Having to make such a tough decision surely isn´t a pleasure for Jean. He loves Nadia, and he wants to stay with her for the rest of his life, if possible. But can he leave everything behind? His family, his home? No matter what he chooses, he´s going to loose something dear to him. Maybe he´ll have to think things through first. One cannot make such a decision in just a few seconds. He hopes that Nadia will understand him.
"Nadia...believe me, I want to stay with you, much more than anything else. I...I truly, deeply love you..."
"Jean..."
"But I don´t know whether I can leave everything behind in order to come with you. I...I´ll have to think about everything first. Please, you must understand..."
Nadia, who sat down on a bench in a park, somewhere in Paris, listened carefully to Jean´s words. She is fully aware that it´s really a cruel decision for him and that he needs time in order to come up with an answer. Although she would really love to take him with her, she is going to accept any decision he makes.
"I understand, Jean. If I had to leave the circus and come with you, it would also be a tough decision. It would be great if you came with me, but it´s all right if you take your time to think it through. We still have some time."
Standing beneath the hole of Nadia´s esophagus, the tight muscular ring, and staring at it, he realizes that he just can´t leave her. He´s inside her, he´s nearer to her than any other person could possibly get, and that means a lot. As far fetched as it might sound, being within her stomach can be considered as some sort of sign of love...being near the one you love. But one thing´s for sure: Jean is going to stay with Nadia, that much is clear. But it´s not clear how he is going to accomplish that, maybe...maybe he would really even join the circus, although he has his doubts about that.
Outside Nadia´s body, the beautiful girl - sitting on the bench in a beautiful park in Paris, surrounded by some trees and provided with a nice sight at some of Paris´ more adorable buildings - is glad that she´s alone here, with no person passing her. They would certainly think she´s completely nuts, talking to her stomach...From time to time, she carefully strokes her stomach with her soft hands, although she doubts that Jean can feel this sign of her affection and her care for Jean. Just then she hears his tiny, cute voice again.
"Nadia...there´s something about your proposal that makes me uncomfortable."
"What?"
"It´s...I mean, I would be just another attraction, wouldn´t I?"
"Jean...!"
"You could as well put me into a freak show...and that would be the appropriate meaning...freak show, and I wouldn´t even be considered a human, just an attraction..."
"Jean, that´s not true!"
"..."
"I would never let anyone treat you like dirt. You...you mean a lot to me! You´re my best friend! Do you think I would allow the circus people to make a freak out of you?"
"No...I...I don´t think you would do something cruel, Nadia, believe me. I trust with my life! But...I don´t think many other people would think the same way."
"I would take care of that. And maybe you don´t have to be "the smallest man in the world". How about..."the incredible size-changing boy"! That sounds nice, doesn´t it?"
"Hm...that reminds me of something..."
Sitting down on the soft ground of Nadia´s stomach, Jean takes out his shrink-ray gun, wondering whether it charged already. And to his dismay, it didn´t.
"Oh no...the shrink ray gun still hasn´t charged!"
"What does that mean?"
"That means I´ll stay tiny forever if I don´t find a way to fix the problem. Something´s wrong with it, that´s clear."
That´s really unfortunate. If there´s really something wrong with the shrink ray gun, then Jean is in trouble. As far as he´s concerned, he´s the only person ever who buit a shrink ray gun, thus it´s the only existing device of its kind. If he can´t find a way to fix the shrink ray gun or to build a new one, then he would be forced to stay tiny forever. And maybe he´s forced to stay inside Nadia forever as well, although it doesn´t have naything to do with the shrink ray gun. The thought just crosses his mind as he realizes that the tight muscular ring that is the entrance to Nadia´s stomach is high above him, and closed as well. It only opens when Nadia is eating or drinking. How is he supposed to get up there and through that closed hole? That´s something to worry about later, the shrink ray gun incident worries him more at the moment.
"Why don´t you ask your uncle? Isn´t he an inventor, too?"
"No, he couldn´t help me out with that. He´s a good inventor, but not that good."
"Just another reason for you to join me and the circus."
"Huh?"
"You don´t want to stay tiny forever, right? And...traveling with me, all over the world, you might find an inventor who can help you reapir your gun, or build a new one according to your plans."
"Nadia...you´re right...that´s..."
So is Jean going to join Nadia at last? It sounds perfect to Jean, maybe he´ll find someone who can help him out. Heck, maybe he´ll even meet an inventor like Thomas Alva Edison, although he´s living in the U.S., and Jean doesn´t know whether he could possibly meet such a man. In any case, Jean finally made up his mind. He has made a decision, and he is going to tell Nadia whether he´ll join her or not. He´s a bit excited, since he´s talking to the girl he loves - something he isn´t used to and makes him really nervous - but he´s determined.
"All right, then. Nadia, I´m going to..."
Just as he wants to tell Nadia his important decision, this fateful moment is interrupted by the appearance of an annoying and unfortunate phenomenon, if you will.