As the child opened their eyes, he realized that he was no longer on the beach. Or at least, not in the hole anymore. He was standing upon what appeared to be the shore line. The ocean swirled and crashed like normal, the crystal blue water glistening brightly. It felt soothing and calming, listening to the sounds of the waves rolling onto the shore. He felt his feet sinking into the sand and lifted one up and pressed back down. 

Except it wasn't grainy or coarse, but smooth. He looked down and noticed that the light brown sand was now a peachy color. The child was confused and took another look around and noticed that the whole beach looked that way. Not only that, but he seemed to be alone. The towels and umbrellas remained, but only he was present. Everyone else seemed to have vanished. 

But this didn't seem to bother the child. In fact, he rather welcomed the privacy. He took a couple steps toward the water as he looked around before pausing and realizing that something seemed different. He didn't see the small islands off the coast nor did he see the pier just down the beach. In fact, it looked as though the whole city had vanished. 

Just then, the child felt a subtle rumbling that shook the ground beneath them, knocking them off balance and falling over. 

“Oops, I'm sorry, my child, I was just getting more comfortable. I didn't expect you to join me so soon” a familiar voice echoed. It seemed to be very distant and and all around them. The woman's voice seemed to rumble and vibrate the sky, but it was also surprisingly smooth and calming. 

“W-where are you? Who are you?” The child asked with surprising serenity, seemingly not phased by the current events. 

“To answer the second one, I am known as Claudia” the voice replied. “As for the first,” she seemed to giggle, “it should be you asking where you are.”

The child paused. 

“Okay, well, where am I?”

“Just on a little place I like to call ‘Navel Beach’” Claudia chuckled. 

The whole beach shook and rumbled wildly again. The child was knocked back over onto his back at the rumbling quakes. 

“Forgive me, child. I just found my joke funny” the all encompassing voice boomed. “However, seeing as you know of me, that must mean that you found one of my beacons. And if you are here now, then I know what it is you wished for.”

The child sat in stunned silence, trying to make head and tails of their situation. He looked out into the distance to try and determine where he was, but the pink ground seemed to stretch on forever. Even though he seemed confused and lost, he felt calm and not worried at all. A feeling of security seemed to emanate all around them, making them feel at ease in their unknown location. Even the booming distant voice was soothing, even though he had no idea where it was coming from. 

“So where exactly are you? I haven't got a clue where you are” he said. 

“Silly, I told you already” Claudia’s voice boomed. 

“...no, you didn't”

“Sure I did. I told you you were at Navel Beach. That should tell you where you are.”

“Huh? It does?”

Claudia giggled, “Child, do you know what I mean by ‘navel’?”

“Uhhh, isn't that the guys that fight in the sea?” The child asked.

A thunderous and explosive laughter rang out loudly, the ground beneath the child shaking and quaking violently. The child was bounced and tossed around in every direction before the voice settled down.

“Well, you are not wrong, they do sound similar. But that is ‘naval’ with an ‘a’. This is ‘navel’ with an ‘e’. Do you know the difference?” Claudia asked. She sounded cheery and amused. 

“Um, not really. I didn't really read all that much.”

“Ah, a shame. Books and literature are wonderful.” She sighed, “Well, the one I am referring to is a word for the area in or around your belly button. And you are on Navel Beach. So if navel means the belly button area, and you are on Navel Beach, then what can you deduct from that?” She asked gently. 

The child suddenly understood. 

“T-then...Then that must mean you're a giant!” he cried. 

Claudia laughed again, “Oh my child. I am far more than just a ‘giant.’ I can see you all the way down there, right next to what must look like a vast sea to you, but is only a little water to me. Those towels and umbrellas can hardly be even called specks when compared to me.” She chuckled again as the child’s mouth went agape. “If someone like you were to try and traverse my body from my tiptoe to the crown of my head, it would take you decades to a century. So, I guess you could say I’m a little bigger than a giant.”

The child was stunned silent.

“But don’t be scared. I do not seek to do any harm upon you. In fact, since you found my omnicube and offered your wish, I will grant it.”

“Omni...cube? You mean that treasure chest I found on the beach? That was yours?” the child asked.

“Yes, it was. I will spare you the details, since I’m sure you are more than overwhelmed by what has happened, but I created those and sent them out into the galaxy in order to find those that need escape or help from their lives and offer them sanctuary here with me. You were struggling with your life when you made the wish to leave on that beach. You were brought here so that we could discuss the obligations of your wish, I just hoped that you hadn’t done it quite when you did” Claudia laughed again.

“Obligations? Like what?” he asked quizzically, “You aren’t going to take my soul, are you? I’ve read stories about these kinds of things and they don’t end well for the hero” he continued, standing defensively.

“Ho ho ho! Oh, my child, I have no intention of harming you. All I wish is to do is talk. I have an offer for you” Claudia said gently. “You wished to have someone love you. It just so happens that I am looking for ones that are looking for a new start. You see, I’ve been around for a long time and I’ve started to get a little lonely living by myself, so I decided that I’ve wanted to have others live with me. By sending my omnicubes out for troubled souls to find, I would offer them sanctuary and they would hopefully fulfill my desire for company...a family, if you will” she said, sounding slightly bashful.

“So...you want me to live with you? Like, as a son?” he asked.

“Yes! Er, sort of” Claudia blurted out, before catching herself, her body shifting under the child, “Only if you still desire such a thing. I don’t want to ask you to be part of my family if you aren’t comfortable with it. After all, a large being like myself teleports you away from your home planet and asks if you want to be her son, which would be really, really strange in any situation, but the fact that you came here while I was in the middle of a bath just makes it a little more weird and kind of problematic, you know, and you probably wouldn’t want to-...”

“Yes”

Claudia paused her rambling as the young boy’s answer interrupted her hectic ramblings.

“A-Are you certain?”

“I have never been more certain of a decision than I am right now.” He was serious, no wavering in his decision, eyes gazing into a sky that seemed to stretch on into a hazy, white endlessness. “There is nothing I could ever want more than someone who cares for me. I’ve never had that in my whole life. Something I’ve wanted ever since my birth parents left me when I was young. When I was adopted by my new parents, who never truly accepted me, I constantly felt out of place, like I didn’t belong.”

He paused for a moment. Silence prominent between the two.

“But when I discovered your cube, you showed interest in me and even wanted to help me. That’s more than any family has done for me in my whole life. If I have a chance to live with someone who cares for me, I will gladly accept it.”

Far beyond the young boy’s vision, Claudia smiled.

“If that’s what you wish, then I can easily grant it.  No soul selling required on your part” she chuckled.

The boy suddenly heard a distant rumbling, far off in the distance as well as the sounds of a huge amount of rushing water. Then he noticed something in the distance moving towards him, a wall of shadows that were gradually swallowing up the light and bathing it in darkness. It came closer and closer until he too was enveloped in the darkness. He looked closer and was somehow able to know that it was her arm and her hand slowly making their way down her stomach to where he resided. What should have been a terrifying sight, an all-encompassing and endless underside of a finger, instead filled him with a sense of serenity and protection. Darker and darker it became as her fingertip drew closer towards him, delving him into pitch blackness, but the warmth she emitted was pleasant. Finally, with immaculate gentleness, Claudia’s finger tapped him on the head and gently rubbed him, ruffling his hair. 

He smiled and felt himself begin to cry. He finally had someone who genuinely cared for him. She happened to be impossibly large and he could only see parts of her, but the parts he did see made him happy. After a few moments, she lifted her finger away, bathing him in light.

“So, when do I get to meet the rest of your family?” he said, looking in the direction where he assumed her face was.

“Oh!” Claudia said in surprise, “Well, you see, I’ve been checking for their activation signals everyday for a long time in hopes that anyone has responded, but I haven’t had any luck. You’re the first to respond to my cubes” she explained, almost sheepishly.

The child was surprised, but amused by her slightly embarrassed demeanor.

“Then I better enjoy being an only child for a while” they smiled.

Claudia grinned in the distance, “I don’t think I ever got your name, my child. I can’t simply call you ‘child’ now, can I?”

The child nodded.

“My name is…”

The two took the time to get to know each other before Claudia decided to step out of the tub. With extreme caution and gentleness, she took her now first child in her hand and showed him his new home. Soon, other cubes began to activate and more people began to appear, greeting Claudia where she would grant them their wish of her guardianship and they would accept her invitation into her family.