The cool, salty wind brushed along the balcony. Hanna let it blew her dark, silky hair and her glittering red gown. It caressed her skin, its coolness seeping though her make-up. It's as if the wind came deep from the ocean floor, and rose all the way to that balcony to greet her.
Hanna stayed there, sitting on the balcony and watching the ocean. She let out a sigh, perhaps a kind of response to the chilling nighttime wind of the sea.
The night went on in the beach. Hanna's 18th birthday was about to be over. She's happy, no doubt about that. But she's longing for something else. Something as simple as watching the ocean at the night of one's birthday. Alone.
"Hanna?"
Or not.
Before she turned around, she knew it's her friend Raine. Her best friend. But is she Raine's best friend? Nope. Hanna is no one's best friend, but she don't mind though.
"What are you doing here, birthday girl?" she said, learning on the balcony.
Hanna shrugged, "just watching the ocean."
Raine nodded, "I see." She faced her, her curly brown hair jiggling, "it's so noisy and loud back there, huh?"
Hanna smiled. Raine is one of the few people who understands her.
"Yeah, there's so much people there," she said.
"Not that I mind though," she quickly added, "I'm happy that you guys are all here!"
Raine smiled, "Awww, happy birthday girl!"
They hugged for a while.
"Whatever's been bothering you, I hope you knock it off to the ground!" Raine said as she hugged her friend.
After the hug, the sky illuminated the two like a spotlight. A lightning. A silent firework.
The two looked up and saw a bright ball of light passing through the night sky. It's so fast it leaves a tail as it travels.
"A shooting star!" Raine whispered to Hanna.
Anna just stared at it as it disappeared in the horizon. She thought she saw a white explosion somewhere.
"Wow," Raine said, "I've never seen it so close!" She looked at Hanna, her eyes glittering.
"Yeah."
"Do you think you can wish? The heavens sent you a birthday gift, silly!"
Hanna laughed, "a wish? What am I? A seven year old?"
"A wish! Don't tell me you didn't make a wish on you most important birthday!" Raine returned the laugh.
Hanna's mood softened into a melancholic sadness, "Yeah I didn't."
Raine fell silent.
"It's you. You 18 people are the ones who made wishes for my most important birthday" she said, adding a slightly mocking tone to it. "It's always like that, other people deciding what should I be and what should I want in my life."
Hanna looked at her friend, her best friend. She was almost ashamed at the sudden rant. But she can feel the weight disappearing.
Raine looked at her with sad eyes. She then tapped her shoulder.
"Sorry if that's how you feel."
They stared at the ocean. They can hear some people in the beach screaming and talking about "that light in the sky".
"Why don't you wish to that star though huh? It your chance!"
Hanna looked at Raine. It's the classic are-you-crazy look.
"Come on, silly!" she giggled.
Hanna rolled her eyes, "like a seven year old?"
"Yes," she answered, "like a seven year old."
Hanna smiled and looked down. She closed her eyes.
She knew what she wanted. It's been nagging inside her ever since they were planning this debut.
You are not a kid anymore, you're now our big girl!, her parents would say.
They are the ones who decided to have the debut at the beach. Hanna didn't mind. Even though what she wanted is something less loud. Like the mountains.
She wanted to stand above everything else on the day she became a woman.
She wanted to decide for herself.
She wanted to be more powerful. More assertive. More confident.
She wanted to be free.
***
In the afternoon of the following day, Hanna found herself in the family car, together with the rest of her family and piles of vacation things.
The heavily loaded SUV cruised along the highway like a bullet. It was an unbusy Saturday afternoon. But nobody was in a hurry, and nobody was eager to go home. Even the birthday girl was dismayed at such an abrupt ending of her birthday celebration.
Apparently, the shooting star yesterday was a meteor. And it landed... right at their front lawn!
Hanna watched the endless scenes of rice fields and mountains. Thinking about the meteor.
The heavens sent you a birthday gift, silly!
She thought about Raine's words. Ironically, that very meteor ended all of their fun.
She sighed.
Our home was literally hit by a meteor! What's with the childish behavior, 18 year old woman?
Of course, Hanna knew that it was the sentimental feeling of it that made her sad. It's something that she couldn't really understand - the way her brain forms memories and connections. It acts as if everything is as precious as a Phoenix feather. She rarely get attached to something, but when she does, undoing the connection is akin to dismemberment.
But what is she attached to? Well, it's the meteor itself. Ironically, she genuinely felt that it was indeed a gift from the heavens.
"You okay, darling?" she heard her mother say, "sorry okay? It's such a bad timing for that meteor!"
Hanna smiled, "It's fine. I've had fun."
As she said that, she let the pastoral scenes in the window rock her confused self to sleep.
***
The entire front yard turned into a sinkhole. It was deeper than Hanna thought. It was at least one person deep. Grey sand and broken steels lined the dirt walls of the sink hole. Many broken pipes were seen, shaped like a child's doodle of a messy hair. They're covered in some sort of clothes to prevent leaking. In the bottom was a shallow, dark-colored pool of water.
Together with at least half the entire neighborhood, the family observed the damage. Surprisingly, their house was intact, save for some broken windows.
Hanna's father began talking to some neighborhood men as well as some policemen. Hanna's mother gathered her three children near the car.
"Okay, so starting tonight, we'll temporarily sleep in my friend Melanie's place okay?" she said.
"Where's the meteor?" Hanna's 16 year old brother Erin said.
"The authorities already retrieved it. They say it looked like a metal ball."
The siblings' mouths form an "O" as they learned this.
"Can I stay at our place, mom?" Hanna said. There's nothing really wrong with Melanie's family or house. She just craved alone time at her beloved room. After all the socializing yesterday, the last thing she needed was to sleep at someone else's place.
"Nope. Your father and some others will fix the front yard."
"I don't mind. I'll help clean the house. It's probably mess-"
"No, don't be stubborn, Hanna. I don't know what's happening to you when you're not around."
"Mom, I-" Hanna's words drowned in her own grunts. She scratched her head.
Back to normal, she thought.
"Fine, what about I just visited our home later? I wanna get my stuff."
"Your father will get your clothes"
"No mom, I wanna get my stuff!"
Her mom sighed, "fine. You can visit home. Mark, can you join your sister?"
Hanna's 22 year old brother snorted, "come on mom, she's 18! She's not a baby anymore!"
"Yeah. I don't need someone to look for me mom. Besides, dad is around."
Defeated, her mom sighed and nodded. "Okay fine. Go back before 7 okay? Now let's pack some things."
Hanna felt a sense of relief. Another battle won. Of course this won't be the last battle for control that she'll face with her parents.
***
It was a cool evening. At this part of the country, it seems like the weather at night randomly goes freezing for some reason. So, this isn't really unusual, even in the middle of March.
Hanna was strolling along the quiet streets of her neighborhood. This place sleeps early. So all she can hear are the howl of the winds, the chirping of crickets, and the rustling of her sneakers on the ground.
Her home was a few minutes away from Melanie's place. She just walked there, alone. Sometimes, a motorcycle will cruise along. But most of the time, it was just her and the foggy night.
Her mom would probably think she's walking along a line of murderous bulky men, who are hiding in the shadows. It's hard to believe that it's probably the first time she walked alone at such a late time.
She felt zero fear though. In fact, the silence and the solitude gives her some special flavor of joy. It's a sweet feeling that most people probably don't get. The feeling of being free from other people's bullshits. The feeling of being yourself.
As she got closer to home, the surroundings became more and more awake. The sweet feeling of solitude gradually fades.
A bunch of men were working in the sinkhole. They seem to observe and measure stuffs in the hole. Among the men, she recognized some district officers and her dad.
"Hey dad!" she said, walking to their backyard.
"Oh hey! Go to the backyard and use the door there, Hanna"
She ignored her dad. She's already doing that for God's sake.
The backyard door was unlocked. Inside, she discovered that much of the kitchen was wet and... clean. Too clean, in fact. Most of the bottles and jars were gone.
As she walked to the living room, she understood. She saw the pile of broken debris and some garbage bags on the side. Beside it, their flatscreen TV, now broken, was leaning on the wall. The impact shook their home, messing with much of the things inside. Apparently, dad and the gang cleaned the mess up.
"Be careful there, Hanna," she heard her dad's voice, "some pieces of glass might hurt you, you understand?"
"Yeah sure," Hanna said, annoyed.
She then climbed up the stairs and entered her room.
Fortunately, surprisingly even, her room is intact. The bookshelves, the desk, the wardrobe, even the paint-by-numbers artworks hanging in the wall were unscathed.
Perhaps they also cleaned my room up, she thought.
The thought shivered her for some reason. She can take the idea of her dad entering her room like a favorite candy, but other people? Random men? Kind of an unsettling thought.
She locked the door. It made her feel better. A bit more secure. More private.
She then observed her clothes in her wardrobe. She took some nice, casual clothes. It's a cold night, but she would rather cocoon herself in a blanket than sleep on a jacket or pyjamas.
A statement shirt and a pair of thin, light colored shorts. Her parents doesn't mind such revealing outfit, but she can hear her mom now saying, don't walk around outside too much looking like that, young lady.
She began to undress, starting with her sneakers.
How long have I been wearing these socks and shoes? God, it must have been long.
She expected the smell. It wasn't really awful, just a musky smell. Maybe she'll wash her feet before going back to Melanie's.
As she put off her clothes, she heard something near the door.
"Dad? Is that you? Go away, I'm dressing up!"
Silence. She's now on her bra and panties. She's thinking if she should replace her bra.
The rustling noise resumed. She turned around to the door, and the cabinet beside it.
She decided to replace her bra. So she went to her cabinet and...
Was that a movement below her cabinet?
Rats? That would be weird, not to mention gross. Perhaps that goddamn meteor dug up some rats' home.
She decided to look closer.
She gasped. There's definitely something there. A shadowy creature.
It crawled towards her.
She then saw it clearly.
It was a tiny man.
Giantess World
Story Notes:
Hi! This is my first story, or should I say, my debut! Sorry if that sounds pompous, I couldn't resist myself lol. Anyway, comments and criticisms are all welcome!
Debut: In my country, a "debut" is a grand, extravagant, coming of age celebration of a woman's 18th birthday. Activities include "18 roses" where the celebrant dances with 18 important men in her life. And also "18 candles" which may include 18 important people making a wish for her.
Tags will be added as the story progresses.
Enjoy!!!
Author's Chapter Notes:
Mostly introductions and stuff. No giantess content yet, unfortunately.
Chapter End Notes:
The rest of the story is coming up soon! I'll just polish and publish them chapter by chapter. See ya!