Chapter 1: Introduction
Alice opened her eyes that morning to find herself eye-to-eye with the ceiling fan above her bed. As a sort of an expert in spotting changes, that unusual perspective sent a spurt of electricity dancing up the nape of her neck.
"Crap," she mumbled to herself, rubbing her eyes and shifting her body around in bed as she tried to get her eyes to focus. The usual spot, way, way below the fan, her water bottle always sat, was empty, just as she predicted.
Scanning the room, the digital scale beside the vanity made her heart palpitate. Pushing the covers aside, she gingerly stepped out of bed and tiptoed towards the scale, trying not to rouse Tom, who was blissfully sleeping with his back towards her.
She knew what the scale would reveal, but wondered if the morning's extra height would somehow throw it off track. As she stepped on, it registered one hundred seventy-seven centimeters. A quick calculation in her head confirmed the truth she already knew - she had grown one more centimeter overnight.
She felt her insides twist in a peculiar emotional cocktail of anticipation, dominance, and unease. As quietly as possible, she slipped out of the room, seeking the solace of the kitchen to process her emotions.
The quiet hum of the fridge served as a comforting reminder of her once cozy life in this home. Just a few centimeters ago, this was her sanctuary, her fortress of safety. These days, the world felt like it was closing in, and the once familiar warmth seemed to have dissolved.
The walls seemed darker now, like they'd moved a few centimeters closer together. Even the old floorboards creaked and groaned under the pressure, a new feature she found particularly onerous. The air was always thick with the weight of unspoken rules and uncertainties.
Alice stood in front of the sink, tracing the worn out patterns with a new level of scrutiny. The white ceramic counter edged her towering form, and she couldn't help but marvel at the size of her hands.
Alice wrapped her long fingers around the cold rim, the contrast sending a shiver up her spine as she thought back on the previous day's challenges and thrills.
At the breakfast table, she'd been desperate to adjust the wall clock to suit her growing need for precision, despairing when the ladder she'd used left scratches on the ivory face. The old-fashioned wallpaper was now proving an eyesore as the once skillfully camouflaged panel seam around their paper bird cutouts became apparent beneath her newfound line of vision.