Every muscle cried out but he wouldn’t stop. He had to move forward. His body was dripping with sweat, naked, his clothes left behind. Everything was closing in on him. There were creatures buzzing, crawling all around. Soon he’d be at their mercy. He wouldn’t allow himself to dwell on that thought. All that mattered was finding help, finding any way to escape this wilderness.
It was supposed to be a relaxing hike. He’d prepared. He’d brought food, emergency supplies, and extra water. All of it was useless now, just like his clothes. The supplies were zipped up in his backpack but might as well have been locked away in a fortress.
There had been that blue mist...he’d never seen anything like it. The mist had filled his vision, and then he had blacked out. He woke up later, not sure how much time had passed. He hadn’t even been sure at first where he was.
Before long, he’d started running.
* * *
Amira was eyeing the sandwiches like a ravenous wolf, and when Tim saw it he burst out laughing despite himself. Amira was petite, poised, and always well-dressed, even now wearing a smart white button-up, jeans, and sandals. When she was hungry, though, she could be a bit… intense.
She shot him a quick mock-angry look and proceeded to help him set out the blanket on the grass. It was the perfect day for a picnic, they’d both agreed. Though Amira didn’t know just how perfect a day Tim had planned.
Soon the spread was set out: those vegan fake-bacon BLTs Amira liked, green tea, and some chocolate truffles. Not bad, Tim concluded. Amira certainly seemed pleased.
“To a day off,” he held up his teacup in a toast.
“To a day off,” she said as the glass clinked.
Tim watched as Amira dug into the BLTs. Cautiously he picked up one of the sandwiches himself, wondering idly what that fake vegan bacon was made of. Was he more worried about it tasting great, or having to admit he liked it? Taking the plunge, he took a bite, and was relieved/horrified to discover that it was actually really delicious.
“Told you,” she teased, not missing the look of satisfaction on his face.
“It’s...not bad,” was as much as he was willing to admit.
She gave him a little punch on the arm.
“Hey, no violence at the dinner table, young lady!”
Amira giggled, taking him back suddenly to the first time he’d heard her laugh. Memories washed over him, and dreams for the future followed close behind...
* * *
It felt like he’d been running for miles. Of course, it was hardly that far; the mist had appeared when he’d gone just a short way down the trail. But his legs were sore, his heart was beating out of his chest, and he was out of breath. He felt lightheaded.
He’d been dwindling as he went, giving greater urgency to his flight. The lightheadedness might have been from exhaustion, from the mist, or both. Either way, he knew he couldn’t stop. If he stopped, he was certain it would all be over.
That’s when he saw them.
Two figures rose in the distance, higher than the mountain range he’d seen when he’d first parked his car at the trailhead. Once he’d realized what had happened to him he knew, theoretically, what to expect. But it hadn’t prepared him for the reality of the vision before him.
A man and a woman were sitting on the grass. They were smiling, having a picnic. Both of them looked like nice, friendly people.
The two of them were bigger than any skyscraper he had ever seen.
He finally took a moment to rest, though it was only being stunned by the two giants that stopped him. The thought of approaching them terrified him in a way he’d never felt before. Exhaustion caught up with him in that moment, draining him of the will to move forward, as the fear sapped his resolve. He could only watch them, frozen and helpless.
They were talking, laughing over whatever it was they were discussing. Their words were indecipherable, playing in slow motion. The woman was beautiful, the white of her form-fitting button-up and thick gold wristwatch reflecting the sunlight, giving her a radiant aura. She had a slight, petite frame, and would have looked quite small if...if he’d seen her before today. Her long hair matched her brown eyes and skin, her lips were a deep crimson, and there was something sharp and alert in the way she looked at the man.
Sitting near her, teasing her it seemed, the giant was a handsome guy. Dark hair was left fashionably messy, five o’clock shadow darkening his face. Like her, his sleeves were rolled up, his blue and lightly striped shirt taut against a toned body. They were a fashionable couple out for a picnic. There was no way they’d be expecting him, he knew. But he had to make sure they noticed him.
He drew up his remaining strength and stumbled the final mile to their blanket laid out on the grass. He let out a yell. Neither of them reacted. Just as he’d guessed: they couldn’t hear him.
The stalk of a dandelion helped him onto the blanket. The soft red-checkered fabric was a welcome change from the hard ground which had been increasingly spreading out beneath his feet. His gaze drifted up, and the two titans were still chatting, still laughing at their private jokes.
Their voices remained a deep, slowed-down, warped parody of human speech, and even this close he could barely make out more than a stray word. It was as if they were on another plane of existence...it certainly felt that way as he gazed up, dwarfed and miniscule next to these young gods.
The woman was closer, so he ran to her. The first instinct was to touch her, to climb onto her skin. But she would most likely simply scratch or swat at him without a second look, assuming him to be an insect. Her shirt overlapped her denim shorts...she might not feel him climbing those, and the man might even see him against the white fabric. But might the man assume he’s a bug, too? It was a risk. There weren’t many other options.
He paused, hesitant. Above him, the goddess was talking, smiling again, in a better, happier, bigger world. Could he really do this? It was like climbing a solid cliff face with no harness. His resolve weakened. Still, no other ideas came to him. Who knew how long the giants would stay? What if the giantess moved before he got a good hold on her? He had to move.
* * *
“That’s why I never go in there anymore. That barista always gives me the weirdest looks.”
Amira’s eyes were smiling, her laughter finally settling down. She loved Tim’s “awkward moments” stories. He always managed to tell them without sounding too self-deprecating, just a bit goofy in his “aw shucks” way. His smile was one of the first things she’d noticed about him; it was confident, but not arrogant, and just a little boyish. Watching him now in that golden sunlight, she couldn’t help but admire how good he looked at that moment.
“So,” she said, breaking up a slightly-longer-than-usual pause, “you mentioned that you wanted to talk with me about something today.”
She reached down and took a bite of one of the truffles he’d brought. There didn’t seem like a better way to end the day.
Tim almost imperceptibly gulped, like a cartoon character. Amira had to hold back a smile. She liked to tease him sometimes, but she never wanted him to really feel bad around her. Quite the contrary, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed somebody’s company so much.
“I...I’ve never really, exactly, planned for this,” he said, fumbling around in the basket he’d brought with him. “But there’s something I need to ask you.”
Amira’s already wide eyes got as big as saucers when she saw what he was doing. Tim was kneeling in front of her. There was a small box in his hand, which he opened. A ring rested inside it.
“We’ve known each other for a while now, and...well, I’ve never really met anyone I’ve wanted to...to be with so much, and...I was just...I don’t exactly know how to say...”
“Tim,” Amira said, her voice steadier than she was feeling, “just ask me.”
“Will you marry me, Amira?”
“Yes!”
She jumped up, and threw her arms around him, and he embraced her in return. They’d never known a happier moment. Tim pulled her close and kissed her. The sun peeked out from behind a passing cloud.
Neither of them noticed the blue haze creeping up on them from further down the trail.
* * *
He’d managed to make it to the pocket of her shirt. The giants hadn’t moved, they were still chatting. They hadn’t seen him. If only he could make it to her ear, maybe then he’d be loud enough...
The giantess shifted and he nearly lost his grip. His hands clutched the edge of her pocket, and for a moment he was tempted to dive inside, if only to rest. There was movement above; she had picked something up. Against his better judgment he looked up, and saw what appeared to be a small piece of chocolate in her hand. She brought it to her mouth, and her teeth tore into it...the sight of it was terrifying. She could so easily swallow him whole...
Those fears couldn’t take hold. He had to keep climbing. Moving up he could see the shine of the buttons on her shirt, as big as tractor wheels, parallel to his ascent. Finally, he reached the relative stability of her shoulder. Voluminous hair scented like some floral bouquet surrounded him. The scent was overwhelming. He reached for a few strands, testing his weight as he pulled on them. The giantess didn’t even flinch. His miniscule weight didn’t register.
Just as he grabbed hold, everything began quaking. She was...she was jumping! His knuckles turned white as he held on for his life. The giantess jumped, and screamed, and he had to resist the urge to cover his ears. She hugged the giant, and both of them were caught up in some kind of excitement.
And then it happened: his grasp slipped. Perhaps her scent overwhelmed him, perhaps the height, there was no way to be sure, and now it didn’t matter anyway. He was falling...
* * *
He was alive. He didn’t know how, but he was alive. The blanket, the food from the picnic, all of it was nearby, now totally proportional. The signs from the trailhead, even the little shelter, it was all back the way it should be. A sigh of relief escaped his lips and he rested, still feeling the intense exhaustion, and wondering suddenly if it had all been a dream.
His gaze shifted behind him.
Legs. Legs that would dwarf redwoods. They reached up to the sky, above the mountains.
Nearby were two sets of clothes, hastily discarded, and mostly torn to shreds.
* * *
They’d barely known what was happening when the pain, the feeling of constriction and difficulty breathing overwhelmed them. They’d taken off their clothes as quickly as they could in a blind panic, though not quickly enough to keep the clothes from being ripped apart.
Now they stood together, naked. The mountains stretched out before them like rocky ground. Behind them, the road snaked back to the highway, where toy cars zoomed by. Their eyes lingered on their bodies, towering over everything, looking like perfection to one another.
Amira and Tim were too stunned to say a word. For time being, all they could do was take in their surroundings. Whether they wanted it or not, the world was now theirs.