Story inspired by art/An-Enchez-in-the-Throat-368708866. Tiny Normaler inspired by thesassylorax
Morning shone over the Truffula forest, as the sunshine gleamed inside Once-ler's cottage. The light beamed on his face, awakening him from his slumber. He's usually not a morning person, but he could get use to it whenever he sees Norma next to him, brunette eyes with matching curly hair and light skin matching his. Who is Norma, you ask? Well, have you ever heard of the story Thumbelina? Weeks ago, he found her inside a pink flower in the middle of the field. That's right. The woman he found was so small, she could fit right in his hands.
He rose up and stretched, melting the sleepiness off him. "Morning, Norm-Ow! My throat." There was a light pain in his throat, making his voice hoarse. He kept squeezing his neck to soothe the pain. He looked at her tiny pillow and handmade blanket on his pillow and noticed she wasn't there. "Norma? Hm, she must be with the Lorax." Still in his pjs, he walked out to look for the guardian and Norma, fighting the sore throat.
The Lorax was at his lawn chair. The beanpole bent down to greet him. "Hey, mustache." The guardian noticed the hoarseness in his tone. "What's wrong with your voice?"
Once-ler kept rubbing his neck. "I'm fine. Something's just stuck in my throat. Have you seen-" He cut himself off and tried to clear his throat, but he could hear a small light voice. "Wh-where am I? What happened?!"
He stirred and looked around for the voice. "Did you hear that?"
The Lorax could hear it, too. "Yeah, but it's faint."
Finally, they noticed the voice was coming out of Once-ler's mouth. "Oh, not this again! Get me out!"
Shocked, he held his mouth close, hoping it was just his imagination. "N-Norma? Is that you?"
Concerned, Lorax rushed next to him. "Kid, she's in there?" He poked the musician's neck a few times. "Ow! Of course, I'm in here. I'm stuck! I must have walked in my sleep again!" It was true. The tiny lady was lodged in his throat.
Once-ler tried to comfort her, despite her squirming in there, making him wince in pain. "It's not your fault. It was an accident."
He bent down further, and hacked and gagged trying to get her out, similar to a cat coughing up a hairball. Norma could feel herself getting pushed up, but she was wedged tight. No matter how hard he tried, she wouldn't budge out. After one last heave, he stopped, panting from the pain.
The guardian lightly patted his back. "Save your strength, beanpole. I'll go get help." He ran out to find the other animals.
"I can't believe I was sleeping walking in your throat again," she said, annoyed with herself.
"It's going to be ok. Mustache is getting help this time." He was more focused on trying not to swallow Norma than the soreness.
Lorax, a few bar-ba-loots, and a swamee-swan came and escorted him to sit next to a tree. He assured him he knew what they were doing. "We used this whenever a bar-ba-loot chokes on a truffula fruit. I gathered them here since my arms won't be able to do it." The barbaloots were holding hand and circled around his belly like a belt.
"See, Norma? We'll get you out in no time," he informed, holding his neck.
"Good," she sighed, "cause this is getting old real fast." He couldn't help but chuckle. "I'll say."
Lorax got everyone ready. "Ok, guys. Ready?" They nodded. "And now!"
They held on tight to his abdomen and squeezed and squeezed with all their might. It was their own Heimlich maneuver. He could feel her budging as he was hacking and wheezing from their constant squeezing. A swamee-swan flew next to his head. After four more squeezes, she finally slid out of his throat and was in his mouth. He spat her out into the swan's wings. She and her yellow dress were soaked from his saliva.
He smiled, seeing that she was unharmed and his voice was restored to its original sounds. "I'm glad you're safe. I could have swallowed you."
She was wringing her hair dry. "Don't beat yourself, big guy. Even if you did, you would still be able to get me out, but it would be messy."
"You two seem calm about," said the Lorax.
"It's not the first this happened," said Once-ler. "Her sleepwalking is common in summer, so this is probably the third or fourth time in a few months."
The creature's eyes widened. "That often?!"
Norma hopped in her man's hands. "We're still trying to figure out how to get that under control."
He got up on his feet. "We'll be with you guys in a few minutes after she gets cleaned up."
Holding her in his hands, the couple headed back inside the cottage.