An imitation... too realistic

Émilie had a simple dream when she was a little girl: to make people laugh and entertain them.

Today, she is a young woman in her final year of high school, earning a little money by performing as a mime artist in a park, one of the few places in Paris that is still pleasant.

Even though reality turned out to be very different from her childhood dream, Émilie has continued to practise her art with a smile and a real talent for comedy and impersonation.

That day, she was taking advantage of the weekend to entertain passers-by in ‘her’ usual park.

That's when she caught the eye of a handsome young man walking with his little sister. As soon as she saw him, she had only one desire: to get his attention.

With a knowing smile, she called out to the young man and his sister without a word, miming a free show.

The little girl, intrigued and enthusiastic, immediately insisted on seeing the act. The young man, amused, agreed with a broad smile.

Emily had a simple idea: to imitate a Disney character that the little girl would easily recognise.

She chose to play Alice and began by miming a small box containing a cake, which she pretended to eat.

But then two unexpected things happened.

First, Emily felt something real between her teeth; she had just bitten into a real cake, without any effort of self-persuasion.

Then, almost immediately, she began to grow at an incredible speed, becoming gigantic in a matter of seconds.

Emily wanted to scream, but no sound came out of her mouth, while her little sister clapped her hands and shouted, ‘It's Alice! It's Alice!’

The young man stood frozen. He thought it was an illusion, a well-orchestrated trick... but he himself found it hard to believe.

Not knowing what to do or understand what was happening to her, Emily improvised. She mimed a small bottle and pretended to drink it.

And again, the sensation of real liquid filled her mouth. In a matter of moments, she shrank before his eyes... until she became tiny.

The young man, completely bewildered, took her delicately in his hand to check that it wasn't all a hallucination.

And so it was that Emily, red with embarrassment, found herself face to face with the boy she liked so much... the size of a doll barely fifteen centimetres tall.