"It's a string?"

"Yes, but more than a string."

"What are you on about?"

Julie didn't seem to be getting through to me, so she rolled her shirt up, exposing her stomach, and laid down on the floor. She took the long, thin string with a bead on each end, and tied it tightly around her stomach.

"Doesn't that hurt?" I asked.

"A little, not much really."

Julie had tied the string around just below her navel, and was pulling it tighter and tighter. She was slim to begin with, but after a moment, her midsection was hardly as thick as her wrist.

"Julie..."

"Relax!"

"Holy shit holy shit." For a moment, her midsection was so slim, that a wedding ring could be wrapped around it. Suddenly, she "snapped."

"Holy shit!"

"Ahhh..." Julie gave a relieved exhalation.

"You just snapped in two!"

"Eh, you wound't have believed me unless you'd seen it."

The string laid astray between each half of her, while each end was very much rounded off, no sign of physical trauma at all.

Julie folded her legs into a seiza, and carefully walked around on her hands and rested her head in her own lap.

"Neat, innit?"

"Yeah..."

She changed her expression.

"A little bit much, I suppose..."

"Yeah.."

"Well, you better snap yourself out of it!"

"You just snapped yourself though!"

"Hmm, anyway, we gotta go soon. Help me out here please."

I carefully lifted Julie on top of her legs, keeping a firm hold on her ribcage. She had me press down into her lower half, and she kinda lightly slapped herself near the division, maybe to get the blood moving? In a few moments, she was back together.

"Okay... What's this reduced fare idea you had?"

"Well, what do you think?"

"You're going to divide yourself and hide in two suitcases?"

"Nah, we're going to make you smaller and hide you in one?"

"What?! Why me?"

"The ticket's in my name dear."

"Ugh... I guess there's no... Damage... What do you have in mind?"

She pulled out a similar-looking string, only the beads had a different colour than the other one.

"Okay, you have to trust me, I'm not choking you, alright?"

"What?"

"You'll be able to breathe, just relax."

She had me lay down, flat on the floor, and straddled me.

"This position is a little intimidating..."

"Don't worry, smack the floor if you want me to stop."

I closed my eyes, and Julie started to do it. It was very, very gentle, but the string was getting tighter and tighter, but she told me I'd be able to breathe the whole time.

My whole body began to get tighter, like all of my muscles were contracting at the same time, very lightly. My flats fell off for some reason.

I opened my eyes, and by looking at Julies arm, I could tell she was putting almost no effort into this "choke." I reached my hand up to hold her hand, only I didn't have one anymore.

"Ah!"

It was only a stump now, a few inches beyond my elbow.

"It's part of it! Relax..."

She caressed my face to calm me down, with the hand she was fortunate enough to have. I closed my eyes again.

My thigh-high socks fell off, and I could tell, now that I couldn't feel the fabric anymore. My chest started to weigh less as well.

"Okay, we're done!"

"What? I can't move. Whoa."

Julie lifted me up, and showed me the floor, all of my clothes were lain out in the vague pattern that I'd worn them.

"Oh."

"Wanna see?"

She moved over to the mirror, and I saw myself. I had no body to speak of, only my head and my neck, which had a little bit of string poking out.

"Eeee!!" At least I managed to freak Julie out for once. "You look so weird when you wiggle your neck like that!"

"Serves you right." She smiled.

"I guess we're ready to go, carry-on or baggage?"

"What do you think?"

She hugged me, pressing my cheek into her bosom, and set me down in her purse, kissing me before zipping me up.