Despite my best efforts, my day remained unproductive. Not my school work, of course, God knows I couldn’t care less about that. What bothered me was the story. Normally when ideas come into my head they become more detailed and real as I think them over. Not this time for some reason. Hell, I couldn’t even think up a description of her, let alone a plot. That alone took up my entire morning. By the time I made it to strength training I had gone through dozens of ideas, but none seemed right. My headache was starting to return, so I gave up and decided to wait until inspiration struck me. Switching over to appearance, I tried to draw inspiration from some of the girls in class. Kirsten Powell, a short redhead with a sassy attitude, was talking to a friend while they were both using elliptical machines. She had the right attitude, but her appearance didn’t match what I saw in my head. Penny Hefton was by the mats doing crunches. She was a little closer, but skinny as a twig. That didn’t fit the part either. Then, from the other side of the weight room, I spotted a potential candidate. Wanting a better look, I headed over to the free weights on the other side of the room. I passed by Jenny, who had just finished her turn on the bench press. I caught a snippet of her conversation with Colin Urn, one of the football team’s linebackers. I’ve been making an effort this year to get out and exercise more, and so far I’ve made decent progress for a guy like me. Colin, though, easily put me to shame. His arms were more than twice as thick as mine. It would definitely take someone considerably bigger than me to move him in the middle of a rush, even if he was just standing still. At the same time, he was a nice guy, unlike Dave, so thankfully I’d never need to worry about facing him down like that.

“Hey Jenny, mind if I work in with you?” he asked her.

“I just finished my last set, but I can spot you if you want.” she offered him, standing up from the bench.

“That’d be great, thanks.” Colin replied.

“No problem. What’s your usual weight?”

“I usually bench around 170 lbs.” he answered.

“Ok, one sec.” Jenny told him.

While Colin got himself set up on the bench, Jenny began removing a few of the 45 lbs plates from the bar she had just been using. At this point I had walked passed them and made it to the free weights. Selecting two 15 lbs dumbbells, I sat down in a nearby bench seat and began doing curls. Across from me Monica Williams was working on the leg press. Monica was one of those girls that came as close to my ideal girlfriend image as possible. Her complexion was like the purest cup of hot cocoa you’ve ever had, without an imperfection to be found. Her features were both soft, yet well defined, with dark brown eyes that communicated everything anyone needed to know about her character with one glance. Her hair was styled in a modern day afro, a style she more than owned. Her figure was easily as athletic as Jenny’s, though not quite as tall. All in all she was beautiful, but even more than that I knew she had an amazing mind behind her appearance. I had shared a creative writing class with her last year, and she blew me away with her insight. I’d have asked her out if I wasn’t completely invisible to her. Granted, that’s how I prefered to remain while around most people, but not this time. The only problem was that I wasn’t the kind of guy who had anything going for me that attracted intrigue from girls. Sports held no interest in my eyes, and I wasn’t exactly musically gifted. I wasn’t an artist, or an engineer, or a genius in any particular field. All I could do was day dream and write.

I could write.

*************************************************************************************

I should write.

What was happening before my eyes was something I had never seen in person. I stood in the middle of a crowd of students and teachers outside of the front of the school. The buses had pulled up off to the side and most of the kids there were boarding them now, yearning to go home and enjoy the weekend. I stood a bit away from the buses where I had an unobstructed view of the neighborhood in front of the building. Beyond the edge of the school the landscape sloped downwards, giving way to suburban houses where families of all kinds were playing in their front yards in the late afternoon. Some yards were empty, meaning the families were inside their houses, but most were out and about. No one acted as if anything was out of the ordinary. Everyone in fact was having a pleasant day. So I wondered why it was that I was the only one who could see her.

The giantess, the same giantess from my story, was walking about the streets, watching everyone keenly. She must have been 200 ft tall or more, since the houses reached just below her knees. Her entire figure was shrouded in shadows too dark, even with the setting sun behind her, obscuring all details about her appearance. All I could tell from this distance was that she had long hair, her body shape was distinctly female, and she was wearing clothes. Everything else was a complete silhouette to me, just like it was last time. The only difference was this time she wasn’t doing anything.

Neither was anyone else.

The last time that I saw her, she had been rampaging through the city portion of the town, mowing down anyone who got in her way. This time, however, she merely strolled about the streets. In fact, she seemed to take great care in where she stepped, as if she wanted to avoid crushing anything entirely. All the giantess did was walk about, her hands placidly held behind her back, while she watched the tiny men and women at her feet. Every so often she would lean in for a closer look, and I could hear a faint chuckle travel across the vast distance between us. I’m sure it must have been louder up close. Yet, no matter how close she got, or how much she laughed, no one paid her any mind. It was as if she didn’t register to their senses. Not her steps, not her voice, and not the immensity of her presence. At one point she knelt down in front of a house, grasped the roof, and with obvious care, ripped the entire thing off of the rest of the building. Then she leaned in closer to inspect the occupants inside, very much resembling a young girl with a doll house. She even stuck her hand inside the house, appearing to be toying with whatever was inside. Yet throughout all of this, not a single cry was raised, or even a remark made. The students around me took no notice of her either.

I needed to write this down. I had the sudden feeling that, whatever it was I was witnessing, would leave me soon. I couldn’t just take a picture. I needed to record my thoughts and emotions in the moment, as raw as possible. Throwing my backpack to the ground, I rifled through it until I found the notebook where I wrote down scenes and story ideas. Looking up at the giantess again, I noticed that for the first time her head was pointed in the direction of the school Though I couldn’t see her eyes through the shadows that cloaked her, I had the sinking feeling that she was looking exclusively at me. Standing up from the house she had been kneeling in front of, she took a step towards the school. Towards me.

Becoming almost frantic, I searched for a pen. I had no desire to run away, whatever her intentions were. All I wanted was to write everything down. I felt her next step. Finally finding a pen, I opened to a blank page, and began jotting down everything I had just described, with as much feeling and heart behind my words as possible. All the while her steps continued to move closer. I glanced occasionally upwards to watch her advance on the school. Running didn’t matter. My well being didn’t matter. This was a story that needed to be told. As the only one who could see it, it was my responsibility to tell it. By now the giantess was upon the school, her shadow falling over the entire building. Still everyone continued to go about their day as if she wasn’t there at all. Her footsteps stopped. Gazing up at her, I found her cloaked face to be looking down at us in turn. For the longest moment she made no move, and, although activity continued around us, not a sound was heard. The scratch of my pen on the notebook was the only noise allowed, and it was practically deafening when contrasted with the absolute silence.

Standing up close and personal, I realized why it was that her appearance didn’t matter. The giantess wasn’t a woman, she was a force of nature. I had seen her tear apart cities, treat armies like toys, and subjugate entire continents in the past. Even though she was limiting herself to a mere 200 ft in height, I somehow knew that she could dwarf this entire planet if she wanted to. She was so far above us it was hilarious. That’s why I couldn’t see what she looked like, and that’s why I saw no need to run. How would you run from the moon if it decided to fall to the surface of the Earth? You wouldn’t. It wouldn’t matter. Nothing you did could stop the inevitable. All I could do was my job by telling this story. All the while the giantess stood there and stared at me, like she was waiting for me to finish.

When at last I had run out of words, and the moment had been sufficiently captured, I dropped my pen and notebook, and looked up. Though I couldn’t exactly see it for myself, I could almost feel the giantess smile at me. Very slowly she reached a hand out towards me. This I felt as well, like an approaching meteorite from the heavens. Her hand enveloped me.

My eyes opened.

Raising my head from the table, I had to wait a few moments for the grogginess to fade away. I was in the library, tucked away in a private little corner, surrounded by homework that I obviously hadn’t touched. When my head cleared my thoughts of my dream came rushing back to me. Every detail about my experience was so vivid I needed to do something with them. That encounter was simply incredible, and I needed to capture it, for real this time. The giantess, her presence was unbelievable. It was like standing before a literal goddess. That was something I’d need help with when describing. I stood up from the table and made my way through the various shelves towards the more open area of the library. Scattered throughout that portion of the room were various tables and chairs, as well as a lounging section for students to sit comfortably and chat with one another.

At the moment no one else was in the library, except for Jenny and two of her friends. These girls were different from the two that were with her this morning in the hallway. They sat next to each other in the lounging seats, while Jenny chose to sit comfortably on the floor, her back leaning against the chairs across from her. Her long, toned legs were stretched out in front of her, sticking out a bit beyond the lounging area. I decided I’d attracted enough unwanted attention from the popular crowd for the day, so I gave them a wide berth as I walked by. I headed for one of the shelves where I knew a specific book I’d need would be. It only took a few minutes to locate the title. It was a relatively thick book with three constellations printed on the cover. One of these was a man, the other a beast of some kind, and the third a dragon. Giants, Dragons, and Gods, a sort of encyclopedia on mythological figures and creatures. Everything from Greek, Norse, Egyptian, and Japanese mythology was inside, with detailed descriptions of each character, and notable stories about them. Surely one of the giantesses or goddesses would be an adequate model for my story. I walked back towards my table, hidden behind the shelves in the back of the library.

I’m not sure exactly what happened after that. All I remember was searing pain behind my skull, the feeling of impact, and voices that sounded very far off. My vision was hazy, but began to gradually clear up. I was sprawled out on the ground, having fallen on my face. In front of me was the book I had just retrieved from the shelf. The voices in the background increased in volume and clarity, but still sounded muffled to my ears, like I was underwater. Gazing at the book in front of me, images began flashing through my eyes for brief moments. Images of the library the giantess had picked up and smashed in my story, a scene that had come from a daydream. The dream began to play out in my head again, disorienting me. I needed to focus and gather my senses. I was losing touch with reality.

With a shake of my head and an effort of will, I shattered the images and collected my thoughts together. Suddenly the scene around me snapped back into clarity. I was still in the library, lying on the ground by the lounging area, and someone was talking to me.

“. . . . -alright?” came Jenny’s voice.

With a slight groan I climbed first to my knees and elbows. Once there, I paused for a second to rub my forehead.

“What happened?” I grunted.

“You must have had some kind of fainting spell and tripped over my legs.” she explained. “Sorry about that, by the way. I should have moved.”

“It’s alright.” I croaked, my throat feeling dry for some reason. Probably sheer embarrassment.

“Need a hand?” she asked.

I saw Jenny’s shoes out of the corner of my eye. I followed them up where I expected to see her holding her hand out towards me in assistance. I followed them up, and up. And up.

And up . . . . .

My stomach dropped harder than I probably did a few seconds ago. I couldn’t make sense of what I was seeing. I had thought that I had gotten a grip on reality again, but this . . .

“That’s not possible . . .” I muttered.

Jenny cocked an eyebrow. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

No. What I was seeing was a lot worse than a ghost. Ghosts, I could plausibly except. Sure, I didn’t really believe souls or spirits exist, but plenty of people have seen unexplainable things. It’s entirely possible ghosts could be real, and I could one day see one. But this? No one had seen this . . .

Jenny Delhaze stood at an estimated height of 12 feet tall . . .

Without being fully aware of it, I began to crawl backwards away from her, never once taking my eyes from her eyes. There must have been a hell of a lot of fear in mine, because she appeared concerned.

“Seriously, are you ok, dude?” she asked. “Cause you’re looking at me like I’m some kind of . . .”

Her voice trailed off. I saw realization flash across her face for an instant.

“. . . a giant.” I whispered in conclusion.

Realization turned straight to shock, though not, I could tell, for the same reasons I was shocked.

“But I didn’t . . . That’s not possible, you- . . . you aren’t supposed . . .” Jenny stammered.

Her face at once adopted a look of concentration. I wasn’t sure what it was she was trying to say, or do, but I didn’t want to find out. I continued backing away, gradually increasing my pace of motion. Her jaw dropped open in alarm.

“How did you . . .” she asked, taking a step towards me. That was what set me off.

Turning around and practically jumping to my feet, I raced straight for the doors.

“Wait!” I heard her call out.

I gave one last look over my shoulders at the 12 ft amazon lumbering after me, and was reinvigorated in my escape. Bursting through the library doors, I took off sprinting down the hall.