Rob flicked the burning match he used to light his cigarette into the water and saw it sizzle out.
After
taking a big drag, a long plume of smoke pumped outwards through Rob's
lips, swirling upward before being swept away by a morning breeze as
their ship trudged across the river.
As he gaped at a row of
daisies – soaring monstrously huge like trees at the riverbank – Rob
realized all the more that it was a mistake to come here.
In his
view, their kind had no business in this land of the giants. And not
just any giants judging by the sheer size of a couple of mere flowers.
Most of the crew he worked with had never seen an actual giant. Some claimed they had, but Rob believed only one of them.
A grumpy old lad named Odeer.
Odeer
was the only surviving member of a recon army flattened relentlessly
when the boot of a giantess landed on top of them – pancaking dozens of
trucks and jeeps into unrecognizable metal disks.
If Rob had to
believe the guy, these monstrous giants were able to wreak whole cities
with just a few pokes of their finger or toe.
The laughter of that
giantess resonating long after she'd left still followed Odeer in his
dreams. Although Odeer had not actually seen the giantess, he saw the
heel of her boot in a short flash before it launched into the air again.
"Vastly
dwarfing every structure we've ever built," he had said earnestly. And
that was just Odeer talking about the heel of her boot. Based on Odeer's
story, the giantess was probably completely unaware of the destruction
she'd left in her wake.
"It pretty much sounded like the broad was babbling with someone on the phone," Odeer had said.
For
years no journey was being undertaken to these baleful lands. Until a
huge shortage of food compelled them to do so. Only a few volunteers
came forward to embark on such a hazardous venture, so crewmembers were
bluntly selected and forced to participate.
Rob was one of them. This was his first trip. He had to lean on the wisdom and the more experienced sailors.
So
far, the trip went prosperous. The fleet was already on their way home,
with all containers stuffed to the brim with supplies.
Rob took
one long last drag from his dying cigarette, flicked it in the water,
and was about to turn around to get some sleep in his cabin. A deep
rumble made him cease his step. Another rumble made him look anxiously
over his shoulder.
Some of his fellow crewmembers had felt it too.
More and more came pouring in on the ship's deck, looking around while
scanning their surroundings. The trembling continued and became heavier.
"There! Over there!" a voice shouted.
Everyone followed his finger.
It
pointed at a tree, which was so majestic that it must have been planted
by Zeus himself. Even one of its leaves would be big enough to conceal
half its fleet if it were to flutter down from one of its branches. Then
Rob saw her. From behind the tree came an incomprehensible figure
sauntering up their way. It was a female. A few monumental bushes partly
obscured her body, so only her torso and face were visible.
The
young lady was dressed in outdoor garments. She looked bushed and sweaty
as she wiped her forehead with her arm. The tremors became dangerously
heavier, oscillating their entire ships as the feminine figure closed in
on them. Then she stood still at the river's edge, looking down while
catching her breath – totally unaware of their pitiful existence.
Rob
had a good view of her now. It was a slender woman, looking comely,
with beautiful auburn-hued hair knotted in two braids on the side of her
head. She looked to be in her twenties.
The river rippled
violently, tilting their ships when the woman dropped her backpack on
the ground, sending out a rippling shockwave. She bends over to grab a
water bottle. Swinging her head backward, the woman began drinking
eagerly. It gave Rob the time to admire this frightening yet intriguing
appearance called Brobdingnagian.
The girl was dressed in a
sleeveless shirt and kaki shorts that showcased her unendingly, long
pale legs. She wore expensive-looking and relatively new appearing
hiking boots wrapped up all over her ankles, with thick black soles with
a rough profile.
Rob gulped as he scrutinized these shoes and
realized that a mere stomp of these was more than sufficient to flatten
several city blocks of his hometown.
Rob's attention was drawn
upwards again when the lady stopped drinking. The bottle was empty, but
based on her facial expression, Rob could say she was still thirsty.
She crouched down and dipped her hands in the water, drenching her face with refreshing coldness.
Rob
only now realized that their ship was dangerously close to her.
Fortunately, the ship's Captain learned this a lot sooner than him, for
its bow was already maneuvering away from her in the direction of a
mountainous rock jutting above the water.
Three cargo ships – of their fleet of four – huddled closely beyond the rock and out of sight of the gigantic lady.
One
ship, however, was not so lucky. Their Captain was too late in
maneuvering the ship out of sight from the Brobdingnagian. It lay
bobbing in the open now. And the girl's eyes shot in their direction now
after drenching her face.
It rumbled beneath them as the Brob
girl snuggled closer for a better look, slamming one of her massive
knees into the sand. The helpless screams of the ship's crew echoed
through the air when her hand soared closer. There was nothing that Rob
and the others could do to help them. Their lives all depended on the
Brob girl's actions. With a bit of luck, she would simply stand back up
and leave. But the changes are slim to none, judging by the twinkle of
curiousness Rob saw flickering in her eyes. Her lips compressed together
with focus as her index finger reached out to touch the minuscule cargo
ship bobbing beneath her in the river.
CRACK!
Too much
pressure. The ship broke into two pieces and started to sink. The Brob
lady flinched and tried her best to aid them, making it only worse. With
her thumb and index finger, she aimed to fish them out. But her
strength was too great, and the ship pulverized beneath the pressure of
her touch.
Rob heard her thunderous voice apologizing several
times. Just when she was about to stand up, her eyes zeroed in on
something else.
"Idiots!" Rob fumed as he saw that one of the
other ships hiding behind the rock had forgotten to throw out an anchor.
They gradually bobbed further until their hull was visible to the Brob
lady. Her hand greedily reached out, and before Rob knew it, their whole
fleet of three lay out into the open – scrutinized by the eyes of a
godlike being above them – when the mountainous rock they were hiding
beyond was lifted skywards.
They were doomed now. Rob was certain
of that. A monumental hand reached out to them, engulfing them in
shadow. But instead of poking a finger, the Brob lady submerged her hand
in the water. As Rob leaned over the railing, he saw her frighteningly
huge hand drifting beneath them like a terrifying huge sea monster
through the clear water. Looks like she'd learned from her previous
mistake.
"She's going to spoon us up, lads! Prepare for the worst!" Their Captain bellowed.
Rob
looked around anxiously, seeking something to strap himself to the deck
to prevent him from being thrown overboard when the ship would rock
violently. He cursed when he could detect nothing useful. The only thing
he came up with was using the straps tied on his bed – a precautionary
measure he specially concocted for situations like this where the water
was wild. But his bed was in his cabin, and his cabin was–
"Wooooow!!" The ship jerked violently to one side, making Rob almost tumble over the railing.
The ship was taken. Or better said; The ships were taken. Because their ship was not the only one bobbing now in the cupped hand of the Brob lady in a lake of water.
"Hold
on tight," The Brob lady tried speaking with a soothing voice that
sounded thunderous nevertheless to their minuscule eardrums.
The
cupped water in her hand sank fast, seeping through her fingers. It did
not take long before the underside of their ship came into contact with
the Brobdingnagian's hand – making both ships tilt to the side. Unlike
many crew members who simply rolled over the ship's deck painfully, Rob
could keep his solid arms and legs attached to the railing like riding a
horse.
Then the island of a hand cannoned skywards. A strong
surge of vertigo dazzled Rob's eyes as his whole surrounding became
nothing more than a blurry mix of a polychromatic cocktail cascading
downwards. The wind whooshed through his ears. His bowels squeezed
tightly into one compact, flat pancake due to the insanely upward
momentum that would rumble even the steel nerves of a seasoned fighter
pilot.
An abrupt stop followed. Rob shook his head and tried to find his bearings.
Gradually
returning contours drew his perception and showed the extreme close-up
of a feminine face filling up his entire purview. Rob could see every
splendor on her countenance in great detail.
"She's... she's so
beautiful," Rob brought out as he craned his neck deep, intending to
scrutinize every part of her stunning face. Seeing a Brobdingnagian in
real life was a first-timer for him, but he was already in love with
this woman.
The Brob lady showed a dazzling smile, showcasing a
row of teeth, each bigger than several containers stacked on their ship.
She seemed clearly happy with her find. Two lilliputian ships filled
with brave sailors. Her eyes aimed their gaze at the ground.
The fourth ship. It's still there in the water. Rob thought.
He
saw her thinking, contemplating what she should do with them. There
probably needed to be more room in her hand for three ships.
The
brob lady merely shrugged and bluntly landed her hike boot on top of the
helpless ship, crushing it out of existence. She also killed off the
remaining survivors of the other wrecked ship swimming in the water.
Then,
she picked up her bag and walked off, whistling some merry tune while
glancing at her freshly captured prized possession with a satisfied
smirk.