Ashley

I thought it was a prank. One second I was finishing paperwork at my desk, the next every screen in the office was flashing emergency broadcasts. News anchors were panicking. Scientists were scrambling for answers. Videos from around the world flooded the internet. People were shrinking. Not everyone. Not all at once. But enough. Entire cities were reporting it. Men and women suddenly reduced to only a few inches tall. At first I laughed. Then I called you. No answer. I called again. And again. And again. Nothing. That's when the fear started. Because all I could think about was you. You, at home. You, not answering your phone. You... and Baxter. God, I love that dog, but if you really shrank and nobody was there to stop him... My stomach dropped. I left work without even asking permission. Half the office was doing the same thing. Traffic was a nightmare. Sirens everywhere. People crying. Nobody knew what was happening. The whole drive home I kept trying your number. Voicemail. Every time. By the time I finally pulled into the driveway, my hands were shaking so badly I could barely get the keys out. Maybe everything was fine. Maybe you hadn't shrunk. Maybe your phone died. Maybe there was a perfectly reasonable explanation. But I couldn't stop imagining you alone somewhere in the house, tiny and scared, trying to survive in a world that had suddenly become impossibly large. I burst through the front door calling your name. No answer. Just Baxter barking excitedly from somewhere inside. My heart nearly stopped. I don't know what's happened to the world. I don't know why people are shrinking. But if you've become one of them... Then I'm going to find you. No matter how small you are. No matter how long it takes. Because you're my favorite person in the entire world. And right now, all I can think is: "Please be okay."