Her Tiny World

Chapter 8. Fireflies

Benjamin

The child clung to me, wrapping her arms tightly around me, laying her head on my back. Her fragile hands were curled into a desperate knot on my stomach. 'Hold on tight and don't look back', I told her. I needed to get the kid out of there. As we flew I looked around to see if Mina was following us, but she was not there. I guided Lucky back to the same branch where Mina and I had landed before. Gadry was scared, she was shaking with fear.

"If you're tired you can sleep on Lucky." I told her as soon as I got off the bird. "The feathers are soft and warm."

She looked at me and nodded slowly. I could see in her eyes how terrified she was. There was no telling how long she stood there among them. Fearing every step they took. She was just a little girl in this enormous world. I felt sorry for her. No child should go through this. Humans have always broken things, broken us without even realizing it. They made me feel nothing but resentment. And that was the greatest power they had over me. She settled on Lucky and closed her eyes. A slight smile appeared on my face at the image. For a second everything felt right again.

"Take care of her." I told Lucky patting his head as I spoke.

I followed it to the tip of the branch to get a better look around the lake. The place was full of giants. I had never seen so many. I crouched on the bark of the tree, resting my hands on it so I could look down below. I looked around everywhere trying to find her. By chance I saw in the distance a small point flying fast and disoriented in the air. It was them. I tried to keep up with the wild flight of the bird as it went up and down, passing between the humans and dodging. Take control, Mina. You have to. I prayed softly. They began to descend and fly dangerously among them. Then they were heading towards a human who was running. They would cross his path. They would crash into him. My heart was about to burst out of my mouth seeing them. But suddenly the human stopped, startled by the thing that had passed so close to his face. Too close. They were flying higher until something hit them. And then they fell towards the ground.

"Mina!" I screamed.

I looked back to see if Gadry had woken up, but the child was still sound asleep. I turned and saw when they hit the ground right where there was a giant woman resting with a book. She hadn't seen the two of them before they hit her things. Daisy had fallen closer to the human, but Mina had fallen into her stuff, so she was out of sight. The human woman had Daisy in her hands when she called out to two more human boys. There was also a dog with them which was bad. They were talking and gesturing about the bird. I couldn't hear the words, but they looked nervous. Then the woman and another boy left and only one of the boys stood there gathering their things. His hands passing within inches of Mina.

My blood was rushing through my veins, a bad feeling washed over me. I need to go there. I couldn't wake Gadry, it was better she was sleeping so I pulled my bag to the side to see if anything inside would be useful. Just ropes and hooks. The tree was too tall for me to climb down. And even if I made it to the ground, I would still have to pass through other giants to get to them. And I couldn't leave Gadry alone. Nothing would be helpful. I felt completely helpless. My hands curled into fists. My nails dug vehemently into the flesh, but I was unable to feel it. My head felt like it was going to explode. A growl of distress escaped through my teeth as I watched the giant approach where she stood. Please god, he can't see her. When he was about to reach out to her he stopped and turned to the others who had arrived. I sighed in relief, but a relief that didn't last long. Mina ran and threw herself into his bag. My eyes widened as he picked it up and walked away. He was taking her. I was paralyzed. Nothing in me seemed to have any reaction even if I wanted to.