The tinkling of a wind chime on the summer breeze perfected the enchantment of the moment for Paul. He felt like a child again as he stood in the midst of this overgrown garden, no less beautiful for its’ wild and neglected condition. Just two days ago, Paul had answered a call from his Grandmother’s attorney informing him he had inherited her mansion in Sussex, England. This was completely unexpected and he wasted no time arranging a flight from New York City, where his turbulent life had led him. This was incredibly exciting! This was the greatest justification for dropping everything in his hectic schedule and running away from it all as far as Paul was concerned, his life rapidly moving towards the inevitable nervous breakdown and messy divorce. The happiest moments of his childhood had been spent at his ‘Granny’s House’, most of them whiled away fantasizing all manner of magical beings inhabiting the acres of groomed lawns, terraces and Greek statuary that she modestly called her back garden. His mother had worried that his flights of fantasy were a little effeminate but his Granny had told her she should just let him be, that maybe it wasn’t all imagination. Now here he was in his beautiful garden and even in this wild abandoned condition, it was all so familiar and friendly causing him to question how he’d ever come to that alien existence in New York with that stranger, his wife Angela. Her reaction had been to unload that ‘monstrosity’ for as much as they could get. Paul was just as happy he’d left her in New York. What a sacrilege, how could he let go of something that was a part of his soul? Now it was his, it belonged to him and he to it. Well for the next few days he would lose himself in it. Gloriously happy in the moment, he strode through the knee-high grass glancing around to get his bearings. The overgrown shrubs and trees gave it a feeling of mystery and rediscovery, but there was something else too, the feeling of being watched…but it was more than that, he was being scrutinized. He found his gaze drawn to a twice-life-size figure of a Greek God in a classic pose atop a pedestal when he spotted her. Seated on the statue’s shoulder was a tiny female figure. A fairy, he remembered because this was one of the fantasy beings of his childhood so what was it doing here in his adult life? He did a double take but she was still there which was surprising since he only took the occasional drink and had never done drugs. He decided to play along with whatever it was that was conjuring this apparition because it was after all, rather charming. “Hello Paul, we’re so happy you returned to us,” she said in the same timbre that had characterized these little beings when he was small. “Oooh, you’ve grown so big while you were away, there will be plenty for all of us if you are naughty” she added looking appraisingly at his six-foot frame. He didn’t think too much about the implications of this remark because he was reserving judgment on this whole episode. Meanwhile he was going to enjoy this ‘Fairytale’ while it lasted. He began to notice she wasn’t alone since half-a-dozen others were scattered before him blending with the foliage as if an integral part and he swore they were not there a minute ago. They were just as he remembered them. Six-inch tall waif-like slender figures in loose diaphanous gossamer garments, long-legged and winged with an ethereal quality Paul thought couldn’t possibly belong to this reality unless one was on something. That last thought quickly dissolved as the fairy-girl on the statue flew to his shoulder and settled there allowing him to experience the slight but very real weight of her tiny body. That reality was reinforced by her closeness and he found her quite beautiful; her perfect aquiline features combined with her slender feminine figure would be the envy of any beauty queen. If this was a figment of his imagination, then he had to give himself top marks for creativity. This close, even her voice had a haunting musical quality as she said “You once knew each one of us by name Paul, but time dims memory in your world so we will forgive your forgetfulness if you remember us as we were” and an impish smile crossed her lips. “How many of you are there?” he said, a little afraid his breath would dislodge her from her perch. “We are seven; it will come back to you before long but first you must rid yourself of the belief we exist only in your imagination.” This took Paul by surprise; here was an apparition telling him he wasn’t imagining her. “You once accepted us with the joyful eyes of a child and that joy still lies hidden within, so come help us find it.” With that said she sprang into the air and they all flew as one deeper into the garden, chorusing back “Come with us Paul, we have much to show you.” Still struggling to make sense of it all, he started after them towards a grove of cedars beyond the overgrown lawns. In no time they were out of sight but he trekked on eventually into the cool shade of the cedars but the fairies were nowhere to be seen. Then he spotted one, then another and another up in the branches but was this illusion? Unless his perceptions were playing tricks they now matched him in size. In seconds they had alighted in a circle around him and they were indeed his size. In bewildered silence he looked around him at the circle of beautiful beings, seven in all and all very female he noted. “Do you remember the games we played Paul?” asked one of them and he couldn’t help noticing each possessed a unique beauty, each was quite captivating. Another was saying, “One of your favorite games was ‘Witch In The Forest’ and we would each hunt you down and you would laugh for the joy of it!” “That was so long ago….” he began but they clamored around him, one of them squealing in glee “Yes Paul yes, please play that one, we’ll show you; Athena will be the witch and you are the naughty little boy so run and hide.” Paul looked at their expectant faces as they let him through their circle and he found it impossible to disappoint such child-like innocence. Haltingly at first, he began running deeper into the grove looking back at them watching him go. Deciding to get into the spirit of the game, he put on a burst of speed, dodging around flowering rhododendron bushes and broad tree trunks. Breathless from exertion, he began looking for a hiding place where the grove became far denser, almost like a forest. It was then he noticed just how strange his surroundings were with huge towering trees and massive root formations sprawling every which way. Right away he found a gnarled root big enough to hide him and wriggled into the depression under it. Getting his breath back he looked out at the way he’d come actually feeling the thrill of being hunted and recovering a little of the excitement of his childhood. Listening to the birdsong echoing through the canopy far above and looking over the sun-dappled floor of his forest, it was easy to believe in enchantments and fairies. Suddenly filling the entrance to his hiding place was a huge upside-down face framed with cascading hair. “The wicked witch has found you Paul and she’s hungry,” Athena said bounding off the top of the root and crouching before him, laughing with excitement. To him she was a giantess! Completely stunned and intimidated by her sheer size, he stumbled out from under his root, his face reflecting the incredulity he felt. “Wa…er…You’re huge!” was all he could say. Grinning she said, “Oh that’s just a little magic…you will be so much easier to eat at this size!” Even if this was just part of the pretence, she really was big enough to take him whole, Paul thought. He noticed the others were coming to join them and attempting to regain control of the situation he said lightly, “You caught the naughty little boy, now what shall we play?” “Oh but we have to finish this game first Paul, I have to gobble you up” she said. He had been afraid of that. The others gathering around in a kneeling circle towering over him, Athena gently placed him on her upturned palm and raised him to her face. Now he began to feel apprehensive as he gazed at her slightly parted lips and saw very real teeth glinting at him as she giggled, bathing him in her sweet breath, the other six girls drawing close to watch. With all this feminine attention on him he became self-conscious and was shocked to realize he wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing. Crouching and covering himself in embarrassment brought a peel of girlish laughter from his audience as he tried to recall when he’d lost his clothes. A voice from behind him piped “If you don’t eat him soon, then we will” and he turned to see all of their mouths opening in a circle around him as he cowered in Athena’s palm. What an awe-inspiring sight; huge gaping mouths on all sides displaying a frightening array of deadly teeth, powerful tongues and fearsome throats. Not something he’d ever associated with tiny little harmless fairies. Paul was genuinely concerned now; this seemed to be going too far. Too late, Athena’s agile tongue hooked his tiny body dragging him from her palm and into her mouth to a chorus of voices chanting “Now she’s going to gobble her catch, Over her tongue and down the hatch” Convinced she was playing for keeps and in stark terror of his perilous situation, Paul looked for a means of escape. Just outside her jaws waited six more hungry mouths, the only other exit being her wide-open throat that he thought would be more than happy to welcome him in. “Paul, I did not mean to frighten you. This is all in fun and you will not be harmed,” Athena told him in his mind. In fact she had such a soothing presence in his mind, his anxiety all but vanished even when she went on “The wicked witch is going to swallow you whole and gulp you down to her hungry tummy but you cannot be hurt by anything that happens.” She magically touched his mind with complete trust and the throat that had inspired paralyzing terror a second ago, now represented the gateway to fantastic adventures and untold mysteries. In the wink of an eye he’d gone from the dread of dying in a monstrous stomach to the excitement of taking a water slide down the throat of a beautiful being who now embraced him with her gentle comforting presence. Glancing around at those teeth and that throat, Paul had to wonder what these gentle beings did consume. In answer, Athena’s mind communicated, “We do not devour our friends but of course I’m a witch and witches love to eat naughty little boys.” With that she’d put an element of the game back in place and a tinge of his anxiety returned as she began moving him towards the back of her mouth. He wasn’t so much fearful as he was in awe of the raw beauty around him. The ridged roof of her mouth arched high above giving way to the smoothness of her soft palette adorned with uvula hanging above the entrance to the mysteries below. But a backward glance out of her mouth was disconcerting when he saw the others waving goodbye. Too late to worry about it now. She was tilting her head back tipping him into her throat headfirst where he momentarily halted, suspended above the tunnel of her esophagus which curved down gently in a seemingly bottomless drop. Amazingly, the walls were illuminated from within by some enchantment, lighting every inch of his way giving him cause to wonder if this was to be a one way trip, her body now his prison. With a gentle embrace of her throat muscles and a gulp he was on his way, the peristaltic waves of her esophagus coaxing him downwards deeper and deeper. The sounds of her body increased, musical and comforting to him but he imagined terrifying if he were that ‘naughty boy’ of her pretense. The soft moist squeeze of her esophagus was very erotic to Paul and it ended all too soon when he reached the gateway to her stomach. It opened at his approach and he was nudged through. He was deposited on to the steeply sloping stomach wall and slid down its’ slippery surface, slowing to a stop on a relatively level floor. Just as his journey down was illuminated, so was her stomach and what a wondrous place it was. He speculated she would need quite a few men of his size to make a good meal judging by the size of this chamber and he shuddered despite himself with the thought of the horrors of this stomach going to work on him should she decide to digest him alive. Immediately he felt her gentle reassurance in his mind and relaxed once more to enjoy this magical place with no thought of how he might leave. He had no trouble breathing, the air sweet and fresh, the temperature comfortable and the surface he reclined on soft and sensuous against his naked body. He rolled onto his back and languished in his private cavern, rubbing his back against the slippery folds and thanking his hostess for the enchantment that rendered this deadly chamber so benign to his presence. Paul heard their muffled voices, Athena’s being more of a resonance than a sound, none of it comprehensible except the happy laughter that shook his environment and made it quiver. Then there was the sensation of motion both forward and upward as the orientation of his interior changed, tipping him deeper; she must be in flight he thought and how many people can boast flying in the belly of a fairy? From his new vantage point he could see the bottom end of the stomach and the valve that opened to the duodenum and the rest of her fearsome digestive tract, causing him to wonder if she planned to send him through that labyrinth too. Another shift of his floor and a slight jolt told him they had landed. Looking back towards the top of her stomach, he was alarmed to see a contraction that was now bearing down towards him. He retreated but it swiftly overtook him and gently bore him towards the exit. In a moment he was through and being propelled with alarming speed along her small intestine reminding Paul of a miniature pink subway tunnel with constant hairpin turns and switchbacks. What a ride, faster and faster until everything was a blur…then suddenly motionless darkness that flared into the bright light of day and he was again looking into the eyes of Athena. Smiling she asked “Was that as much fun for you as it was for me?” and Paul could only answer “It was incredible, in fact I’d like to do it again” and he was met with six other voices all saying at once “Ooh me next Paul, let me swallow you pleeeese!” Glancing around he saw a panorama of wide-open mouths beckoning to him and was about to jump into one when he remembered the time restraints on handling his Granny’s affairs and said “I want you all to swallow me but we have to save it till next time.” They were crestfallen but recovered quickly, one of them saying “Tomorrow we will all get a turn won’t we Paul?” and he said, “I’ll be looking forward to it but now I have to go to the house so can you please make me my normal size again?” Athena spoke, “Have no concern, you will be as you were; if I had really digested you, when you emerged you would have given a small portion of your body to me and by that much, your body would be less. If all seven of us really devoured you in turn, you would be no more!” With that said they all laughed in glee displaying glimpses of seven glorious throats, leaving Paul with a longing to be in each one of them. Athena set him down and when he glanced around he realized she’d flown him to the north side of the house and he was much closer to it. He began walking towards the house, waving to the happy band of fairies that seemed to shrink even as they flew back towards the cedars. When he reached the French Doors that opened onto the terrace, it was as if he had never been anything but his normal size and somehow he was fully clothed once more. The transition had been seamless. Remembering what Athena had said about consequences of really being digested, he couldn’t resist weighing himself and was relieved when no weight had been lost. Well, now he had to get busy and make a dent in the paperwork if he wanted to repeat this erotic new experience tomorrow, realizing he longed to be close to those mysterious beings again. He began sorting through the endless documents in the study and although absorbing, frequently found time to glance out the window towards the cedars and muse on the amazing events of earlier that day. Eventually, a single daunting task remained; his Grandmother’s enormous roll-top bureau. Opening it revealed a mass of papers stuffed into the numerous pigeonholes at the back of the desk and he decided this was not going to be easy. But right in the center of the desktop was a solitary envelope with just one word in his Grandmother’s hand: Paul With nervous fingers he picked up the envelope, turning it over and over. This was a little like a voice from the grave he thought, since Granny had known she was dying and had the presence of mind to leave him a letter she knew he would find after bequeathing the house to him. Finally opening the envelope and extracting a single sheet, he saw that both sides carried his Granny’s meticulous handwriting. In the first couple of paragraphs she talked of how she didn’t suffer at the end and how she hoped he would be as content as she was in this house and wished him all the happiness in his life that he deserved. Then the letter took on a cautionary tone. She wrote, Paul, you and I are the only two that know of the fairies and although now as an adult you probably believe they were nothing more than childish imaginings, I assure you they are very real. They are beautiful beings and will never knowingly harm anyone they consider a friend, but their values are foreign to us so do not trust them. I have known of their ways for decades now but l still don’t understand their motives, although I have always managed to stay in their good favor. But heed what I say here, for it may save your life”. Paul thought back to the events of earlier in the day and just how vulnerable he’d allowed himself to be and felt an involuntary shudder wrack his frame. He read on, I can only tell you of those things that happened through the years where no rational explanation would answer except the presence of the fairies. The reason I tell you this is because when I became infirm and could no longer spend time in the garden, they would come visit me in the house and in that sanctuary I got the opportunity to see into their minds on occasion. One such time I asked what became of their men folk and I think it was Ophelia, or was it Athena told me they simply left one day, but the image I saw in her mind was of their Rights of Spring Ritual where carnal drives and primal instincts overwhelmed the females and the seven of them ate their men folk. After that, each year a gardener or a chauffer would disappear mysteriously, even a housemaid. I know how fantastic this sounds but it is what happened. The local police were mystified and never did find any evidence to support foul play and closed the cases, so there was only one conclusion I could reach. You have to understand that these beings are not malicious but have a child-like innocence and simplistic sense of justice for wrongs done to them. I fear any offence or affront to them is answered with a severe form of fair play for the guilty party that also serves their peculiar dietary needs. I don’t think you will be in any danger unless you displease them Paul, but be warned there is little defense against the enchantments they are capable of. A final word of warning; my last gardener disappeared over a year ago. They are hungry once again! Paul read these words with an impending sense of doom. The strident jangle of a phone made him jump. It was Paul’s wife Angela. “I just flew in Paul, and you need to pick me up at Heathrow Airport.” Unable to hide the annoyance in his voice, he said “What are you doing here Angela, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of Grandmother’s loose ends.” “I can’t trust you for a second” she said, “You think I don’t know you have no intention of selling the house? “As with everything else where you’re concerned, I’ll have to do it myself, and don’t try to argue with me” she added, “Now come and pick me up immediately!” and she hung up. Paul did just that and they argued heatedly through the miles until finally they arrived at the house when he apparently gave in to her. He decided to humor her until he could come up with a plan because he couldn’t part with the house and there was nothing she could do to make him. Next morning when Paul got up, Angela was gone. Then he remembered she’d planned to go to town to find a Real Estate Agent. He made and ate a quick breakfast with rising anticipation to keep his promise to the fairies, but then paused to ponder Granny’s caution. Her words “do not trust them” kept running around in his head. He’d done nothing to displease them so what did he have to worry about. He should be perfectly safe. But a clear image materialized from yesterday of looking down Athena’s throat and speculating what might have gone down before him and had been answered in no uncertain terms by the letter causing him to wonder at his own sanity for even considering going back today not to mention willingly jumping down their throats. He would be at their mercy but he couldn’t resist the seductive hold they seemed to exercise over him. He set off for the cedar grove as being the most likely place to find his fairies. Halfway into his walk he spotted them approaching and as they drew near, saw they were at their tiny size and seemed abuzz with excitement. They whirled around his head all talking at once and he had to stop in his tracks or risk stumbling from dizziness. The effect was so hypnotic he became disoriented and he sat down in the grass and that’s when he noticed all he could see was tall grass and feminine legs towering over him. They had pulled the size juxtaposition on him again and instantly he was clasped in a giant hand and was airborne, flying high above the terraces, balustrades and lawns of his beloved garden. Just as he was really beginning to enjoy the thrill and exhilaration of free flight, he noticed they had slowed and were descending into the secret garden. His secret garden! He’d forgotten all about this garden within a garden that had so fascinated him as a child with its’ grottos, ornamental ponds and winding pathways. They had settled in a clearing with an overgrown hedge forming a circle around them while in the center a stone table surrounded by circular stone benches seemed to sprout from the ground like huge toadstools. Paul was gently placed on the table where he could look around at his giant female captors, finding at this level he was in the unnerving position of being entirely surrounded by seven awe inspiring stomachs currently animated by their owners highly excited state. Evidently they were arguing about who would get to swallow him first, so Paul in an attempt to assert a little control said, “I can settle this girls, let me decide which of you will swallow me first” The bickering was replaced by a barrage of “Pick me Paul, pick me” while they invitingly opened their fearsome jaws inches from him in a tight circle so everywhere he looked, all he saw were gigantic tongues, gleaming teeth and expectant throats. Once more the insanity of his situation struck him; he was trapped in the midst of seven Granny-documented man-eaters and he was going to feed himself to them. But he was hooked; this is what he wanted so he surveyed the beauty around him, each one doing her level best to tempt him with saucy winks, licking of lips and tongues that beckoned him. It was an impossible choice so picking one at random, he moved towards her asking, “Whose throat am I jumping down this time?” and she replied, “Mmmm, my name is Silvern and my tummy can hardly wait.” Instantly Paul remembered the last line in his Granny’s letter where she said, “They are hungry once again” and hesitated in front of her extended tongue. But she wasn’t about to wait and impatiently nudged Paul off his feet, knocking him headlong onto her tongue and pulled him into her mouth before he could react. He noticed he was naked again as her sweet juices coated him while she gently tumbled him over and over, giving him occasional glimpses of the throat that waited for him. Next thing he knew his legs were hanging over the back of her tongue and she was tilting her head back, again catching Paul in a moment of indecision. He braced his feet against the back wall of her throat, the angle becoming perpendicular so he was practically standing when her tongue slowly rose squeezing him gently against her soft palette, dislodging his feet. Suspended by this gentle embrace, he became aware of her uvula pressing against his chest and working his arms free was able to get a bear hug on it as slippery as it was. Behaving like a water balloon, it compressed easily under his hug, the bottom of it bulging and he hoped, preventing him sliding down. His theory was rapidly put to the test when she again opened her throat and lowered her tongue, leaving him dangling above her luminously pink gullet, delaying the inevitable. In his mind Silvern said “It is so much better when my little victim struggles to stay out of my tummy Paul, even when he knows I will have him in the end.” He wasn’t too sure he liked the sound of that, looking past his feet down into that ominous passageway ending in either a womb-like haven or a chamber of horrors, according to her whim or appetite! “Paul, I’m waiting for you Paul” he clearly heard from far below and realized she was playing her teasing games with her enchantments. Well she wouldn’t have to wait much longer, his embrace of her uvula was weakening and he was beginning to slip. Then he was plummeting into her esophagus, this time feet first, watching his only escape route diminish above him. A gentle assurance from her mind banished his doubts and he began enjoying the experience and welcomed anything she might have in store. Unlike his journey to Athena’s stomach, this time he seemed to be sliding all the way and actually saw the entrance to her stomach approaching below his feet, open and ready for him. He plunged into the pink cavern, spiraling in diminishing circles and coming to rest at the lowest point, reminding him of his favorite carnival ride. He noticed Silvern’s stomach was identical to Athena’s but just as enjoyable and he found comfort in the knowledge he was engulfed deep inside a beautiful girl, safe from the harsh world outside. He explored as much of the slick convoluted interior as he could, slipping and sliding in his efforts to climb the steep walls. After more than a little time had gone by, he felt a twinge of anxiety that she wasn’t going to let him out. Muffled voices outside seemed to be trying to convince her to let him go, that she couldn’t keep him and next thing he knew, he was emerging through her stomach wall into the bright sunshine back on to the stone table. Not for long though. Instantly another mouth was on him, gathering him in and immediately swallowing him down. Paul couldn’t help noticing the child-like impatience of each to have her turn. And as he languished in each stomach in turn, he was aware of the reluctance of each to let him out and again his Granny’s words came back to him, “They are hungry once again”! When he did eventually emerge from the seventh ‘tummy’, amazing as the experience had been, he was still more than a little relieved to be out in one piece. He was beginning to sense their hunger was getting the better of them and he might be their next meal. It was late afternoon when they said their goodbyes and the seven watched him head back to the house, such yearning lingering in the eyes of each, it was as well Paul didn’t look back. Arriving at the house no worse for wear but exhausted from the emotional roller coaster of the day, Paul fell into a deep sleep and didn’t wake till morning. It was late next morning when he awoke, finding a note from Angela telling him that the Real Estate agent had already found a Developer who was willing to pay top dollar for the estate and simply bulldoze everything in sight to make way for a subdivision. He and she were out walking the grounds and would be back later. Paul decided things were moving too fast and he hadn’t come up with a plan yet. Well, he’d think about that as he explored the attic. After a bite to eat he made his way up to the access hatch and entered another world. One of dust and clutter inside the steeply pitched roof of HIS house. That was it! This was HIS house, it wasn’t her’s to sell. For once in his life he was going to assert himself with Angela. With that decision made, Paul felt like a burden had been lifted and could now enjoy the day discovering his Granny’s forgotten treasures. Spending a couple of hours sorting through memorabilia, he came across a massive trunk and opening the creaking lid, discovered it was brim-full of ancient books. A beautifully bound journal lay on the top, which he carefully lifted, and blowing the dust from it, opened the cover. It was his Grandmother’s diary and the last entry was dated three years earlier. This probably indicated her more recent journals were somewhere downstairs, he thought. Out of curiosity, he began leafing through it and stopped dead when he spotted a reference to the fairies. He read: “Today I was visited by Ophelia and Silvern and we had an enlightening conversation about the history of my house. Apparently, when it was built in 1909 it was adjacent to the domain they had occupied for centuries and they became anxious when the estate encompassed several of their sacred areas. They managed to influence the planning of the landscaping to either avoid those areas or enhance them. The most sacred area for them became the central part of the ‘Secret Garden’ they know as ‘Fairy Circle’ where they celebrate their ‘Rights of Spring’. Under the fairies influence the landscapers built an alter for the them and cleverly disguised it as the stone picnic table. I asked what they might have done had the landscapers been completely insensitive to their desires and they told me in their child-like manner that it would have been very naughty and would have been punished. Then they would have shrunk the problem and made it vanish forever. What a wonderful attitude, if only we could all do that.” Paul was distracted by a rustling of tiny wings and looked up to see all seven of the fairies approaching him accompanied by a magical glow in the dimness of the attic. He realized he’d missed them and now he was very happy they’d sought him out in the attic. They all alighted on the lid of the trunk before him and Ophelia spoke; “Paul, we have known you were troubled by the strangers who wanted to take our home from us, so we punished them and made them disappear. Now we can all be happy.” It was then Paul’s gaze strayed to seven little bellies and he noticed they all seemed a little distended. Funny, he’d never really noticed that before but it wasn’t important. What was important was he had his house and an endless summer playing with his old friends.