My Brother's Feeder

It all started one Saturday afternoon. Sunny just got back home after a particularly brutal session of violin practice, utterly exhausted and his stomach growling loudly. Thanks to her impeccable sisterly instincts at work, Mari had already finished preparing his favorite food in advance: steak! “You must be starving,” she said, hand connecting with her brother’s. She noted the lack of strength in them, like a withered tree branch that was about to break off. Sunny nodded silently. “I’ve got just the thing that would cheer you up — your favorite, steak!” The boy instantly got up as if rejuvenated by some mystical force as soon as he heard her, walking briskly towards the kitchen where his reward awaited him. Mari’s lips curved into a smile. That’s just the sort of reaction she was hoping for.

Sunny sat on the table eyeing the steak in front of him with indomitable lust. It’s well done steak, his favorite. Mari wanted to watch him eat so she sat right in front of him. He had the look of a child who hasn’t eaten a thing for days, drool escaping the confines of his trembling mouth. Sunny always managed to look adorable no matter what he’s doing. Licking his lips, the boy wasted no time and began cutting into the meat with his steak knife. Steak wasn’t Mari’s thing at all; she preferred fish and salad over meat, but watching her brother sink his teeth into the meat, juices flowing out with every bite, produced in her a craving of sorts. She wanted so badly to ask Sunny to spare her some but resisted. Sunny’s a growing boy; he needs all the protein he could get, she reasoned. With an appetite befitting of a boy on the cusp of puberty, Sunny devoured the steak hungrily, chucking every piece of meat he’s cut with the knife into his mouth, chewing and swallowing voraciously without a care in the world. Her little brother’s not a big eater at all but when it comes to steak, his appetite is unparalleled. Though Mari did not notice, she started drooling herself as she watched her brother tear through the meat with great interest.

When Sunny was done, Mari took his plate and dropped it in the sink. She could wash the dishes later. Noticing that her little brother was starting to grow sleepy, she gently grabbed his hand and led him to the couch where he could take a nap. She’s pretty tired herself too so she might as well join him. “Did you enjoy the steak? I’ve been taking lessons from mom recently,” she said. Sunny nodded vigorously. “It was great, thanks sis.” Mari blushed, hugging her little brother and pressing her head against his stomach after getting her feet up on the couch. She’ll never get tired of hearing it from Sunny. With a big yawn, Sunny’s eyes closed and the boy fell asleep just like that, not minding his older sister who’s still latched on to him. It’s so comfortable staying in this position, she thought. Rumbling sounds could be heard, very faintly, as Mari continued to press her right ear against his full tummy. Mari closed her eyes and tried to visualize what’s going on inside as Sunny’s stomach relentlessly digested its meal. It would be dark and damp; a place where no light could reach. Acids would be dripping all over the place to break down whatever got inside and turn it into mush, in preparation for depositing useful nutrients further down the intestine. Face flushed, she found her hand lifting up his shirt, caressing the smooth skin underneath and shifting her head to where the bellybutton is and hearing the rumbling inside again, louder this time; digestive noises pleasantly reverberating through her ear. It was maybe back in fourth grade class when they learned that stomach acid is strong enough to dissolve through metal. Mari felt a shiver run up her back. Amazing how even a small and cute boy could possess something so frighteningly powerful. To think that if the strongest human adult somehow got shrunk and eaten, even they would be powerless against the might of a twelve year old boy’s stomach! Mari began salivating at the thought, her other hand mindlessly wandering to her crotch and rubbing vigorously. How she would love to experience something so intimate! Just then, an idea struck her.

Although it may not be physically possible to shrink someone down and feed them to her brother (and even if it was, such an act would be considered murder; a line she’d rather not cross just for the sake of lust), finding a replacement should be easy enough. She’s seen videos of people gulping down all sorts of tiny critters — fishes, mice, insects, even tiny birds. Getting ahold of one would present no difficulty at all, that’s the easy part. The hard part comes from convincing Sunny to go along with this little endeavor of hers and knowing Sunny’s kind and gentle nature, it would be very difficult indeed to get him to cooperate willingly. Mari sighed. She would have to think about it some other time. She closed her eyes and fell asleep on her brother’s lap.

Mari spent the next few weeks showing Sunny all sorts of old cartoons depicting creatures being eaten whole. These shows were of the slapstick variety; a mouse getting eaten by an orange cat would be regurgitated unharmed just a few seconds later. Nothing graphic or disturbing. She didn’t know why, but this theme seemed frighteningly common back in the day. Weird. The whole point was to whittle down Sunny’s reservations at the prospect of having to participate in her little experiment, as she would like to call it. Day and night, Mari rehearsed in her mind what she was going to say and more importantly, how she’s going to say it without weirding her little brother out. So she concocted a story about a school project, something about studying the workings of the human body. The topic she got assigned on was the digestive system, more specifically how living creatures would fare against a human’s stomach acid and how long it would take for them to break down under normal conditions. It was admittedly a gruesome experiment and Mari wasn’t quite sure how to make it seem more palatable (no pun intended), so she held off on telling him until she was absolutely certain that she’s got every kinks ironed out.

It was on a Friday night about a month later when Mari had finally decided to tell Sunny about the project. She had already procured the three “test subjects” from a friend whose father owned a pet store — a goldfish, a white mouse, and a little bird. Perhaps it would’ve been wiser to acquire them after she had gotten Sunny to agree with the plan, but Mari was confident he won’t refuse. Mari told him everything as clearly as possible. Don’t be weird about it, she repeatedly reminded herself. As expected, Sunny listened to her talk with glazed eyes as if having trouble comprehending what he was being asked to do. Not that Mari could blame him. After finishing for the first time, Sunny asked her to repeat it again, scratching his head and his expression turning into one of anxiety.

“I’m not sure about this,” the boy said. “These are real living creatures we’re talking about. I can’t—”.

“They won’t feel any pain so don’t worry,” Mari reassured. “They’ve been injected with a substance that inhibits their ability to feel pain. You might feel them wriggling inside but that’s just muscle reflex doing its thing.” That was the most important part to include and something Mari came up with in the very first draft of her story. Beloved sister or not, Sunny would refuse her outright if he knew that the animals he was about to eat would suffer a horrible and agonizing death inside his stomach. “I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head. Mari hugged him tenderly. “I know it’s hard, but I need your help little brother. If I could do it on my own I would,” she said, giving him a smile. “But the project requires someone younger to do it and you’re the only one I could depend on so please.” Sunny remained silent for some time, contemplating what he’s being asked to do. Mari’s heart was beating fast. A month’s worth of preparation all depended on this. She won’t resent her brother even if he refused her selfish request and she won’t force him to do anything against his will, but she’d definitely be heartbroken if things didn’t go as planned.

“I’ll do it,” Sunny finally said with some reluctance. “I’m going to trust you on this.” Mari beamed up. “Thanks Sunny! I knew I could count on you.”

Mari led him upstairs to their room where the three “test subjects” were waiting, placed in order of which they’re going to be eaten on the desk.

The goldfish was swimming in a tiny plastic bag filled with water.

The white mouse had its mouth and legs all tied up, ensuring that it won’t be able to resist.

The little bird’s feathers have all been plucked up, leaving a hairless creature that looked not too dissimilar to a newborn chick. Like the mouse, it was tied up to prevent any resistance.

Sunny stood before his would-be victims without a hint of emotion. “Okay, let’s start whenever you’re ready,” Mari said. “I’ll to need you to swallow the goldfish first, then the mouse, then finally the bird, got it?” She whipped up the camera that she borrowed from Basil for the occasion, ready to take pictures. Sunny held the plastic bag full of water in his hands and nervously opened it, gawking at the goldfish he was about to eat, breathing deeply for some time. He soaked his shaky hand into the water and grasped the slippery fish, almost dropping it on the floor but managed to hold it tight. “Ready?” asked his sister. “Remember, you need to show me the fish while it’s on your tongue, then you just have to swallow.” Sunny nodded. With one final breath, Sunny placed the poor fish on his quivering tongue, extending it as far as he could so Mari could take a clear picture. One brief flash later, Sunny closed his mouth and gulped, his face contorting with disgust.

Two more to go.

“Take your time,” Mari reminded. She tried to remain calm herself, still flustered with the act she just witnessed. “No need to rush it.” Sunny sat on the bed for two minutes without saying anything, his gaze fixed on the other two creatures he was going to eat. “I…did it” he said. There’s a slight hint of pride in his voice, or maybe she’s just imagining it. “You okay little brother?” she asked, trying to gauge how he’s holding up. Sunny smiled. The look of guilt on his face before had disappeared, replaced with determination. “Yeah, I’m okay. I can do this.” He hurriedly walked up to the next test subject; the mouse. Mari chose one that was just about the right size to fit down the hatch — a meager two inches. Sunny’s fingers grazed its back and mumbled something inaudible. Camera at the ready, Sunny dangled the mouse above his mouth, tongue lolling out. My goodness. Mari so badly wanted to finger herself right at that moment but resisted the urge. The pictures would have to do later.

The mouse squirmed on top of Sunny’s tongue, as though cognizant of what’s about to happen. The camera flashed and Sunny swallowed, the shape of the mouse bulging in his throat which Mari did not neglect to capture just for good measure. The first time didn’t quite do it, so Sunny swallowed again, his throat muscles doing their work and sending the mouse down to its doom for good. He was sweating heavily, hands grasping on his knees, but despite that the boy still managed to smile and give a thumbs up gesture to his sis. Oh my goodness. With shaking hands, Mari placed the camera on the desk. That’s was the last straw. She can’t hold it anymore. “I need to go to the bathroom,” she said, walking out of their room in a hurry. She briefly considered taking the photos they have so far with her but that would’ve been very suspicious.

She returned ten minutes later after taking care of business. Everything was back to normal. For now.

Sunny was sprawled over his bed. “You okay sis? Are you not feeling well?” Mari sat on her bed facing him. How thoughtful. “I’m fine Sunny, thanks for asking. Now, how about we finish this up? Just one last time.” Sunny stood up with surprising agility. “Let’s do it.” Something seemed to have changed in her little brother while she was gone. Now, she could be mistaken, but it sounded like he’s starting to get into it too. Or not. Maybe it’s just her projecting herself onto him. Either way, one last creature remained.

Mari approached the featherless bird and held it in the palm of her hand, feeling its chest heave up and down. Sorry little birdie. “Hold on, I have an idea,” she said. Sunny’s ears perked up. Mari held the bird by its legs. “How about I feed you the bird this time?” Her idea was to take a shot with the two of them visible in the photo, showing the act of her feeding the bird to Sunny. Just thinking about it was making her feel hot all over again. “Okay.”

“On a count of three, I’m going to take a shot, ready?” Sunny stuck his tongue out without hesitation. Mari counted three and dropped the motionless bird on his tongue, successfully capturing the moment. The bird lingered in his mouth for some time. “It’s okay Sunny, we’re almost done anyway. Take your time.” Mari looked him in the eyes and the two smiled at the same time. One month of preparation all for this day. Was it worth it? Mari already knew the answer to that. “Ah, I can feel it wriggling,” he said, plopping down on his bed. Sunny tilted his head and gulped, downing the bird in one shot. This was soon followed by a loud and lengthy burp that resounded in their room.

The two siblings laughed heartily.

“That was insane,” he said, still laughing. “I can’t believe you just made me do that. You’re a terrible sis, you know?” Mari ruffled his hair. “I know. Sorry about that.” Sunny lifted up his shirt and stroked his cute, bulging tummy. “Their sacrifice won’t be in vain,” he said, gazing at his navel. “You owe me a steak after this.” Mari burst out laughing again, pressing her head against his stomach like she did before. “My little brother is so cute! Don’t ever change, okay?” She could hear the churning and rumbling intensify within, no doubt hard at work to digest the critters he just swallowed.

“So I just gotta wait out and tell you when I don’t feel full anymore, right?” That’s what she instructed him to do before they got started, telling him that the experiment’s purpose was to see how long it would take for him to digest three living creatures. It was all a lie of course, but that doesn’t matter anymore. “Hmmm, yeah, just tell me when you don’t feel full anymore.” Mari’s head remained right there for a long time. She thought she heard a faint squeak amidst the churning and rumbling but that might just be her imagination.

Another loud burp.

“Sorry.”