Sheila Shifts 04

Shrink

It was a hot, summer day and Sheila fancied a dip in her swimming pool. However, since she lived in a two-bedroom flat just outside the centre of town, it was a considerably smaller pool than most.

She placed the bowl of warm water on the narrow balcony outside her living room. She had shrunk herself before, but it was an awkward and uncomfortable process. She had hit upon one method that seemed to be better than the rest but it wasn’t ideal.

Stepping back from the balcony, away from any chance of being spotted, she stripped off and prepared herself. She clenched her fists and set her jaw as she tensed up her entire body. Lately, she’d been wearing her hair longer than usual. In response to her efforts, the long, dark brown strands shortened, steadily, inch-by-inch, under the gentle but consistent pull of the muscles around her scalp. Soon, they looked more like her customary tidy crop. But they didn’t stay there.

The rest of her body was changing too, although not by much considering the work Sheila was audibly putting in. Her regular figure was slight to begin with, but as Sheila tensed, any hint of fat in her face, in her waist and limbs, vanished as her skin tightened all over her body. Her muscles didn’t develop – that wasn’t the goal here – but they became more obviously visible as she gained a compact, wiry strength. Her long nails receded until they reached only as far as her fingertips, the varnish upon them falling away in crimson flakes. And her hair. Under this constant pull, felt all over her body, her hair had now completely vanished. It was as if she had made her original form as compact as she possibly could.

Then she yelled, like a martial artist delivering a lethal blow. Immediately, instantly, her height halved. She staggered, disorientated at the sudden change in her perspective. Damn! Only half as tall? Shrinking gradually was unpleasant. It was a headache ensuring every part of your body was reduced evenly and in proportion. As an alternative, a quick compression wasn’t much better, but it meant a brief ache rather than lingering cramps. Sheila had hoped to get down to the scale of her makeshift pool in no more than two shifts. At this rate, there were at least that many to go.

The thirty-three-inch Sheila shouted again, a higher pitched cry at this height. When she caught her breath, she was about a foot tall. That was convenient enough to be able to climb into the bowl without struggling. She sat on its rim and swung her legs over into the water. At this size, it was far too shallow for her to enjoy a swim. It would take one more shift. She stood up and gave one last shout, squeezing every muscle in her body simultaneously. There was a small splash, almost tidal at Sheila’s proportions, as the water rushed in to fill the gap left by her disappearing mass. As she emerged from the ‘depths’, the sun glistened off her smooth, hairless head. She smiled and eased into a languorous backstroke.

Sheila was tiny.