Ansel watched as the two giants stirred from their slumber.  Daylight barely touched the sky but Ansel knew that his children could sense the impending brightness of the sun.  Ansel had shaved his bread by the moonlight to reveal his newly youthful face.  Marta smiled when she woke to see this.

“That’s my papa I remember.  You look as you did before,” Marta chocked on her words when she realized Ansel looked the same as he did when her and Jakob ran away from home so long ago.  Sadness filled the giantess’s eyes and Ansel soothingly patted his daughter’s enormous hand.

“I am here now, my girl.  I am not going anywhere,” Ansel said and Marta gave him a small smile before sitting up.  Even sitting up, both of Ansel’s children were still much larger than him.  Ansel was roughly the size of a newborn babe despite his small but magical growth spurt from the waters of the forest.

Jakob felt the stubble of his own chin and ran his hand through his messy curls.  He stretched and yawned.  “Thank you so much papa for letting me rest.  Perhaps a shave shall refresh me as well,” Jakob said, still yawning.

“Nay, my son, you look the part of the man that you truly are.  The small growth on your chin becomes you,” Ansel said, smiling up at his giant son.

“Perhaps, I hope that the waters Marta and I used to swim in are still there and have not dried up.  I doubt I will fit in our old bath tub,” Jakob said with a laugh.

“Maybe your foot, Jakob,” Marta said with a laugh and Ansel joined in.  It was nice for Ansel to see his children made light of their situation but Ansel knew that Jakob and Marta were still very unhappy about being giants. 

“Well, my little ones, we must be onward if we are to make it home in time to see your mother,” Ansel said, sounding every bit the father figure and worried about his wife’s health.

“You are right, papa.  I hope mother is happy to see us again,” Marta said with her head down.

“She will be, just as I am grateful you have discovered me,” Ansel said in an understanding voice.  Ansel tried his best not to bring up his children’s current condition.  He treated them as he would if they were of normal stature and looks.  Marta gave Ansel a small but sad smile.  Marta and Jakob’s skin is as white as freshly fallen snow with a slight blush of pink to their cheeks and eyes as blue as the sky itself.  Marta and Jakob’s eyes both began to narrow as the morning sun touched the clearing.

“We should move on, my children,” Ansel said as he noticed their painful gaze.  “We should travel by the cover of the trees.”  Jakob and Marta both nodded as they began packing their goods.  Marta’s braid glowed of gold in the bright morning sun as she kept her eyes from the bright light.  Jakob did the same.  Growing up in The Black Forest for the past ten years have changed both of Ansel’s now adult children in ways other than their size.  Their eyes are now sensitive to the light that they once played in when they were smaller, much smaller.

Ansel climbed into the pocket of Marta’s pack and Marta gently picked it up and put it on her back.  Marta and Jakob shielded their eyes till they were into the safety of the trees.  The darkness they have lived in made their eyes sensitive to the natural bright light.

Jakob looked at his father with his sad blue eyes.  Ansel could see that his son was in pain from the light of day just as he knew Marta was the same way.

“I’m sorry we have to travel in the darkness, papa.  Our eyes hurt too much,” Jakob said with tears of pain tumbling down his cheeks.  “Unfortunately we are creatures of The Black Forest now.  The sun even burns our pale skin,” Jakob said as he showed Ansel a blister on his wrist. 

“Hopefully we will adapt, brother,” Marta said as she looked down on her own blisters on her arm.  Ansel didn’t like seeing his children in such pain but the longer the giants stayed in the shade of the trees, the more the blisters seemed to fade.

“Such a cruel enchantment,” Ansel said.  “It is as if you have turned into creatures of the night.”

“Unlikely papa, creatures of the night would not be able to walk during the day as we have.  Marta and I are not used to such bright light as you are.  I say Marta is right, we must adapt to the light.  We only blister if we are in direct sunlight for longer than we are used to,” Jakob said.

“You may be right son; I just hope the barn is big enough to house both you and your sister.  Otherwise you will have to stay in the woods,” Ansel said.

“If the barn is not large enough, I will build a new one by the light of the moon,” Jakob said giving Ansel a smile.  “Marta and I single handily built our cabin, a larger barn will be child’s play.”

“Jakob, you are such a braggart,” Marta says over her shoulder and Jakob stands taller as they walk along.  Ansel couldn’t help but smile.  His children were still there inside those giants they have become. 

“Dear sister, did we not accomplish such a feat?” Jakob said playfully.

“Over nearly five years’ time, there was a lot of trial and error if I recall.  Remember how many times we had to fix the roof?  Besides, the trees of these woods may not be as strong as the ones in The Black Forest,” Marta said in return and Jakob frowned but still pressed on, following his sister…

Marta’s eyes widened when she found the small carving Jakob left on an oak tree so many years ago.  She pointed it out to her brother who had remembered leaving the carving as a reminder.

“I left these on the trees so that we would remember our way back but the ones I carved in The Black Forest disappeared in a day’s time.  I never thought we would see my markings ever again,” Jakob said proudly.

“Much better than the bread crumbs I wanted to leave,” Marta then said as she lowered her pack to the ground so that her small father can now walk with them.

“The village is not far, papa.  Unlike you, we cannot just walk down the road.  We shall stay within the trees,” Jakob said.  Ansel craned his neck upwards to get one last look at his children.  Like most parents, Ansel wanted his children to grow up big and strong.  Ansel got his wish but unlike the other children Jakob and Marta’s age, Ansel’s children just kept growing and becoming stronger than a couple of oxen each.

“We will meet you in the woods behind our house, papa,” Marta said as she knelt down.  “Be safe, papa,” she then said and kissed his forehead.

“You do understand, papa,” Jakob said, looking down at the much smaller man.

“Aye my son, I do.  You be careful yourself.  Children still play in these woods.  I do not wish to think about what would happen if you two were found,” Ansel said as he readied his pack and went his separate way from his two extraordinary children…