Morning After (2023)

Warren awoke to the throbbing pulse of a wild headache. It was the morning after New Year's Eve, a night he and Walden had indulged a bit too heartily in the festivities. While Walden had managed to make it to his room, Warren found himself sprawled in the adjacent bathroom, in an unceremonious embrace with the toilet. A classic aftermath of a night of revelry. Gratefully noting that a headache was his only ailment, Warren attempted to rise, only to be slammed by an overwhelming wave of vertigo, sending him crashing back to the floor. It felt as though the world itself was dragging him inward, a sensation of sinking into an impossible abyss.

He squeezed his eyes shut, a nauseating wave washing over him.

When he dared to open his eyes again, the world had transformed into a scene of surreal proportions. The toilet loomed like a porcelain skyscraper; the sink and bathtub stretched upwards, resembling colossal monuments. Warren's heart raced as he slowly processed the inconceivable reality – he had shrunk to a mere few centimeters, no larger than a bug.

Desperately, he called out, "WALDEN! Walden, help me!” Panic laced his voice, which barely traveled farther than the length of his arm. In this vast new world, Warren felt impossibly small and vulnerable.

Walden, roused from his own groggy state by the sound of someone falling down, called out with a throbbing head, "Warren... you good?"

Silence was his only reply. With a groan, he pushed himself to his feet and made his way to the bathroom. The house was eerily quiet, and upon entering the bathroom, he found it empty. Looking around the hallway, he questioned where Warren may have fallen, completely unaware of his minuscule friend near the toilet.

"WHERE ARE YOU, MAN?" Walden's voice thundered through the house, a booming echo to the tiny Warren who was covering his ears just below.

As Walden approached the toilet, he unknowingly stepped over Warren, his foot slapping down behind the shrunken man. "Walden!! I'm down here!" Warren shouted, his voice drowned out by the sound of the fan in the bathroom, and of Walden relieving himself.

Finishing up, Walden left the bathroom, oblivious to Warren's attempts to follow. He paused at the top of the stairs, puzzled about Warren's whereabouts. Given their remote location, it seemed impossible for Warren to have left on his own.

Meanwhile, down below, between the colossal feet of Walden, Warren continued to shout, his voice hopelessly lost in the vastness. Unaware of the drama unfolding at his feet, Walden pulled out his phone to send a text to his friend.