“All I’m saying, Emmie,” said Maisy, with a slight pleading in her voice, a few minutes later, “Maybe take it a little slow? We’re not sure how deep the pond is and…well, you could hurt yourself just jumping in. How deep’s the pond, do you think, Jim?”
“Not rightly sure,” he answered, putting his hands in his pockets as he stared out blankly at the placid water. “I could get the boat out and check…do a measurement.”
“Maybe that’s a good idea,” said Maisy, wringing her hands slightly. Her 16-foot-tall daughter was standing on the edge of their family pond, poised to jump in, with Daniel and Daisy standing close by, looking on uneasily.
“Aw don’t worry about it mom,” Emma said nonchalantly, waving her hand, in the process unintentionally generating a draft of wind that blew everyone’s hair back. “I’ll be careful, alright? I’m not gonna, like…dive in or anything.”
“Not sure a cannonball is the best idea either,” muttered Daniel. Emma looked down at him inquiringly, and Daniel realized that even though he had spoken just a little below a normal speaking voice, she hadn’t heard a word he had said. She had heard sounds coming from him, but no words.
‘It’s because she’s so high up there,’ he thought, craning his neck up to her, marveling at how her knees were basically face-high for him.
“I, uh…I was just saying,” he repeated a little louder, “That maybe a cannonball might, you know…”
“Blow half the water out of the pond,” finished Daisy, staring straight ahead at the water. Daniel’s shoulders slumped a little and he gave a little sigh. He wished that Daisy wasn’t so blunt all the time around Emma — he knew that it didn’t help at all with Emma’s anxiety. But looking back up to his girlfriend, he saw that Emma didn’t seem too affected by her older sister’s words this time. In fact, she was actually smiling.
“Huh…yeah,” she mused out loud, her mouth twisting into something like a crooked smile. “I guess I…I guess I would, wouldn’t I? Heheh I just…um…wow, yeah. I didn’t realize how…big I was compared to the pond.”
It was truly striking, just seeing Emma standing next to the pond itself. It wasn’t a big pond by any means, but at about twenty yards in diameter, it wasn’t too small either. But even still, Emma made it look much smaller than it actually was. As she squished her toes into the soft mud by the water’s edge, she found herself wondering why she hadn’t had a realistic idea of how much of the pond she would actually fill.
‘I just…thought it was gonna be much bigger,’ she thought. She could feel herself beginning to get sad again…the old pond was miniature to her now…but she was distracted by Daniel and Daisy, who were carefully making their way around to the other edge of the pond.
“Where are you guys going?” she asked bluntly, feeling the jealousy surge up in her again.
“Just…around here to the other edge,” said Daniel. “Probably not the best idea to get in on the same side you are Emma, haha…right?”
“I…well why not?” she asked, knowing full well that she could have worked the answer out in her head. In the moment, though, she wasn’t really in the mood.
“Well…you know,” answered Daniel, his inner eyebrows creasing upwards a bit at the corners, like he was silently asking her why she was making him say it out loud, “we don’t really wanna be…uh…near you in the water when you jump in, is all.”
“Remember when we went water skiing that one time in the intercoastal waterways?” put in Daisy, stepping gingerly into the mud at the far end of the pond. “And those big supply tankers came by? Remember how we wiped out in the massive wakes?”
“Daisy,” muttered Daniel in a low voice, touching her arm, “I don’t think you’re helping.”
“I’m just trying to help her understand is all,” whispered Daisy back, touching his arm with her hand. “She’s seemed a little dense about some of these things recently.”
“Well I have no idea what you two are whispering about,” announced Emma in a bit of a loud voice from the other end of the pond, “But I don’t know what you’re talking about, Daniel. I’m just gonna walk in, ok? No jumping.”
Even though Emma hadn’t planned that up until now, she had declared her intentions with more than a little attitude.
“I think…that’s probably best, honey,” said Maisy earnestly, as she pulled up a fold-up chair in the grass, sat down, and began knitting. Jim did the same, except he took out his whittling knife and started chipping away at a piece of wood, looking up from time to time silently to take in what was going on.
Emma felt the cool water start to creep up her body as she walked slowly into the pond; she felt herself getting excited…it felt tremendously refreshing, and aside from the mere pleasure of feeling the water on her skin, Emma felt a kind of odd, primal thrill as she waded deeper into the lake. She didn’t know why she was feeling this giddy all of a sudden, but she realized that she wanted to play around and laugh…she felt almost like a little kid again.
“Haha, wowwww!” she laughed, looking down at the murky water, which now came up to her mid-thighs. “It’s been soooo long since I’ve gone swimming in here! It’s great to be back!”
At the word “back,” Emma bent down slightly and slapped the water with her hand, sending a huge splash of water slightly to the left of Daniel and Daisy, who nonetheless ducked for cover.
“Hey!” exclaimed Daisy, “Watch it! That almost hit us!”
“Oh come on!” giggled Emma, wading up to her waist and splashing again. “It’s just water! Come on you guys, get in! Get in!”
This time, Emma really did try and aim for the two of them; she was having fun, but that nagging jealousy and anxiety was still eating away at the back of her brain. She didn’t like seeing her boyfriend and her sister together like that, especially considering how physically close they were to each other. The fact that they were both looking at her with a slightly uneasy expression wasn’t doing anything to help the situation in Emma’s mind. She didn’t like seeing them being so…”on the same page” with each other. So she splashed them, easily accomplishing this feat even though she was on the opposite side of the lake from them. In a matter of seconds, both Daniel and Daisy were drenched from head to toe.
“Emmie!” burst out Daisy indignantly, wringing out her hair.
“Just…let’s just both of us get in,” murmured Daniel, leaning over to whisper in her ear. In the process, quite on accident, his lips brushed her earlobe…and Daniel was surprised to find that a kind of electric charge seemed to go through him. Having an accidental intimate brush with Daisy actually…well, affected him, and a lot more than he had anticipated. It certainly didn’t help, in the process, that Daisy had turned to look up at him with those big, wide eyes of hers, her full lips parted slightly in surprise. She was blushing…he was blushing! Daniel blinked rapidly, not knowing what was going on, and becoming quite discombobulated.
“I…j-just, uh…I think we should get in,” he stammered in a low voice, “Just, you know…to appease her.”
“I think…yeah, good idea,” whispered Daisy, nodding her head, still not taking her eyes off his face. She too was experiencing the unexpected electricity of the unintended exchange, and, like Daniel, she was wondering what it all meant. But she knew she was blushing, and she knew that her heart had started beating faster. She had always thought that Daniel was handsome, but for some reason, it was more apparent right now, in this moment, than it had ever been before.
“Woohoo!” cried Daniel with uncharacteristic energy, giving Daisy one last look before turning and jumping into the pond. He had decided that the best thing to do was forget about what had just happened, and to try and channel that energy into having fun with Emma. Deep down, he knew that if he dwelled on the feelings that had just been unearthed, he would be heading down a dangerous path.
Daisy turned and jumped in after Daniel, Emma watching the whole thing from afar. It wasn’t lost on her that the two of them had just gotten very close together for a moment, and then had been staring at each other a bit too long…and the way Daisy just turned and jumped in after Daniel…Emma didn’t like it one bit. But the growing toxicity of the jealousy in her brain was mixing weirdly with her genuine enthusiasm and nostalgia for being back in her family pond.
‘And Daniel is mine,’ she thought to herself, feeling her heart melt a little as she watched him doggy-paddling toward her. ‘He wants to be with me and no one else…so just…stop thinking about it, ok!? You’re getting paranoid.’
Emma had forgotten that she was still walking forward into the pond, but the sudden sharp, but pleasant bite at her nipples told her that the water had reached her breasts. She was about halfway towards the center of the water at this point.
“Still a little ways to go, haha!” he laughed back to her parents, who were watching silently from the shore.
“Well…keep on going, Emmie!” called her mother. “Maybe you can touch the bottom in the middle!”
“Maybe I can!” she called back determinedly, and she turned and set her sights on the middle of the pond, where it was deepest. Daniel and Daisy were swimming towards the same spot.
“Haha, look at you!” Emma teased, with her words directed at Daniel. “Can’t really stand up, huh?”
“I…uh, no,” returned Daniel, trying and having to kick vigorously to stay afloat.
“Isn’t this craaaazy?” giggled Emma, walking towards Daniel. “I’m like…literally standing on the bottom right now, haha! And I can go even deeper!”
“God, those internet guys would probably love seeing this,” Daniel remarked, the exertion of kicking showing in his voice.
“What internet gu—oh! Ohhhhhh!” Emma had been so distracted by everything recently that she had almost completely forgotten about her growing following on giantesscity.
“Oh my god, Daniel!” she cried, bouncing up and down on her feet, with the water now level with the bottom of her neck, “Thank you so much for reminding me about all that! Hahaha, you’re so right, this is a perfect opportunity to show them how big I’ve gotten!”
“What are you guys even talking about?” panted Daisy, catching up with Daniel in the water.
“Uhh…it’s…just some stuff on the internet,” Daniel answered evasively, not sure if Emma would want her knowing about it. “You probably…uh, wouldn’t be interested in it.”
“No it’s ok, she can know!” Emma said happily, feeling her giddiness come back as she bounced up and down on her toes. Something about seeing the two of them doggy-paddling around her, while she was actually standing on the bottom…made her feel something almost achingly poignant…something like raw, unadulterated power. She had experienced similar feelings in the past when she was noticing just how small everything and everyone was around her, like when she couldn’t fit through doorways or couldn’t use basic household items anymore. But the simple, blunt reality of her height, made all the more potent by the pond, had never been quite so clear to her as it was now…and she liked it.
“There’s a bunch of guys on the internet who’re totally obsessed with my growth spurts,” she informed Daisy matter-of-factly, enjoying her older sister’s slightly apprehensive reaction as she floated in the water. “They want to watch me get bigger and bigger and bigger, hahaha! And they love it when I take pictures of me and Daniel together, doing comparisons. God, Daisy, you should read some of the stuff they’ve sent me. This guys just can’t get enough!”
“Uhhh…ok, that’s…a little weird,” said Daisy, glancing over at Daniel, who shrugged his shoulders.
“Come to think of it — MOM?” called Emma, causing Daniel and Daisy to both cover their ears and wince. “Ooops, sorry…uhhh…mom?”
“What is it Emmie?” asked Maisy, leaning forward in her chair.
“Can you, like…take some pictures of us playing?” Emma asked. “I wanna use the pictures later, ok?”
“Um, ok, sure!” called Maisy.
“When these guys learn that I have an older sister who I totally dwarf, they’ll lose their minds all over again!” laughed Emma. She had waded over to a slightly shallower part of the pond, where the water only came up to the middle of her breasts, so that she was looming over Daisy, completely engulfing her sister in her shadow. And the way that Daisy was looking up at her, she was actually feeling something like fear. For a moment, Emma just stood there, grinning down at her, enjoying what she felt was a playful exchange. But after a few moments Daisy recovered herself.
“No way!” she exclaimed, shaking her head. “I don’t want some gross dudes looking at pictures of me!”
“No choice!” laughed Emma, and she shot out her arms, grabbed Daisy by her ankles and neck, and lifted her straight up out of the water, high above her head.
“Emmieeeee!” cried Daisy, trying and failing to flail her limbs in protest.
“Raaarrrrrr!” growled Emma, holding Daisy over her head and lifting her up and down, up and down, “You can’t resist the great sea monster, hahahaha!”
“Put me dowwwwnn!” called Daisy. “This is too highhhhhh! I’m gonna throw up!!”
“Whatever you say,” chuckled Emma merrily, and she tossed her sister into the middle of the pond, with Daisy coming up spraying and splashing moments later.
“Are you ok!?” Daniel asked concernedly, swimming over to the spitting and spewing Daisy.
“What are you talking about, of course she’s ok,” countered Emma, getting instantly annoyed again but trying to push it back down. “A little water never hurt anyone.”
“Yeah, but Emma, uh…you, uhh…you went underwater,” Daniel finished, his voice dropping a little upon seeing that Emma had disappeared beneath the turbulent pond water. He had thought that something like this might happen, but nothing could have prepared him or Emma from the uneasiness of knowing that somewhere around them or beneath their feet, Emma was swimming around, waiting for the moment to strike.
“Oh god, where’d she go?” asked Daisy. “She’s not gonna…uh…?”
“I don’t know what she’s gonna do,” Daniel said simply, looking around for any sign of ripples. He was quickly regretting getting into the pond at all — the way Emma had just casually thrown Daisy there…she didn’t know her own strength.
Beneath the floating forms of Daniel and Daisy, more than ten feet underwater, Emma was swimming around, darting this way and that, turning over on her back and slowly undulating her body like a huge fish. The change in gravity was delightful, and for a few moments, it actually seemed that her growing pains disappeared. For the moment, the weight had been taken off her joints and ligaments, and she was free to just drift about. The water felt wonderfully cool and refreshing against her skin, and Emma nearly stripped off her bedsheet toga right then and there. Only by recalling that her parents were sitting on the shore was she prevented from doing this. If it had just been Daniel and Daisy, she wouldn’t have thought twice about it.
Even more than the purely physical enjoyment of the water, however, was the sudden mental stillness that Emma was experiencing underwater. She had submerged just to play around a bit, to sneak up on Daniel and Daisy and nip at their heels underwater like a shark…as a kind of fun, light way to communicate her jealousy, to “reclaim” her territory (Daniel), and, of course, to remind them how small they were compared to her. But now that she was actually underwater, Emma was noticing how quiet and still everything was. The only discernible sound she could hear was the beating of her own blood in her ears — everything else was muffled. Everything else was still. And in addition to this gratifying tranquility, for the first time in what seemed like forever, Emma actually felt totally, completely embraced by something. The weight of the water was all around her, utterly encompassing her, and squeezing it with its patient, insistent density. It took Emma back to her old desire, which seemed a million miles away in the past: the desire to be held, to be comforted, to be enveloped completely…just like Daniel used to do when he hugged her when she came home from work. She suddenly felt a stab of bitterly nostalgic emotion, and exhaled, sending a huge series of bubbles straight up into Daniel’s prone form, floating above her.
Daniel felt the sudden tickle of bubbles going up his feet and legs, popping into smaller bubbles when they burst out all around his crotch.
“Yyyyyuuuhh!” he exclaimed in surprise, instinctively kicking himself away from the onslaught of bubbles rupturing on the surface.
“What’s happening? What’s wrong?!” asked Daisy concernedly, also instinctively paddling herself away from the spot in question.
“It’s Emma,” said Daniel in a low voice, knowing enough not to talk too loudly. “She’s…underneath me.”
“Daniel, I…uh, I don’t mean to talk like this,” said Daisy, turning around and swimming a bit closer to him, “But…I’m…uhm…I’m really worried about you.”
“I don’t think this is, uhh…really the time to talk about this, Daisy,” said Daniel quickly, but then he suddenly felt Daisy’s foot against his. She was so close to him that the two of them could have easily embraced. And the worst part was, he wanted to. Maybe it was the sight of her all wet, with her hair all slicked back…and maybe it was, again, the fact that she looked so much like Emma…with those big eyes. But more than anything, Daniel knew, in his heart of hearts, that it was because Daisy was normal. She wasn’t dealing with anything that made her…that had changed her…into something that, well…into something that wasn’t quite human, in the strictest sense. Maybe Emma was more than human now…she certainly wasn’t less. But whatever way he looked at it, the past week or so, Daniel’s proximity to Daisy was really hitting home to him — and in a way he had not expected — how different Emma had become. How unstable…how…inhuman, in some ways.
‘I’m scared of her,’ he realized suddenly, treading water there with Daisy, and more bubbles popping and bursting around them both now. ‘I’ve been scared of her for a while.’
He felt almost silly, admitting this basic fact to himself in such a stripped-down fashion in his brain. He had known this for some time. But for some reason, all the conditions had come together in this moment, floating here in the pond with Daisy, and the epiphany made Daniel desperately sad…and lonely. He had put so much into caring for Emma, into loving her and looking after her, making sure she was adequately fed…and on and on and on. And it wasn’t like he had received nothing in return; he still loved Emma desperately, and wouldn’t have thought of abandoning her, even now. But realizing his own fear made him subsequently realize his own yearning need for companionship…which he had not had, in any conventional sense of the word, for quite some time now.
“Well when is a good time to talk about it, then?” demanded Daisy, swimming even closer to him and seizing his hand underwater. “I care about you, Daniel. You know that?”
“I…ehh, haha, yes I know that Daisy,” chuckled Daniel, feeling a strange combination of thrilled uneasiness.
“And my sister is not in her right mind,” continued Daisy, somehow seeming to ignore the bubbles that had intensified around them. “I’m afraid she’s going to accidentally hurt you…or maybe not even accidentally.”
“What?” asked Daniel, cocking his head at her in censure, “Come on Daisy…Emma isn’t like that.”
“No?” asked Daisy, unconvinced. “Are you sure you still know her in the same way you used to? Because I sure don’t…she’s still Emmie underneath, but there’s something else there now. Or someone else…and I don’t know who it is.”
Daniel couldn’t argue with her. He had been trying to repress this thought for awhile now, but hearing it stated so bluntly to him (and in such a precarious environment) made him admire Daisy’s honesty…and frankly, her bravery. He looked at her, unblinking, and for a couple moments, the two of them just floated there, treading water, not saying anything. They were still holding hands. Daisy blinked, and Daniel felt a guilty, searing throb in his heart.
“I know…you’re right,” he said in that same low voice. “I…I feel like I’m losing her, Daisy. And I…I don’t know what to do. I love her so much, but…but I feel so alone. And I’ve felt like this for…for a long time.”
“But you’re not, Daniel,” said Daisy firmly, squeezing his hand. “You’re not al—aaaaaaahhhhh!!”
The colossal form of Emma had suddenly exploded out of the water, lifting Daniel up with her and sending Daisy struggling backward in the wake of a huge, spraying wave.
Emma had been submerged below for awhile, sadly blowing bubbles, when it suddenly became clear to her that the dull, muffled sounds she was hearing were actually voices…Daniel and Daisy talking to each other. She couldn't hear their exact words, but she could tell that the higher-pitched voice was speaking with an energized insistence…Daisy…and somehow, Emma knew they were talking about her. A rush of anger shot through her, and for a moment, she seriously considered swimming up at her sister, opening her mouth wide, and biting her in the midsection…maybe lifting her up out of the water this way.
‘No, no, can’t do that,’ Emma reminded herself. ‘I don’t think my mouth would fit around her yet…and besides, it’d probably, like…hurt her or something. That’s the last thing I need…everyone on my case for that.’
But still, she knew that she needed to reassert the relationship dynamics now. And, with a rush of pleasure, she felt an invigorating, activating tingle go through her bones and muscles…was this another growth spurt!? A big one, maybe? In times past, Emma would have been horrified, but right now, it suddenly seemed to fit perfectly.
“You’re mine, Daniel!” she boomed out loud, underwater, opening her eyes and looking up towards him. She braced her feet on the bottom and shot up. The depth where Daniel and Daisy were treading water was around 12 feet, so a moment later, Emma came shooting up out of the water, rising up, up, up, until her breasts cleared the surface. Daisy was scrambling and splashing around in fear, spitting water that had gotten in her mouth from the sudden wave Emma had made. On the shore, Jim and Maisy jumped up out of their chairs in alarm. Emma was holding Daniel horizontally above her head, grinning down at Daisy with a wild look in her eyes.
“I got him!” she shouted, laughing as she triumphantly held aloft her prize. “I got him!! He’s MINE!”
“E-Emma…” choked Daniel, attempting to strain his limbs out of her powerful grasp. He had felt his ankle bones clatter together underwater when Emma had grabbed him, and only the shock of being abruptly lifted sideways out of the water was distracting him from the shooting pain in both joints. But even more pressing was his neck…Emma’s hand easily encompassed his entire neck now, so much so that her fingers overlapped all the way to the top knuckle of her index finger. And she wasn’t being gentle. Daniel felt his face immediately redden as his head engorged with blood, even as he found that he could barely breathe. He thrashed his body desperately, but he was desperate to discover that there was nothing…nothing he could do.
“Emma! Emma what are you doing!?” called Maisy from the shore, her voice tinged with concern. “Take it easy!”
“Awhawhaw, mom what are you even talking about?” guffawed Emma, turning with Daniel above her as she lifted him up, lowered him, and then lifted him up again over her head. “I’m just getting a little workout, haha!”
No one knew what to do or what to say, and the only one who did wasn’t even able to speak; it was like time had stopped in the middle of the most horrifying and uncertain moment possible. Emma kept up her ridiculous charade of lifting and lowering Daniel a few more times before she abandoned the project with another hearty laugh that sent large ripples through the already-disturbed pond water.
“Oh haha who am I kidding?” chuckled Emma, letting go of Daniel’s neck so that he dangled in front of her face, his ankles held up by her single hand. “I’m not getting anything close to a workout lifting you, Daniel! Oh my god, look at how small you are now!”
She had been chuckling and teasing initially, but she had spoken those last words with a sense of genuine disbelief. She was holding Daniel a foot above her head, dangling him in front of her face…and his upside-down head was looking straight into the middle of her large breasts…which, along with the rest of her, were still in the tail-end of another large growth spurt…a spurt that seconds later pushed her up to 17’3.
“Look at his neck!!” yelled Daisy, pointing up from her retreated position in the water. “He’s already bruising! Emma…you hurt him!!”
“I…what are you even…I did not!” giggled Emma, rolling her eyes and shaking Daniel’s prone form in front of her face. His body swung and drooped like a piece of loose spaghetti. Emma noticed that something was amiss and furrowed her brow a little, although that same playful grin was still plastered across her face. She lifted his face up to hers, and saw that he was gasping for air, his eyes wide. Her heart seized in her chest, and a sudden chill icicled the warmth of the latter stage of her growth spurt, canceling it out and leaving her feeling numb. She also saw that he did indeed have a large, dark red mark on his neck that looked like it was getting darker by the second.
“D-Daniel,” she breathed, trying to laugh but not succeeding, “Y-you’re ok…right?”
Daniel mouthed wordlessly for a couple seconds, and during that time, Emma was blindsided by the horrid thought that she had injured him for good…maybe even killed him.
‘He’s dying,’ she thought to herself in a numb, stabbing haze. ‘He’s dying and I just killed him.’
“Put…put me down, Emma,” Daniel croaked out into the air.
“You’re ok?!” she whispered breathlessly, blowing his hair back with the force of her exhale.
“I’m…I’m ok, just…put me on the shore over there,” he answered as calmly as he could. His neck certainly hurt, but he could breathe again. He was more concerned about his ankles, which both felt like they were on fire. But even now, through his pain, Daniel knew that it was important to keep her calm. She hadn’t known what she was doing…like he had thought before, she didn’t know her own strength.
‘Just keep it calm, keep it light,’ he told himself over and over as Emma shuffled through the water and laid him carefully down on the bank. He immediately tried to stand up, but couldn’t quite manage, and instead collapsed into a kind of crouch, from which he looked up at Emma, and the hurriedly incoming forms of her parents, with a sheepish little grin, twinged with pain. Behind Emma, he noticed Daisy swimming up toward him as fast as she could.
“Nothing wrong with a little…uhh…heheh, roughhouse play, huh?” he chuckled, turning his eyes to Emma’s parents. He couldn’t look at her — she was standing in three feet of water, which didn’t even come up to the middle of her shins, and one glance at her face made him fear that she was going to emotionally erupt. The fat tears were already forming in her eyes. She had backed up once she had put him down on the bank, and now she hung back, afraid to go closer.
“Just maybe a little too rough there for me, Emma, haha!” Daniel continued to chuckle, shaking his head a little at her parents, in a fun, flippant kind of ‘can you believe her? your daughter is a handful!’ way. They saw right through it, of course, and neither of them returned his smile. The sound of frantic splashing cut through the odd, pregnant silence. Daisy was bounding up onto the bank, nearly falling over herself.
“Daniel!” she yelled, “Daniel!! Are you…are you ok!?”
“I’m…I’m fine Daisy, haha, just…uh…heh, just a little in over my head there for a second,” he answered as cheerily as he could. He knew immediately that Daisy — that all of them, really — were venturing into dangerous territory now. He glanced up at Emma again. God she was huge, just looming over them, with those big tears in her eyes. Anything could happen. And yet, even in this most dangerous of moments, Daniel realized that he was actually feeling a strange sense of gratitude for Daisy’s protectiveness towards him.
“Your neck looks really bad!” cried Daisy, reaching out to brush the tender red skin with her fingers. Daniel winced a little, even though her cool fingers felt quite good. “And your ankles!” continued Daisy, looking down to examine them, “I felt them crack together underwater!”
“They’re…they’re fine, Daisy,” Daniel said reassuringly. “Not broken or anything…haha, trust me I know what a broken bone feels like…just, uh…bruised, is all.”
From high above, Emma had just swallowed a huge glob of emotion down as she wiped the tears from her eyes, inhaling and exhaling. She had no idea how she had managed to center herself so quickly, but if she had had the time to think about it, she would have realized that it was her crushing sense of guilt and fear being outweighed by the violence of her reaction to seeing Daisy touch her boyfriend like that.
“H-here, Daniel, let me…let me take a look at you,” Emma muttered, taking a step forward and bending down, stretching a huge, powerful hand out towards him. She saw him instinctively flinch, and she drew away. But not before Daisy came between them, clutching Daniel to her as she turned and shouted up at her younger sister.
“No!” Daisy’s voice was full of anger. “You’ve already done enough harm, ok? Just…just give him some space!”
“Now Daisy,” came Maisy’s diplomatic voice, as she looked up uncertainly at Emma, “Maybe now’s not the time to be…accusing, ok? I think…I mean, I think it’s clear that Emmie didn’t mean to hurt Daniel…right?” She looked up at her youngest daughter, who had straightened herself up and was now regarding the whole situation from her full height.
“I mean, though,” continued Maisy, searching around for something to tether her words to, and finding nothing, “You…you did kind of scare us there. And…I mean, Emmie…his neck…his legs…come on honey, you do need to be a little more careful.”
Emma didn’t know what to think. When she had stood up to her full height, after the double shock of being rebuffed by Daniel’s flinch and the cutting words of her older sister, she had rapidly begun to disassociate from the situation. Daniel and her family were down there; she was up here. Without thinking, she waded onto shore. Everyone backed up, with Daniel moving back in a kind of awkward crab-legged position. They were unbelievably small — none of her family even came up to her knees anymore. Her knees…and yet they had the gall to talk “up” to her. Emma could feel her rage brewing at Daisy, and she realized, with a sudden shot, that she needed to go somewhere else, before she lost her temper and did something truly destructive.
Without even saying anything, she turned around and walked away, towards the old country road, not even realizing that there was a noticeable tear that had developed in her bed-sheet toga, right on her right hip.
“Emmie?” ventured her mother. “Where…where are you going?”
Emma whipped around with fire in her eyes. She was far enough away where she felt safe in showing how she really felt. The tree limbs nearby shook, and birds took off from their nests in fright as her voice thundered out across the farm.
“FOR A WALK!”