Cleaning Day (2023)

Brad had been planning to clean his room for weeks, and today he finally had the chance. His landlord and his roommate were out for the day—or at least, he thought they were. No one had been home when he woke up, so he assumed he had the place to himself.

With the house to himself, he could tackle the mess without feeling self-conscious. He always felt uneasy cleaning when others were around; he preferred to keep his slobbish tendencies to himself.

The cleaning process took a couple of hours. Unbeknownst to him, the floor was littered with dirt and debris accumulated over the weeks of neglect. Brad, lost in his task, paid little attention to his bare feet as they became grimier with each step. Subconsciously, he was aware of the growing layer of filth coating his soles, but he shrugged it off. A shower would take care of it once he was done—no harm, no foul.

—

Meanwhile, Joe woke up groggily, fluttering his eyes open. He had planned to go out to the city today, but apparently, life had other plans. What those were, he had no idea. As he sat up, a wave of terror washed over him, nearly making him lose control of his bladder. As his eyes adjusted, he realized he was in his kitchen, but everything was enormous. The cupboards towered miles above him, the stove looked like a skyscraper that housed a deity, and the door leading upstairs seemed impossibly far away. Joe didn't understand how it had happened, but he had shrunk.

The unmistakable sound of rock music echoed from upstairs, signalling that Brad was home.

“Brad!!!” Joe cried out in vain. The air around him seemed to swallow his voice, rendering his cries inaudible. The music continued, undisturbed, as Brad went about his day.

'He must be cleaning,' Joe figured. Brad always cleaned when he played music like this, especially since their landlord was away for the weekend. Joe was supposed to be out, so it made sense why Brad would be cleaning now.

It wasn't long before Joe heard another unmistakable sound—the creak of a door opening.

—

The music hit a crescendo as Brad let it fill the house, making his way downstairs. To Joe, the sound was thunderous, each step a deafening boom that rattled his tiny frame. The vibrations from Brad's footsteps reverberated through the floor, making the ground beneath Joe tremble as if caught in an earthquake. Joe’s heart raced as he looked up in awe and terror at the giant descending the stairs.

From Joe's perspective, Brad was a colossal being, each footfall sending shockwaves through the kitchen floor. As Brad entered the room, the immense figure cast a long shadow, momentarily darkening Joe's view. Brad's legs, like towering pillars, moved with casual grace, completely unaware of the tiny man below. Joe could see the intricate patterns of Brad's white and black camo sleep pants swaying with each step, and his bare feet, each toe as large as Joe's entire body, pressed firmly against the wooden floor.

Joe himself, the size of a grain of rice, blended into the wood panels of the floor, making him almost invisible. He watched in horror as Brad's massive feet thudded on the kitchen floor, each step causing the ground to tremble. The slight roughness of Brad's skin was visible to Joe, every crease and fold magnified a hundredfold. Joe watched as Brad’s eyed appeared to survey the area, his eyes passing right over Joe without noticing him. To Brad, nothing seemed amiss. Far as he knew, he was alone.

Brad reached the sink and set the dishes down with a resounding clink that echoed through the cavernous space.

Joe was engulfed in a whirlwind of sensations. The overpowering scent of Brad's subtle cologne filled the air as the giant passed by, and the humidity from his large feet was felt before cool air returned. Each movement Brad made was a monumental event, the air currents shifting violently with every motion.

Joe's mind raced. He had to get Brad's attention, but how? The task seemed impossible as he stood there, a minuscule figure in a world not made for him, facing an oblivious giant who continued his routine without a second thought. The gap between them was not just one of size, but of awareness, and Joe felt the weight of his insignificance pressing down on him.

Joe's gaze locked onto Brad's foot, now lifted and positioned on the toes, as Brad allowed his leg to stretch out. The slight scrunch of his sole created deep ridges in the skin, which loomed ominously above. Every speck of dirt clinging to Brad's foot was as large as Joe himself, and the sheer scale of Brad's foot was overwhelming. Joe screamed, but his voice was swallowed by the vast expanse of the kitchen and the blaring music. The sole’s appearance nearly broke tiny Joe, knowing Brad had no idea he was there.

In that moment, as the immense foot continued to show its face, Joe was painfully aware of his new place in life—utterly insignificant and at the mercy of a world that couldn't even perceive his existence. Brad's foot, caked with dirt from the floor, hovered over Joe as he lost his mind.

Brad, oblivious to the tiny man beneath him, continued with his day, unwittingly showing Joe just how insignificant he had become in this new, terrifying world.