The next morning, Emily and I had breakfast in bed. It was still odd seeing her with one hand, but in a good way. Seeing her struggle to cut off the top of an egg was endearing. She tried using the bottle of juice and the jar of jam as counter pressure and cut the egg with the knife in her left (and only) hand, but the egg kept falling over. Eventually, she used the elbow of her abbreviated right arm to press the egg against her side and cut with the butter knife towards her stump. It looked wobbly and she got some crumbs, butter, and egg yolk on her light blue pyjama top, but it worked. She let out a satisfied grunt and smiled at me.

After breakfast, we hopped into the shower, and I got another good look at her altered body.

“What are you staring at, perv”, she asked provocatively.

“Nothing. Just…This is still surreal to me, but in a good way. You’re super hot like this.”

“Aww, come here!” She extended her arm a half and hugged me. “It still feels new, but also exciting.”

I quickly got myself soaped and cleaned up, and then I watched her while she did the same.

The last 15 hours had been like a weird fever dream. I still wasn’t completely used to having one hand, but it sure was an interesting experience. Ben certainly didn’t seem to mind. His eyes had been glued to my right arm longingly ever since I got home. I understood his fascination, though. There was a certain attractiveness to being incapacitated like this. It was a challenge, and only now did I understand just how much I use both hands for.

After I was done cleaning myself, I figured it would be a good idea to also shave before getting out of the shower. My intimates and right armpit were easily done, but my left armpit was tricky.

“Need a hand”, Ben offered.

I considered the offer for a second before responding. “Nah, I’d like to try and figure this one out. Thanks, though!”

“Alright then!”

I considered fixating the razor to the sideboard with a shampoo bottle, but decided to try it with my hand first. I bent my elbow as far as I could and was pleased to find that I could reach my armpit with the razor that way. The entire ordeal felt odd and wasn’t very comfortable, but it worked.

“Well done!” Ben nodded, his eyes glistening almost proudly.

Once we were out of the shower, he handed me a towel, which I used to dry myself off, before I wrapped myself into it, pressing it to my side with my short right arm until I could fixate it. The next task was blow-drying my hair. I struggled a bit in the beginning as well, but once again refused Ben’s offer to help. It took me a few minutes to figure out what to do. First, I brushed my hair and worked the blow-drying care foam into it. Then I switched on the blow-dryer and slowly dried my hair. I had to switch it off and brush my hair again multiple times, but in the end, the result was almost as good as if I had done it as usual. Easy. All that was left for me to do was to brush my teeth. Ben had already done that while I was still busy drying my hair and gone to the bedroom to get dressed.

As I stepped out of the bathroom, Ben, fully clothed by now, came out of the bedroom.

“I’ll empty the dishwasher and put the breakfast stuff away while you are getting ready, then we can go to the mall. Sounds good?”

Right, we wanted to go to the mall, so I could show him the shop with the reduction machine. I had almost forgotten about that. “Yeah, perfect. Give me 15 minutes or so, then we’ll be good to go.”

“Great!” He smiled and headed to the kitchen.

I returned the smile, entered the bedroom, and closed the door behind me, before I let myself fall onto the bed. I took a few minutes to collect myself. I reached for my right arm with my left hand and felt the rounded end of where my arm ended prematurely. I gently squished it and tried to imagine what having two hands had been like. It hadn’t even been a day, but I hadn’t tried grabbing anything with my non-existent hand even once today. I couldn’t even imagine what it had been like being able to do that. While I still struggled with many tasks and had to find new ways to tackle them, it felt like my right arm had always been this way.

I could hear the muffled sounds of silverware and dishes being unloaded from the dishwasher. ‘Right, I wanted to get ready.’ I sighed and pushed myself up. Getting into my pants was easy enough. I took a bit longer with the button, but it was no real obstacle.

Next was my bra. I went through my underwear drawer and picked out my most flexible bra I could find. I wrapped it around myself backwards using my stump to press it against my side and my left hand to navigate the rest. I held the bra down with my wrist and stump and used my fingers to thread the little hooks into their respective positions to close it. Then I turned the bra into its correct position before pushing my arms through the straps. I couldn’t help but grinning a very wide and proud grin. I was nailing this one arm thing.

I picked out a cute buttonless top and a thick baggy sweater to go over it. I was just about to leave the room when I noticed a little drag on my right side and realised the half-empty right sleeve was flapping around whenever I was moving my arm. I giggled and looked at myself in the mirror while flapping around with my right arm. Then I rolled up my sleeve until my stump just poked out before I left the bedroom.

I found Ben in the living room, reading the brochure I had given him yesterday.

“Are you ready to leave?”

Ben looked up. “In a minute, look at this.”

I stepped closer. “What is it?”

“They don’t just sell devices, but also other little gadgets, and toys, all centred around body reduction. There’s chewing gum, bath salts, body lotions, rubber bands, beverages... Hell, there’s even a bottle with breathable gas that makes random limbs disappear for a day. And look at this, there’s an app with all kinds of little tricks coming out in May.”

“Holy crap, that sounds amazing!” I was impressed.

“Doesn’t it?? Do you think the shop at the mall will sell all of that as well?” Ben looked at me excitedly.

“I sure hope so. We can ask while we are there today. Come on, let’s go!”

The mall was busier than most weekdays, but comparatively empty for a Saturday. Granted, it was still early in the day, just around noon. The air was full of interesting smells coming over from the food court and the little Christmas market in the centre of the mall. We entered through the east entrance, which incidentally was also the one closest to the shop with the reduction device.

The shop was empty when we entered. The owner behind the counter greeted us with a warm smile.

“Hey, I’m John, welcome!” He looked at me probingly for a moment. His eyes flickered to my right arm, then made contact with my own eyes again. “You were here yesterday, weren’t you? Emm..Emma?”

I smiled. “Close, Emily! Yeah, that was me with some co-workers.”

“Ah right, Emily, sorry about that. Is everything alright? Are you feeling any discomfort?”

“No, no, I’m fine, thanks. In fact, I’m here with my boyfriend, Ben, to show him the place that is responsible for... this.” I waved my abbreviated arm.

John grinned happily. “Is that so? Well, I’m happy to hear that. Hi Ben, nice to meet you.”

He extended a hand towards Ben and the two quickly shook hands.

“So, Ben, are you interested in trying out our machine yourself, or are you folks here to give Emily another round?”

Ben thought for a second. “I’m generally curious. This is incredibly fascinating to me. How does your machine work? What can it do? You also gave Emily a brochure yesterday. I have some questions about that.”

“Oh, okay, well, the shop is empty, I have the time. I can give you a run down now, if you like…?” John shot us a questioning look. We both nodded eagerly.

“Alright then. Follow me please.” He led us to the backroom which I had already seen yesterday. The reduction device was in the centre of the room. It looked like those body scanners at airport security, but with a big touch screen next to it.

“This is the Atomizer AT-001e. The newest tech in body modification and beauty technology. It can make any of your limbs disappear for different amounts of time. It does that by deconstructing the limb on an atomic level and programming the responsible cells for rapid growth at a set amount of time. The limb then rapidly regrows within five minutes once the set amount of time has passed. All of this happens completely painlessly, as Emily here can attest to. The minimum amount of time that can be programmed is fifteen minutes. The maximum amount is a year, though there is also a setting that allows the user to forego the implementation of a time limit. In that case, the cells are programmed to reconstruct the limb, but the command is suspended until the command is given through one of… these.” He produced a small device that looked a bit like a pen with a flashlight at the end. “You can activate the growth programming with this activator immediately and the limbs will stay gone until that happens.”

“This is incredible”, said Ben with big eyes. “Will the devices advertised in the brochure be able to do the same?”

“Ah, yes. Both the handheld device and the big full body device will be able to do the same, though the full body one will be considerable quicker than the handheld device. The handheld device can also function as an activator in case you chose the indefinite setting, while the big version comes with one of these.” He held up the activator pen again.

“Amazing! And will this shop also sell the other things advertised in the brochure?” I could feel Ben’s childlike excitement.

“Most of it, yes, and you can order anything from the catalogue either for home delivery or for pick up in this shop if it's not in stock here. In fact, while the products officially launch in January, I have a few boxes here already. Are you interested? I’m not supposed to sell them yet, but… you guys can keep it to yourselves, right? If corporate finds out, I am done, but if you only use that stuff at home, we should be fine.”

Ben almost jumped with excitement, and I too felt a few butterflies in my stomach. “Yes, absolutely”, we both said simultaneously, causing John to snicker. “Okay, let me see what I have here already. I’ll be right back.” He headed to the storage room.

“Are you okay?” I looked at Ben and smiled warmly. “You look like a little boy in a candy store.”

Ben giggled. “I feel like one too. This entire thing is so surreal… I’m hella excited. I also love that you are so on board with this. Other girls might not react the same way, but you are just amazing. Hell, you only have one hand right now and I didn’t even have to ask you to do it.” He lovingly glanced at my nub, grinned and teasingly added: “Stumpy!”

“Are you kidding? This is fun. Anyone who doesn’t at least get a little curious is boring. And by the way, this nub is cute.” I gave it a long stare and couldn’t help but squish it again.

“It sure is!” Ben nodded in agreement.

We could hear steps and a few moments later, John returned from the storage room with three big boxes stacked on top of each other.

“Sorry this took so long. This is all I have here.” He put the boxes on the counter and arranged them so that they were side by side. Then he opened them one by one.  “Let’s see… Alright. I have gummy bears that make limbs disappear for 24 hours. The colours determine the limb, the amount you have eaten determines by how much the limb is reduced. The 24 hours always restart when you eat another, but are counted for each limb individually. So, if you eat ones that make your left leg disappear, and then eat some that will make your right arm disappear two hours later, your left leg will reappear two hours before your right arm the next day. However, if you eat even one more gummy bear that will make your left leg disappear further after you have eaten the ones for your right arm, the 24 hours for your left leg will reset and your right arm will be the first one to reappear. Got it?” We both nodded. “Good. We sell those in boxes with a kilo each, or we have a box with smaller bags inside them. That one is a kilo as well, but the smaller bags are easier to transport, if you are going somewhere. They are fun at parties, though, again, please only use them in public after they officially launched in January. Both boxes are sold for €15 each.” We nodded again. John moved on to the second box.

“Next, we have rubber bands. They come in multiple colours. Some make your limbs disappear as long as they are on, but reappear as soon as you take them off. Others make the limbs disappear for longer. How long exactly is determined by the colour of the band.We sell each bag at €10.” He handed the leaflet that was in the box to me and moved on to the last box. I looked at the leaflet for a second. There was an overview over the different colours and how long the effect lasts for each. However, I quickly decided to return my attention to John.

“The last box contains… Ah yes. These are card games. The card game is basically the drinking game ‘King’s cup’, but with different rules. It comes with this designated cup to fill whenever a king is drawn. However, see this sensor? Every card has a designated group of limbs. Fingers, hands, toes, feet, legs and so on. Every card that is drawn gets scanned by the cup, which then in turn randomly selects one of the limbs of the group designated to that card and makes it disappear to a random level. So, you lose more and more limbs as the evening goes on. Whoever draws the fourth king will lose all four limbs once the cup is empty. From that moment on, the effect lasts twelve hours for everyone, so everyone should be back to normal by the next evening. Just make sure the loser drinks the entire cup, otherwise you will be stuck until that has happened. The cup being a piece of technology is reflected in the price, though, unfortunately. We sell those at €90."

Ben looked at me wide eyed.

“That all sounds amazing, and the game, while pricey, sounds like a lot of fun. Thank you, John”, I said. “Ben, what do you say, should we take two boxes of gummy bears for now?”

Ben drew in a sharp breath and nodded, which prompted John to put two boxes in a paper bag. “Wait, John, could you give us one box of each kind. One with just the gummy bears and one with the smaller bag?” I shot him a questioning look.

“Sure thing, but remember, don’t show anyone until January.”

“Yeah, don’t worry.” I smiled at him reassuringly. John put one of the boxes back and replaced it with another.

“Okay, that would be €30 then. Tax is already included in the pricing.”

“Hold on a second, there might be something else.” I leaned towards Ben and muttered under my breath: “Do you think you can help me out a bit until monday morning?”

Ben’s eyes widened in disbelieve. “Sure thing”, he said. “But why?”

“You’ll find out in a moment.” I returned my attention to John. “I would also like to use your machine again.”

“Are you sure? You already have used it once this week. That is more than enough for most people.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. It’s the weekend anyway. I have no plans and Ben will be there to help me out.”

“Okay then, let’s go back to the Atomizer.” We headed to the backroom again. “You know the drill, get rid of any clothing on the limb you want to lose.”

I slipped out of my coat and my scarf and put them on a nearby chair. Then I struggled out of my sweatshirt and swiftly slid out of my top.

“Arms again? You can keep the bra on, it’s fine that way. Step into the Atomizer please, arms away from your body in roughly a 45-degree angle.” I did as I was told. “What do you have in mind?”

I thought for a second if I really wanted to go through with this. ‘Screw it’, I decided. ‘Let’s do this, Ben is there to assist me. I’ll be fine.’ I took a deep breath. “Can you take my left arm at the shoulder? Until the end of the weekend, so for 36 hours?”

“Emily, that will leave you completely helpless.” Ben sounded shocked, but there was something else in his voice as well. Arousal? Good.

“Uh, no, I still have half an arm left, and you to help me. This will be fun. Yes, I am sure.”

“Okay then”, said John. “I have set up everything. I’m ready when you are.”

I gave him a nod and winked at Ben. John pressed the start button, and the Atomizer began to hum. I felt a warm prickling in my left arm and watched as my arm slowly began to disappear. First the fingers, then my hand. Withing twenty seconds, my left arm matched my right one, and another thirty seconds later it was over.

I stepped out of the machine. My balance was off. The weight of an entire arm was missing on my left side. I tried to reach out with my left arm, but only my shoulder moved. There was nothing left to reach out with. I reached over with the stump of my right arm. I could barely reach my shoulder with it. I felt around and marvelled at the absence of what had been there mere moments before. Ben looked like he was about to pass out.

John smiled and turned towards the door. “I’m gonna leave you two here for a second. I’ll be at the front. Just come see me when you are ready, and we can get back to business.”

“Thanks, John”, I said appreciative. I turned to Ben and gave him a hug. “I’m going to need your help, now”, I whispered. Ben snapped out of it.

“Sure, what do we do first?”

“My top, can you help me put it on?” I pointed at it with my stump, the only appendage left to point at anything.

“Of course, hold on!” He grabbed my top. I raised my arm and he maneuvered it through the arm hole, then pulled the top over my head. “The sweater is next.” We repeated the procedure with the sweater, first the arm, and then over my head. When my head emerged, my hair was a mess. He used his fingers to fix it at least partially. “Thanks!” I smiled and gave him a kiss. “Could you roll up my right sleeve again, so it doesn’t flap around?” Ben did as I asked. While he was working on the sleeve, I noticed a small bulge in his pants. I giggled and pointed towards it with my nub once Ben was done with the sleeve. He flushed and turned away, but I hooked my elbow into his arm and hugged him. “I love you!” He relaxed. “I love you too.” He gave me a smile, then wrapped my scarf around my neck and helped me into my coat.

“You are amazing!”

“I know!” I stuck out my tongue at him. “Let’s go and pay.”

We headed to the front where John had already scanned everything and packed it up.

“As you know, since this shop newly opened, there is a 50% discount on the first three uses of the Atomizer for each new customer.”

“Ah yes, of course. Ben, would you please check my left coat pocket? My stamp card should be in there.”

Ben moved to check my coat pocket, but John interrupted: “Ah, nevermind. Today’s is on me. I’ll give you the discount without giving you a stamp. I can already tell that you will be coming here more often.”

I was surprised. “Are you sure, John?”

“Yeah, very! And Ben, here's your stamp card. Maybe you would like to try that out as well some time.” John grinned.

“Thank you, that is super kind of you. And yeah, you are right, I’m very sure you will see more of us.”

“Good, I’m happy to hear that. That’ll be €40 then. You made a bigger reduction than last time, but for a much shorter time period. In the end, that’s €20 again, €10 with the discount.”

“Wow”, said Ben. “Alright, I guess I’ll be the one paying, given that Emily is…indisposed. Do you take cash?”

“Sure!” Ben handed John two €20 bills and received a receipt in return. “Pleasure doing business with you guys.”

“Likewise!” I said. “See you next time!”

“Have fun you two”, John said as we stepped through the door.

I looked at Ben. “Let’s go home and have some fun!”

And that’s exactly what we did.