Chapter 3

“Welcome, Beverly. We’re very glad to have you here today.”

“Th-thank you so much, Derek. I-it’s great to be here.” Beverly clasped her hands in front of her solid white jumpsuit and gazed down at her feet in a seemingly shy gesture.

“Haha. And nice to have you here as well, Donald. You have quite a precious little lady here.”

“Aye. That she is, Derek. Quite a handful, too. Haha.”

Beverly looked nervously over at her ‘caretaker’ with a forced smile on her face.

Emma felt sick to her stomach. That was not the business woman she remembered. She was the loud, entitled woman on the city bus. Definitely not the shy, timid and polite woman she was seeing right now.

“Well, Beverly, it’s hard to believe it’s been six months since you all were rescued from that wreckage. How have you been getting along?”

Beverly quickly cut her eyes over to her caretaker once more before lifting her head high and answering with supposed confidence. “Well, Derek, as you know, my companions and I are very well taken care of. So everything is just f-… great! Everything is just great.” A forced smile appeared on her nervous face as she looked back to Donald again.

The newscaster smiled. “That’s wonderful. And, how are you getting along, Donald?”

The stupid fat giant began to take over the conversation but Emma’s eyes remained on Beverly as long as the camera would allow it. Her eyes helped to betray her phony performance. She looked like she was about to cry. And she wasn’t the only one.

Emma turned her head from the TV, not caring to see anymore, as tears began to flow freely. She had her answer now. Even if her people weren’t being experimented on, they were still being imprisoned.

Emma blindly pushed along the shrubs, crawling away from the sounds of the TV and the large crowd. She settled a little further down near a few tables and chairs that had been set out for outside dining. Table umbrellas were open to block out the sun, putting Emma in the shade. She began shivering again but didn’t take notice since her sobs were already shaking her. She placed her head in her hands and cried softly.

“Who the hell CARES? I mean, really… can’t we move on from the whole ‘little people’thing??”

Emma’s sobs stopped short as she could feel and hear two giants approaching her. She dropped her hands and peered out of the bushes just as two young women each took a seat at the table she was closest to. She couldn’t see their faces from her perch but she could see that one was wearing black slacks and pumps while the other was still trying to hold on to summer by wearing tan capris and white sandals.

“So little beings drop out of the sky and you’re wondering why people care?” White sandals chuckled.

“But that was like a YEAR ago. Big deal! Now they’re living in the lap of luxury at tax payer’s expense.” Black pumps retaliated.

“Well, if luxury had a lap, they could probably fit in it. But, seriously, though. It’s only been six months AND what makes you think that?”

“They showed a documentary on it a few months ago. Don’t you remember? We watched it at your house.”

“Yes but you can’t always believe what you see in those programs. The only reason why they came out with it at all is because of the activists. People don’t like the idea that those little ones are being mistreated. I know I don’t…” Sandals muttered the last bit under her breath so her friend couldn’t hear… but Emma did.

“Better they are mistreated than to live as kings. They don’t even BELONG here!”

“You’re getting overworked. Let’s move on to another subject, shall we? How has work been?”

Emma tuned the next conversation out, instead pondering the words of the chatty friends. It was more than obvious to her now that not one giant was the same as another. Out of the two giants before her, one was out for her blood, while the other…

Emma couldn’t turn herself in to just any giant. She’d have to weed out the bad from the good. But she didn’t have much time. She had no food and no shelter and the temperature would continue to drop. Her time was up… even sooner than she thought.

“I gotta run to the ladies’ room. That time of the month.” Black pumps whispered to white sandals.

“Hurry back!”

Emma watched as the chair slid back noisily and the nicely dressed giant stood and trotted off.

Could she do this? SHOULD she do this? There’s no going back after this…

She watched for a moment as the sandaled feet pushed against the ground, noisily sliding another chair back, and the jean capris crossed themselves at the knee.

Emma could now see that the giant toes in the white sandal were trimmed professionally and french painted. Her eyes traveled up the long legs until she could see the bottom of the dark green table and then a flow of silky auburn hair jutting above it. There was no time now… the friend was due back any second. Black pumps frightened Emma and she hesitated, afraid white sandals may show her to black pumps, even if all went well.

Emma took one last look around and only spotted an elderly couple sitting together at a table on the other end of dining patio.

Gathering as much courage as she could muster, Emma crawled out from under the shrubbery and slowly approached the woman. She could now see the woman was wearing a dark blue-grey blouse and a grey pinstriped jacket. She was casually looking ahead, occasionally sipping from the white mug in her hands.

Emma stood, unsure what her next move should be. Should she call to her? Approach her? Or just quickly run back in the bushes and pretend it never happened?

Before she could decide, a pair of hazel eyes looked down and then in the direction of where she was standing. Emma froze, gazing into the depths of the beautiful eyes as they widened. She stirred and slowly backed away as a very audible gasp emitted from between the giant’s pale pink lips.

“By the gods…” The giantess breathed. “Are you real…?”

Emma couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. She was beyond frightened.

The next moment, the giantess looked around the area quickly and then over to where her friend had disappeared minutes before and then slowly pushed forward out of her chair. She squatted down next to the terrified girl and whispered. “Can you speak? What are you doing here? Where did you come from?”

When Emma still didn’t move, the woman frowned and slowly reached a hand out.

This awoke Emma with a start as she yelped, spun and quickly dove back into the bushes.

“Oh, no wait! Wait, come back! I’m not going to hurt you…”

“Hurt who?”

Emma didn’t have to look to know black pumps was back. Her breathing came in loud gasps as she tried to slow her heart rate. She was on anxiety overdrive. She didn’t care to listen to the rest of their conversation. She pulled herself back into the shadow of the shrubs and curled up onto the mulch. She listened to the mumbled dialogue of white sandals and black pumps and slowly fell asleep.

Emma awoke quite groggy and disoriented. It took her a few seconds to realize where she was. The mulch beneath her was damp and, despite the fact that the thick branches and leaves of the hedge protected her from the wind, she was freezing. But more than that, she was starving. Her stomach gnarled and bit at her insides. She rubbed her stomach, trying to calm it. The smells and sounds that she fell asleep to had disappeared.

Emma sat up slowly and peered out of the bushes. It was dark and the crowds and vendors had all vanished. Their absence made for an eerie sort of wonderland. The moon was, once again, hidden by cloud cover but the street lamps were lit along the whole way of the park.

Emma was weak from hunger and stiff from the cold but her curiosity got the better of her. She looked around cautiously before crawling out of the bushes and onto the concrete of the patio dining area.

Her first priority was food and with the giants gone, she could claim herself a feast from their leftovers on the ground. She had seen quite a few sad scenes earlier in the day where a child would accidentally drop half a hotdog or fries on the ground. But as Emma scoured the scene, she could find nothing. Either the park employees were really thorough with their jobs or the nearby scuttling park animals got to them first. They were preparing for winter, after all.

Emma called out in frustration and felt like having a tantrum right then and there. It just wasn’t fair… wasn’t fair wasn’t fair wasn’t f –

Movement in the corner of her eye made her jump and spin around. She was standing right in the open among the park lights. How could she be so stupid? Had she been seen?

A large shadow slowly stepped to one side and then took a cautious step forward. Emma turned to bolt.

“Hello.” A soft voice called.

Emma stopped and gazed at the giant shadow. It stepped forward again and she caught a glimpse of auburn hair under the park lights. Another step and Emma could see the hazel eyes of the giant woman she had revealed herself to earlier that day.

“It’s okay. I-I’m not going to hurt you.” The woman took one more step forward and knelt down on the ground. These movements made Emma lower her eyes to watch the giant feet shift. The tan capris and white sandals had now been replaced by jeans and grey boots due to the cold night air.

“Can you talk?”

Emma’s eyes drifted back up to the auburn framed face. Her lips shook as they parted but, though she tried hard to answer, nothing came out. She bowed her head, unsure what to do or how to respond.

The hazel eyes gazed over the tiny shivering creature and softened. “You poor little thing. You must be frozen.” The giantess pouted slightly. “Are you hungry?”

Emma’s head shot back up in answer.

The giantess smiled softly and reached into her brown coat pocket and produced a small sealed bag. Her movements were soft and subtle so as not to frighten the poor girl any more than she already was. She opened the bag and then leaned forward and set it on the ground a few feet in front of Emma.

Emma’s eyes never left the bag since it first came in sight. FOOD! Real food! She was famished and she immediately crawled on hands and knees over to it. She didn’t care what the giant was going to do to her. It didn’t matter. She opened the bag further and was greeted with a familiar sight… chips!

Oh how she had missed this!

Emma greedily pulled one out of the bag and began gnawing on it. It was huge and a bit cold but still wonderful. She glanced up as she chewed, hearing her giant provider chuckle.

“I wasn’t sure what your kind ate but I had never heard of any creature turning down starch.” Her smile was warm and almost inviting. “My name is Kathryn. What’s yours?”

Emma swallowed a large mouthful and found her voice once again. “Em-m.. Emmalise. Stocking. Emmalise Stocking” She cringed how her voice squeaked compared to the giant’s.

Kathryn’s smile widened. “Emmalise Stocking. It’s nice to meet you. You have a last name as well. Mine is Harvest.”

“Kathryn Harvest.”

“Yes. You can call me Kate if you’d like.”

Emma managed a soft smile. “You can call me Emma.”

“Emma it is then.”

Kate’s eyes were practically shining as she engaged the little girl.

“What are you doing out here, Emma? Did you escape from the government or something?”

Oh no… oh no oh no.

Emma stopped eating altogether, her eyes widening, and began backpedaling towards the safety of the hedge.

Kate’s face dropped at Emma’s reaction and she immediately realized what she had done wrong.

“No wait! I didn’t mean it like that! I won’t… I’m not going to report you to them, I promise! I was just- I’m… I’m so sorry. You poor thing.” Her voiced dropped to a whisper and nearly broke at the end.

Emma stopped retreating and just stared at the giant before her.

“Well, you did confirm something for me. The government isn’t treating you little ones like royalty. You’re scared to death of them, aren’t you?”

Emma slowly made her way back over to the bag of chips, this time keeping a wary eye on her guest. “I don’t know. I’ve never been captured by them.”

“Never?”

Emma took another bite of a chip and shook her head.

“Of course. I don’t suppose you’d be so… dirty if you had been.”

Emma began to take offence at the accusation but then realized Kate was right. She was dirty.

“I uh… the water has been too cold to bathe in lately.” She took another bite, bowing her head in embarrassment.

Kate pursed her lips and stared at little Emma in pity. “Well… Would you like to- I mean… I can- hmm.”

Emma looked up from her meal, curiously.

“There’s warm water back at my place. Would you like me to take you there? You could clean up and then I could bring you right back here if you’d like.”

Emma wasn’t ready for a question like that. There was way too much to think about. How would she get to Kate’s house? What would it be like there? Did she live alone? If not, did she really want to reveal herself to anyone else? What if she was lying? Would she turn her in? Surely there’s some ransom for her capture…

“I…I…”

“I understand. It was just an offer. I’m not going to force you to do anything.” Kate smiled, reassuringly. “I could always come back tomorrow and maybe bring you something else to eat and maybe something warmer to wear.”

Suddenly the thought of being left alone and cold and hungry again sounded abhorrent to Emma.

“…Okay… I’ll go.” She answered quickly.

Kate blinked in surprise. “What?”

“I’ll go to your house… i-if that’s okay.”

Kate grinned. “Really?”

“I don’t…” Emma choked back a sob. “I don’t want to be alone again.”

Kate’s heart melted at the tiny girl’s words. All she wanted to do was take her in her arms and comfort her but she didn’t want to frighten her. Instead she slowly leaned forward and cautiously reached out her hand.

Emma froze, still holding onto her chip, as the huge hand approached. She didn’t know how to react as she had several nightmares over the past months of a huge hand reaching out to grab her. But she also knew she had to trust Kate if she was going to allow her to help her.

Kate slowly brushed two fingertips across Emma’s cheek, bracing herself for the little one’s reaction.

All of Emma’s anxiety diminished as the two gentle fingers caressed her. She had felt no other gentle touch since the day she got on that city bus home. The chip dropped from her hands and she closed her eyes, leaning against the warm fingers. Tear began to flow freely down her cheeks and her face scrunched up as she tried to fight the overwhelming urge to break out in sobs.

Kate reacted immediately, now cupping her fingers behind Emma’s head pressing the palm of her hand against the side of the little girl’s face. She began to shush and coo to the girl like she had done so many times with her baby niece. “Shh. It’s okay, sweetheart. You’re safe.”

Kate slowly reached out her other hand and cupped it around Emma’s backside, easing her onto it like a seat. “I’m not gonna hurt you. I’m going to hold you, okay?”

Emma nodded meekly, covering her own face with her hand to try and block out her cries.

Kate gently scooped up the girl, amazed at how light and fragile she was. She stood and cradled Emma in the crook of her arm, wrapping her coat around her, keeping Emma hidden and warm.

Emma curled up into the darkness and warmth of Kate’s coat. There was alarm and panic in the back of her mind but, for a moment, it was put to rest as the rocking movement of Kate’s walking lured her to sleep.