Stiff-Bottom Lip (2021)

Tom Crosby’s slumber remained deep, his breaths steady and rhythmic, while Aaron clung desperately to the coarse strands of Tom’s hair. The situation had taken a terrifying turn when Aaron, who had been trying to wake Tom up, suddenly found himself inexplicably shrunk. Now, the world around him was a massive, shifting landscape where every movement from Tom felt like an earthquake.

Aaron had already narrowly avoided disaster when Tom brushed his hair in his sleep, almost sending Aaron tumbling into oblivion. Clinging to the thick, stubborn strands, he knew he couldn’t stay there forever. With no other options, Aaron began his treacherous descent down Tom’s forehead, each step a dangerous gamble.

The smooth skin beneath his tiny feet was slick and offered little grip, and Aaron’s heart pounded in his chest as he carefully navigated the steep slope of Tom’s face. The peaceful expression on Tom’s face belied the life-and-death struggle happening just above his brow.

But then, disaster struck. A slight twitch of Tom’s nose—perhaps triggered by a fleeting dream—sent Aaron careening down the side of Tom’s face. He tried desperately to slow his fall, grabbing at anything he could, but his hands found no purchase. Gravity had its way, and before he knew it, Aaron was tumbling helplessly downward.

He landed with a soft thud against Tom’s bottom lip, the impact jarring him. The plush, warm surface cushioned his fall, but the momentum sent him bouncing along the soft, pink skin until he finally came to a halt near the edge. Dazed and disoriented, Aaron struggled to regain his bearings.

The warmth of Tom’s breath surrounded him, hot and humid, making the tiny man shiver with a mixture of fear and discomfort. He was perched dangerously close to the dark, yawning chasm of Tom’s mouth, where rows of white teeth gleamed like massive, bone-white boulders. The lip beneath him shifted slightly with each exhale, reminding Aaron just how precarious his situation was.

Tom inhaled deeply in his sleep, and Aaron felt the powerful rush of air drawing him closer to the abyss. The force of the breath pulled at him, threatening to drag him into the vast cavern of Tom’s mouth. Desperately, Aaron tried to come up with a plan, his mind racing as he searched for a way out of this terrifying predicament.

But before he could act, Tom exhaled.

The breath was a gentle breeze to the sleeping giant, but to Aaron, it was a powerful gust that knocked him off his feet. He felt his tiny body lift off the lip as the warm wind swept him away, sending him tumbling through the air. Panic seized him as he flailed, desperately trying to grasp onto something—anything—that could stop his fall.