, voice dripping with sarcasm. Sara looks at her Aunt intently.

"I never realized how big your feet were before Aunt Sam"

"Oh?"

"They look massive, I knew mom's feet were big but…"

Sam giggles, "size nines", wiggling her feet and toes. "I love my big feet, so does my master."

Sam frowns, "what's going on?"

"Nothing," grins Sara. Sam flinches as Sara's manicured nails rest on her bare arches. Sam wails as Sara's fingers curl slowly in her arch, her toes curl tightly.

"Sara, I mean it, don't touch my barefoot. I can't move, your being a dick"

Sara's manicured nails are drawing circles on her aunts helpless arches. Sam's eyes are screwed tight as she fights the feeling of tickling pop.

"You're not thinking about tickling me?"

"Am I not?" Sare dances her fingers across her aunt's bare sole. "So your feet are ticklish?"

"Yes!" Sam exclaims "stop that!"

"No"

Sam looks on helplessly, unsure what to do. Sara's next onslaught leaves her looking up at her niece pleadingly. Sara, in a moment of madness, rakes her nails down Sam's exposed right foot.

"EEEEEEEE! Oi!"

"Stop tickling me!"

"I- AAAAHAHA, I can't st- AHAHAHA I-" Sara tickles her Aunt's foot as she speaks throwing her off her words, "Will you lay off my feeEEEEHEHEHEHEHEEEET, AHAHAHA."

"Ummm… no?"

"I CAHAHAHAHAAAAAN'T, HE TOLD ME TOHOHOHOHOOOO!"

Sara tickles both feet and Sam thrashes (or at least what passes for thrashing when you're jammed in a box) screaming and kicking. Each touch causes the toes to spasm involuntarily, cascading sensitive wrinkles down the foot. Meanwhile, Sam's right foot slaps hard against her face. She strains to break free as Sam wails and giggles helplessly from Sara's cruel fingers.

"HEHEHEHEHEHEEEEEE! OKAAHAHAHAAAY! STOP!"

Sara pauses and Sam breathes deeply, mumbling "he told me to" over and over.

"Who? Your master?"

Sam recovers her composure, "Sara, you really need to shut the lid now. Put my shoes on and go. Please, honey, go and forget about us."

"But you are so helpless," Sara scribbles her nails in Sam's barefoot making her scream. "Are you having fun?"

Sam is lost in gales of snorting laughter

"SARAHAHAHAHAAAA! NO! BITCH! PLEEAHEHEHEHEHEEESE! MERCY! MERCY! NO MOHOHOHOHOOOORE TICKLES!"

Sara pauses grinning mischievously, "I understand why he left your feet out"

Sam scowls as she catches her breath.

"Sara," Sam begins, "you have had your fun. It's time to go"

"But, I-"

"Sara, this is a serious guy. Trust me when I say you don't want to cross him."

The buzzer to the intercom sounds. Sam and Sara snap around.

"Are you expecting anyone?"

'No, are you?"

"No"

"Shit, It's him… He's come back"

"What?! How can y-"

"Doesn't matter idiot! Shut the lid and run! Now!"

Sara hesitates.

"Go!"

Sara grabs her flats and runs barefoot to the door, skidding around the frame to see hear the front door unlocking

"Oh fuck!" Sara dives back into the room and closes the door over gently.

"Hey!"

Sara tosses the bedding haphazardly back in the box and closes the lid as footsteps come up the hall. The lid is closed gently and she looks for a place to hide. The door handle turns and she dives under the four poster bed cramming her 5' 4" frame into a ball near the head of the bed.

The door opens and she claps a hand over her mouth, breathing shallowly. Neat trousers and Italian shoes walk into the room and cross to the chest. A warm baritone male English voice speaks as the chest is opened

"Good evening, toy"

"Good evening sir"

"I see we have been making a mess. Tut tut. I am not impressed."

Sam whines "I'm sorry sir"

"Anything you want to tell me?"

"No, sir"

There is a pause "I see. Shall we see if you have learned your lesson"

"Yes, sir. I am very sorry sir. Can I have my body back now?"

"No. I'm afraid you are never going to be restored. Our last meeting was… disappointing"

"Yes, sir"

Sara watches as her aunts head is set down on the floor, her chin resting on the aged floorboards. Seconds later her feet are placed either side of her head. Sara stifles a scream. As her aunts toes flex helplessly.

The male voice continued. I am going to leave now. I know someone has been here. I can smell her perfume.

Sam grins and mouths sorry and gives a victorious look. Sara shakes her head and pleads silently "No! Please!".

"My niece is under the bed" Sam begins, "and she tickled my feet"

Sara panics, she slides out from under the bed, preparing to run as a firm grip reaches under and grabs her ankles. She screams, leaving nails marks in the floor as she is yanked out from under the bed.

The last sound Sara hears is her aunt leering "Payback is a bitch".

Epilogue

The delivery van pulls-up outside a typical Cape cod. The driver heads up the driveway and rings the doorbell. A middle-aged woman with raven black hair opens the door.

"Package for you her ma'am". A small shoe box-sized package is handed over.

The woman frowns "I wasn't expecting anything," she pauses when she sees the post mark. "Ah my daughter is house sitting abroad, it might be from her"

The woman closes the front door and heads into the kitchen to open her package. The flaps of the box are opened and the woman screams and faints.

Staring up at her from the holds of the box was the head and feet of her daughter, Sara. Sara couldn't speak for the sock in her mouth (freshly removed from sir's foot) her small wide feet flexed and curled underneath her chin.

She would have quite a lot of explaining to do when her mother comes around.