inhale

Rachel Hershley was dressed in her usual black top, sitting on a bench on a quiet downtown street quiet early in the morning. Even as a few more people came and went in both direction, she had her eyes closed and head tilted towards the sun, completely zoned out, ignoring the world around her. She was in a relatively calm mood, which wasn't common of her; those unlucky enough to have experienced her temper could attest to that.

"Come visit the Holy City of Globolia, like the Vatican but instead of a Pope we have papayas!"

"So you can inflate?" she asked me.

I nodded. "Absolutely."

"Okay, but... how does it work?"

"I just breathe in." I demonstrated, the air swirling and filling me. My gut surged out, my backside and chest following immediately after. The armpits of my shirt grew snug on me as the denim of my jeans pulled taut across my legs, and mere seconds later I was a bulging, buoyant version of my old self. Not wanting to leave things half-finished I continued, arms and legs being forced apart before growing wider, then rounder, then being absorbed almost fully by my globular figure.

While Dani DeGrassi had her start in the family business, there was no denying that she went far beyond anyone's expectations. Scant years after graduating with two degrees, she was the owner of several businesses, one international, and involved in a variety of foundations dedicated to the arts and sciences. She had a singular presence which tended to leave a deep impression on everyone she met; most people described her as "unique." Others, with a better grasp of language, more correctly described her as "deeply eccentric."