A Giant's Grace

Chapter 2

Aaden had had a long week of work, so he was ready for the week-long vacation. He was going to spend his Saturday chilling at home. He turned on the TV and went to grab a blanket. As he opened up the door to his storage cabinet, he noticed something strange on top of his blankets. There was some sort of bug. Aaden leaned in closer to make sure the critter hadn't laid any eggs. But as he peered closer, he saw what looked to be a tiny human. He closed his eyes and shook his head, knowing that what he saw couldn't be real. But when he slowly opened his eyes, he saw that the small woman was still there.

"Shit, shit, shit," Aaden muttered. "This can't be happening. Am I fucking hallucinating?" He started pacing the room. Aaden desperately wanted to reach out, to touch the tiny girl to see if she was real. However, if she woke up during that, and she was real, she would no doubt think of him as a creep. So Aaden decided to sit and wait for her to wake up. Eventually he would find out if this was some hallucination or actually reality. He pulled out his phone as he waited, but he couldn't help but stare at the tiny lady. She had curly brown hair that fell a little below her shoulders, and her face was freckled. It just seemed so absurd to Aaden that such a being could exist without the knowledge of humans. After what felt like an eternity of curiosity and impatience to Aaden, the little creature stirred. "Hey," Aaden whispered softly.

Grace's eyes snapped open and she leaped to her feet, her mind on full alert. Grace saw the horrifying giant looming above her, ready to go in for the kill at any moment. She had heard the stories of these towering beasts, but never had she thought she'd actually have the misfortune to see one. If the cat had been a predator to her, giants were like gods. Grace was at the mercy of the giant's will and she knew it.

Yet she couldn't help but back away from the giant, trembling in fear.

She couldn't help but let out a whimper as the giant leaned closer.

She couldn't help but curl up her body and cry as she began to think about all the mistakes she had made to get here.

If she had just been more attentive while picking berries, or if she had just decided to hide in the bushes, then none of this would have happened. Grace sobbed, trembling in the face of the giant. Aaden, however, meant no harm. "Shhhhhh," he whispered as gently as he could, "it'll be alright."

"P-p-please don't h-hurt me," Grace begged. She knew it might get her killed to beg for mercy from such a brutal, monstrous being, but at this point a quick death would be better than countless nights of torture.

"Hey. Please, look at me," Aaden whispered. Grace looked, scared of what would happen if she didn't obey. Even though she tried, it was hard to keep eye contact with the giant; it was just so intimidating. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I don't know who or what you are, but I promise you don't have to be scared of me." Grace's first instinct was to assume that the giant was being deceitful, like the stories told. But something in the giant's gentle, brown eyes just seemed so genuine and sincere. It made her uncertain.

"Do you...do you want something to eat?" Aaden asked. He was trying to make the tiny woman feel as comfortable as possible. Grace wasn't sure how to answer the question. Would the giant punish her if she demanded food? Would it punish her if she didn't respond? Would it take it as an insult if she said no? She decided to stay silent, hoping she had made the right decision. Her body tensed up as she heard the giant sigh. As soon as the giant looked back down at Grace, she averted his gaze. Aaden could tell she was extremely scared. "I'll get you something."

As the giant walked away, Grace assessed her options for escape. There was really only one way she could safely get out: the way she came in. She peered outside the cabinet to see if there were any obstacles in her way. Grace's stomach lurched with the realization that the cord was no longer inserted into the socket below the window sill. She was basically trapped in a box with a predator that had complete control over her. She collapsed to the ground and started to shake and sob uncontrollably. Grace was going to be trapped here for the rest of her life, subject to the whims of a monster.