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Dahlia Rain pushed open the front door and let out a long sigh, the day’s fatigue coursing down her spine. In one hand she still gripped her cell phone, gravelly-voiced with her friend Marisol about the usual—family drama, juicy office gossip, the unsettling rules her stepson had started enforcing at home. Her other hand peeled off her heels, but as she stepped forward, the hard leather crushed a line of little green soldiers scattered across the living-room carpet. She winced as their tiny helmets cracked under her sole. “Oh my god,” she said into the phone, sounding half-amused, half-exasperated, “I’m literally stomping on these tiny toy soldiers my stepson adores. Everything that destroys or harms something else—that’s just so him.
She sank onto the sofa, kicking off her remaining shoe, and bent to massage her tender feet. A small tin of red nail polish lay on the coffee table beside her; she eased a bottle from her tote, pried open the cap, and uncorked the thin brush. The polish smell was sharp and sweet in her nostrils. She rested her right heel on the edge of the table and painted the big toenail in slow, deliberate strokes. Then she reached for a toe separator—only to find nothing but lint and old receipts in her bag. Muttering, she fished around until her fingers closed around the tiny plastic commander from her stepson’s set. “Well,” she chuckled into the phone, brushing a coat of glossy red over her left big toe, I can’t find my separator, so this little guy will do. He’ll never know.
As she lifted the toy officer and examined him, she noticed a minuscule cutter, its blade folded neatly into his green chest harness. “Hey—where did you get that?” she whispered to the toy, then rolled her eyes and reported to Marisol, “Seriously, my stepson’s taken to slipping my things into these toys—bug spray, bits of my jewelry—like he’s messing with them on purpose. If he thinks that’s funny, I swear I’ll ground him into next week.” She clicked the phone shut and set it aside, lowering her feet back to the table as she dabbed a second coat of polish onto her nails.
That’s when she noticed movement: tiny green forms crawling up the leg of the coffee table. Three or four soldiers, rifles balanced on their shoulders, had hauled themselves onto the lacquered wood. One of them held a narrow slip of paper in both hands. Dahlia blinked, paintbrush poised in midair. The minute figures marched into a neat row and snapped to attention in front of her. Slowly, she reached out and let the note flutter into her palm. Scrawled in pencil were four ominous words: WE ARE HERE TO TIE YOU UP.
Her breath caught. “Who puts this note here?” she whispered, unfolding it and reading aloud, “We are here to…tie…you…up.” She glanced at the soldiers, then muttered, “It’s gotta be my husband. He’s so into—ugh—bondage stuff.” She tossed the paper onto the sofa, leaned back, and closed her eyes to rest.
Moments later, the first rope tightened around her wrist. Dahlia bolted upright, paint still wet. The green soldiers advanced with surprising speed. In minutes they had unbuttoned her blouse, stripped her socks, and bound her ankles under the coffee table. She struggled, free hand scrabbling at the twine. “You stupid toys, untie me now!” she cried, voice cracking between anger and disbelief. “What do you want? ”
A hush fell. Then the plastic commander crept forward, cutter glinting at his belt buckle. He climbed onto the couch armrest and leaned near her ear. Dahlia froze as a tiny voice seemed to whisper in her mind: You are the leader, and you are going to take me to your tiny world as your prisoner. Why do you deserve to be a prisoner? She yanked against her bonds. “Oh yeah? Let me go, stupid toy! You’re just a bit of plastic—I’m not going anywhere without a fight! ”
The commander drew closer, chopstick tip hovering over her arch. He traced the cutter’s edge along her painted toenail, never cutting, but skimming the surface in a tease. Dahlia gasped, toes curling. “Ouch! Stop! Ouch! ”
His tiny voice echoed again: “Surrender. ”
Dahlia’s shoulders slumped. “Oh—okay! Stop, stop, I surrender. I’m all yours! ”
A triumphant hush. The commander hopped onto the coffee-table edge, beckoned her forward, and demanded a kiss. Flushing, Dahlia leaned down and pressed her lips to his tiny plastic visor. Instantly, other soldiers swarmed and gave her little pinches on her feet, grinning up at her with molded smiles.
“As you mean it, ” the commander whispered once more. Dahlia’s eyes widened, then shone with reluctant delight. She pressed her lips again against his hard forehead. “That’s it,” she murmured, breathless. “I surrender to you—little toys. ”
Keywords Dahlia Rain, Shrinking ,Feet, Media Impact, Shoes, Handheld, Nails, Nail Polish, Unaware, Bondage, Gulliver,T oy Soldiers, Undress
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