Lasagna (2023)

Tyler was on cloud nine; he'd just executed his first-ever lasagna from the ground up. Beaming with pride, he dished out a steaming bowl of his culinary masterpiece. But just as he was about to partake in the fruit of his labor, an overpowering sense of disorientation washed over him. It was vertigo—except it felt as though he were being yanked toward the ground.

In an instant that defied comprehension, Tyler's reality unraveled. He found himself plummeting, dwarfed by the enormity of his own kitchen. His cry of disbelief was swallowed by the surreal sensation of his rapid miniaturization. In mere heartbeats, he'd been reduced to something scarcely larger than a breadcrumb.

The lasagna bowl that had once promised gastronomic delight now loomed like a terrifying abyss of boiling cheese and scalding meat sauce. His kitchen had morphed into a staggering landscape of countertop cliffs and appliance monoliths. And Tyler—Tyler was on a direct course for his gigantic lasagna. With a muffled splash, he touched down amidst a soupy bog of tomato sauce.

"Holy shit," Tyler rasped, his voice tinged with desperation as he floundered to stay afloat. "Somebody, anybody, help!"

As if the universe had a twisted sense of humor, he heard a thunderous sound, like a colossal door slamming shut. His ears, clogged with sauce, struggled to interpret the vibrations, but the words came through loud and clear.

"I'M HOOOOOOOME!" A voice, so powerful it rattled his bones, filled the air.

Brad, his roommate, had returned.

A shadow, so titanic it blotted out everything, eclipsed Tyler's saucy prison. He craned his neck to gaze upwards. There was Brad, an unknowing titan hovering over him.

"HELL YEAH! LASAGNA!" Brad's words crashed over Tyler like seismic waves.

The world jolted, tilting perilously as Brad scooped up the bowl that had once been Tyler's dinner. Helplessly, Tyler was pulled deeper into the sauce as Brad sauntered over to the dining table.

"Brad! Can you hear me?! Please, Brad!" Tyler's pleas seemed to evaporate into the chasm between them, drowned out by Brad's colossal movements.

A metallic glint caught Tyler's eye; it was a spoon, but to him, it was the size of a freight train. Brad's utensil was descending towards him.

"NOOOO!" Tyler's final cry mingled with the tremors of the spoon's descent, lifting him off the molten surface and toward Brad's cavernous mouth.