Selina

9

'Selina, What are you doing here?' Trub asks me after he has checked the doors and windows for the hundredth time.

His house is well furnished and as big as it looks. After pushing me inside, he had quickly locked the door and shut down the curtains like he was hiding a criminal. Yes, I am not allowed in this village but that doesn't mean he should panic so much.

But maybe I am overreacting. This is Tooth village probably and it is known to be a scary place. He has all the right to be afraid. I should be grateful he at least brought me inside.

'I-uh-I went to the Polki Peak and forgot which side I climbed up from.' I say not wanting to lie but not wanting to give away the truth either.

The betrayal of Rosa makes it hard for me to trust a guy I haven't met in years. Trub has not changed much except for the fact that he has grown really tall and has gained a little muscular weight. I wonder what kind of work he does to have such muscles. Tooth village is famous for black magic but looking at him I don't think he can do any magic at all.

Whenever I had imagined Tooth village, I had thought of men with long hair and beard and women dressed like my aunt chanting something all day long. I had not imagined a well-lit place with happy children playing on the street or everyone living in well-built houses like Trub's.

The boy stares at me with his brown eyes, as if he is looking at my soul. His dark hair are messy and a few strands are falling on his forehead. He still has the same sincerity on his face that he had back then with the only difference that instead of a smile he is now looking at me with a frown.

'Has the kingdom sent you to spy on us.' He says after a while and the way he says it somehow reminds me of Rosa's words a few hours back.

'You know I am not like that Trub. I didn't know where I was running in panic.' I say defensively yet my words resonate with honesty, although I know that he won't trust me. I shouldn't feel this way but all I know is I can't trust anyone again. Until he proves his loyalty I won't tell him anything.

'So did Rosa send you here?' He asks and I am shocked. Does he know that Rosa lives there?

On seeing the surprise on my face, he just shakes his head before going into another room, leaving me standing there all alone. Did they all know something was up? Had they all been communicating all this time?

Questions start filling my brain and I can't help but think how much of a fool I have been. To think that these people were my friends. I can't help but reminisce and the more I think of it, the more I realise that I had always been that person in the group whose presence didn't matter.

Swallowing my self-pity and noticing that Trub has still not returned, I quickly move towards the door and run out in the cold night. Not thinking, not feeling, I once again just keep running in a random direction till I pass all the lights and land in a clearing.

I was so engrossed in moving away from everyone that I didn't even notice my cheeks were wet because of tears and my feet had blisters that were bleeding.

I look around to see the lights shining at a distance from where I am standing. Where exactly am I now? The place looks clear with a few trees and sand. The only source of light is the moon and the scattered stars blink away like little diamonds littering the sky.

I find a tree on one end that looks really safe and when I sit down, I feel my body aching from the exhaustion. Examining my feet, I tear a portion of my tunic, to clean the blood, clenching my teeth due to the pain. What a fool I am. I left everything behind to search for a girl who doesn't care only to run like a sentimental child and meet another friend who doubts me.

The tree opposite me suddenly moves before I feel a huge vibration on the ground. It bends down to my horror and that's when I realise I have landed in the enemy's house.

'Look what we have here. I thought that I would have to walk some more distance to find you, but you are sitting here on your own, in my territory, ready to be beheaded. Hahaha'

No, no, no, how did this happen?

'Maya you said I have time.' I say in an accusatory voice.

'Well that I did but you came here on your own so now we don't.' She replies in a matter-of-fact tone and I can't help but close my eyes in panic. The giant I had seen last time was really a child compared to this one.

This giant was so tall that even the tallest trees were like little plants in front of him. He was wearing clothes similar to the other giants in my dream and had a massive scar on his face that made him look scarier.

He laughed for a few more minutes, all the while muttering to himself how he couldn't believe his eyes before raising his bone-like weapon and bringing it down with a rawr to hit me.

I freeze. Time moves slowly as I see the weapon coming towards me when I feel something pushing me from inside. My upper half moves to the other side before I feel a push to my legs and I find myself rolling funnily. Had this been a comedy, I would have laughed but right now all I feel like is weeping.

The bone misses me by inches but the next hit comes so fast that I find myself being tossed like a ball many yards away.

My back hurts like it is broken and my head spins so fast I find my eyes closing on their own. I distinctly hear Maya's voice asking me to get up but I can't move.

I almost give up when the Giant says,' It will be fun to destroy this village before killing your parents. How the master will reward me for clearing his enemies, hahaha.'

'My son, look how I kill this girl to avenge you!' He says, looking at the sky as if he can see his son there before moving his large branch-like hair from his face and getting ready to strike me again.

Something inside me awakens the minute he mentions ma and papa. They are all I have now, and I can't let them die for my mistakes.

Using all my strength I roll immediately when the giant tries to hit me and keep doing so until I feel the sand to be wet. The wind blows and I hear the sound of water moving. Oh, how the dark camouflages the water and makes it look like land.

The giant smirks as if has me cornered and tries to hit me again but I roll towards him and tickle his dirty feet, making him slip on the sand, in an attempt to kick me away and fall into the water. A disadvantage of being so tall is that you cover kilometers to fall into something that isn't even that close.

He screams loudly, thrashing his body to get up, his legs nearly killing me from moving so much when he stills completely.

I expect him to stand up in a second and kill me for tricking him, but he doesn't.

'He died, the water is extremely toxic. You should thank your ancestors for leaving this gift for you.' Maya says sarcastically and I understand her anger. My ancestors didn't exactly try to keep nature safe, and that's why here we are, living like the stone age once again. Well not exactly like that but not as comfortably as our ancestors too.

Once my body realises that the battle is over, my back feels broken again and my feet start burning because of the blisters. The Giant's body starts releasing a toxic smell and like a miracle I once again find myself walking away before falling to the ground near the tree where it all started.

My shoulder that had been hit yesterday, once again triggers up, hurting like it's dislocated and I feel broken, mentally and physically.

The last thing I see is the light in a distance before I pass out again, just like yesterday, just like the day I fought the baby Giant, feeling like a murderer bearing the punishment for her crimes.