Selina

5

Cold water splashes on my face, waking me up with a jolt. I slowly open my eyes to see my aunt standing next to me with a pail of water in her hands and let out a groan both from pain and being woken up in such an awful manner.

'Hurry and get up before someone realises you were in the forest and change your clothes too, what were you doing killing someone out there?' My aunt says and suddenly everything comes flashing back to me. The giant, his confession of killing that girl, my self-defence that went a little too far, ok, way too far.

Will anyone believe me if I told them that I had killed a giant today, that too without any proper weapons? My entire body hurts and it's only when my aunt assists me that I am able to get up. She lets me into her van from the door facing the forest, to avoid everyone's attention and gently cleans the wounds, I don't remember getting. Once I am all clean, she gives me some clothes to change into and I am only halfway through when someone knocks at the door.

'Open up, monthly checking time!' A man says from outside and before I can panic my aunt pushes me onto the bed and covers me with a quilt. She then throws the now blood-stained cotton and clothes into a small lamp which swallows them all to my horror before combing her hair with her hands and opening the door.

I close my eyes, pretending to be asleep as someone walks into the van, bumping their head on the roof. At times I forget that the van is not exactly made for tall folks. The reminder of the word tall once again fills my head with the image of the dead giant and I can't help but feel remorse over my actions. He was a murderer but did he deserve to die at my hands?

It was an act of self defence. A part of my brain says but the other part knows that I could have run after blinding him, there was no need to kill him.

'Why is she sleeping right now?' A deep voice says, bringing me out of my thoughts.

'She spent the entire morning cleaning my van and the before that the entire week attending school, you know kids get tired after that.' My aunt says in a tone I have never heard her use before. Today my aunt is in a suspiciously good mood, which makes her scarier, to be honest.

'Fair enough, but if I get another complaint of her being up to no good, you and she both are going to be dead.' He says in a gruff voice before banging the door on his way out I hope.

Who called the officers on me? Who was lingering around the forests to notice me going inside?

'Get up and go home, it's not safe anymore, and don't come to help me next week.' My aunt says, throwing the quilt away and pulling me up.

'No aunty, you need to tell me what's going on? Who saw me? And what is that lamp?'I ask holding her hands tightly but she just pushes me out of the van before locking the door and quickly driving away, leaving me standing there all alone.

A few ladies snicker on seeing me left behind, but quickly mask their expressions when I glare at them.

Walking all the way home gives me a lot of time to sort my thoughts but I can't. Giants are real, my aunt has a lamp that swallows everything despite the size, and someone is keeping an eye on me for some reason.

When I reach home, I see my mother standing at the door, with her hands crossed. The minute she sees me, she ushers me inside and closes the door. For the first time, I see that the curtains are closed too and my father is back home early from work.

'Selina, take a seat.' Huh, do they know everything?

I sit down on a chair opposite my father who has worry etched on his face. My father is a huge man, but despite his exterior, he is a softy on the inside.

'Selina, what did you see in the forest today.' My mom jumps straight to the point. Who knew my aunt would be so quick at reporting things.

'Ma how-' I start but my father interrupts me.

'Selina, your aunt called a few minutes back. You can trust us.' He says and it does make sense but will they believe me?

'I- uh- I saw a shadow and followed it into the forest foolishly and it was- it wasagiantthatwantedtokillme.' I say and my parents look at me confused.

'Say it slowly, what was the shadow?' My ma says while my dad sits up straighter and moves to the edge of his seat.

'It was a giant that wanted to kill me, he confessed to killing the girl yesterday.' I say and my ma almost screams in shock.

'WHAT? WHERE IS IT NOW, WHO HELPED YOU? WE MUST THANK THAT PERSON.' Ma screams but she stills on seeing my expression.

'Someone helped you right? Where did the giant run, in which direction I mean.' She says while my dad just looks at me in realisation.

'Urusa, I think it's enough for tonight. She needs to rest.' He says but my mother refuses to listen.

'I killed him, mother.' I say and the gravity of the words fills the room with a strange fear.

'You-how-you are just a child.' My ma says, following on the mat next to my chair.

'Adrenaline perhaps, he was intent on killing me and I had no other option so I used stones to blind him and then beheaded him with his own sword. I don't even know how I could pick it up, it looked so heavy.' I say, tears falling from my eyes. My dad gets up and hugs me while my ma just sits there in shock.

'No-no no, it's happening Kirst. It's happening, our daughter, the prophecy-' my ma starts saying but one look from my dad and she immediately stops.

'What's happening, ma, papa, what's happening?' I say in between my sobs. Prophecy?

'A power looms to take revenge, a voice to misguide the best, an army of soon-to-be-dead, a leader to guide her friends.'

The words suddenly ring in my head and I gulp, audibly. What if the words were true? What if the wind was trying to tell me that I was going to die?

'I think dad is right, I should just go off to sleep.' I say but ma stops me.

'You know the prophecy. What do you know? Don't even think of lying because I am your mother and I can read your face.' She says getting up and despite my dad trying to interfere, I know she won't back off until I tell her.

'Yesterday on Polki peak-' I start but my ma shrieks on hearing the name.

'You went to Polki peak? Alone, in this weather, what were you thinking.' She starts but my dad urges me to continue.

'I went there because Rosa wanted to go there.' I say and the two of them exchange a look, that tells me they know something.

'I walked into the forests there and suddenly I got entangled and I think the wind spoke up, I am not sure how and said some words that didn't make sense.' I say stopping to look at them.

When they don't say anything, I continue. 'It said that, "A power looms to take revenge, a voice to misguide the best, an army of soon to be dead, a leader to guide her friends.", that's it then I got released on my own and I ran back home.'

For a while, my parents don't say anything but then my ma grabs me and locks me in my room.

'Ma open up.' I pound on the door but she just leaves me there, until I give up. It's only late in the night that I hear their voices and realise that they knew something has been going on for a really long time.