The trip was supposed to be fun. A simple family vacation, a week away from the grind — but money was tight. Tight enough that your parents had settled on the strange solution of shrinking you down with that bizarre gadget and stashing you away where no one would notice.

That’s how you ended up here.

Inside your brother’s sneaker.

The walls of fabric pressed against you as the heavy thud of his steps shook your tiny body with each stride. The air was thick and sweltering, clinging to you like a damp blanket. Your brother had always had issues with sweating, and his feet were notorious for their stink — strong enough at full size to clear a room, but now that you were shrunken, there was no escape from it. The sour, musky scent filled every breath you took.

Outside, you could hear muffled voices — your parents chatting about luggage, boarding passes, and snacks for the flight. Meanwhile, you were being carried along unnoticed, pressed into the sweat-soaked insole of your brother’s shoe, where each step squeezed more heat and odor around you.

The worst part was the thought lingering in the back of your mind: what if they forgot about you once the trip started? Or worse… what if they couldn’t figure out how to grow you back?