‘’Is everything ready?’’

Kelkut tipped the straw hat off his head and looked down. He held giant-sized farm equipment—a pair of hoes, one large and two smaller shovels— and on his shoulders hung bags of seeds, At his back, where Amare could see from the corner of his eyes quite fine, he carried a plough. The blades of it trembled in the wind, yet did not even leave white marks on his skin.

‘’Yeah! Oh, wait— their bags!’’

‘’I’ve got them, son, you need not worry.’’ Jackson chuckled.

Kelbor gave a glare to his son, then a glance to Amare and Jackson on his either shoulders. ‘’Then let’s go.’’

Riding on the shoulders of a giant, together with tools that indicated for what intention they departed, Amare watched his surroundings. It seemed that the giant father and son duo had no intention to look at their farm these past few days; so what spurred them forth to take a quick look became apparent to him.

While he felt embarrassed about it, there also bloomed a seed of happiness in his heart. After coming into this world, after years of...that, this would be the second thing he awaited with anticipation.

First was, of course, meeting with Jackson.

Unlike the other paths they took, Kelbor led them down the slope to the ravine between the cleaved mountain. A pair of red-leaved trees waved their branches back and forth at the entrance; the same sweet breeze washed over them.

Passing by the smooth curves around the entrance, Amare gazed at the darkness swirling inside. From the first moment they arrived here, he felt there was something ominous about this...place, this darkness. From afar, it seemed to be the foulest of things he saw until now, but when stepped in—over the shoulders of Kelkut— he realized it was nothing alike.

One step outside, it was the blackest of everything; one step inside was a brilliance.

Like a steep cliff, a road blinded by blue and silver glows declined to the ground, snaking through boulders and moss and mushrooms of both colors. The path climbed up, then, and rose and twirled to a half-visible gold light.

The breeze also came from there.

Kelbor and Kelkut slid down some slippy parts and climbed up some rocky hills. Inside of the mountain proved a most dangerous environment despite its mesmerizing outlook, but not being the one to brave through them, Amare continued to enjoy the scenery.

With some shakes and stumbles, the father/son duo walked up to one last layer of the path, and now laid before them the exit. Right next to the gold light seeping inside the darkness, Amare heard a sound.

Gurgling.

‘’Oh, I can hear the river.’’ Jackson said.

Amare looked left, saw the neck of Kelkut obstructing his view, and nodded to himself. ‘’Me...too.’’

Kelkut nodded as well, Kelbor gave a soft snort. He led them again and walked through the wide gap between.

The scene from here was, Amare had noticed right away, acutely similar to the front of their house. There was another wooden hut, a long dirt road pushing forward to fields of vegetables and wheat, and at its end were sparse trees shadowing a place.

There was a gravestone, and beside it stood piles of red roses.

*********

‘’That’s my mother,’’ said Kelkut. His father had taken up everything and told them to sit in the shade of the trees, next to the grave of the deceased giant, while he tended the garden. Though Kelkut still had a shovel with him laying in his arms.

‘’...mm,’’ Amare nodded. He had no intention to ask anything about her. It felt...a little disturbing to do.

‘’Y’know, she was quite angry,’’ Kelkut continued. ‘’Think of my father, but like a dozen times angrier. She always beat and berated me, and she did the same to my father.’’

‘’Don’t think he is a pushover, though, it's just that my mother was the best when it came to putting people down.’'

‘’Putting down?’’ Jackson laughed. ‘’She was burying them, I tell you. The first beating I had here was from her.’’

‘’Well, master J, she would not hit someone who shouldn’t be done so. You must have deserved it.’’ Kelkut then stopped, then laughed towards Amare. ‘’Did master J give you any beatings as well? I heard mages his age like to hit their disciples for fun.’’

‘’For fun?’’ Amare gave a quick glance to Jackson, then to Kelkut, then to Kelbor picking off weeds from the edge of the farm. ‘’...once, in the past...uh, I told him I...I would work and not eat.’’

‘’Ooh,’’ Jackson waved his staff up and down. ‘’That time? He totally deserved it.’’

‘’...maybe,’’ Amare nodded. ‘’He knocked...knocked me in the head with his staff. When it started bleeding...I think he cried?’’

‘’BWAWHAHAHAHAH’’ Kelkut started slapping his thighs—the shockwaves sent their hair fluttering in the air.

‘’Master J, Master J, you cried? You hit, then cried? BWAWHAHAHA; My bad, I am so sorry! But- you need to expect that, you know? You must have expected that!’’

‘’Well, how would I know? I was old—’’

‘’You are old, master J.’’

‘’...and he suddenly moved forward. What can I do?’’

Amare looked away for a moment.‘’...but...you almost fell...’’’

‘’HE FELL!?’’

Kelkut roared more, then some more again. Amare had no idea what he found so funny, but, for that instance, he felt amused as well. He curved a thin smile, then made it disappear when Jackson coughed twice.

‘’Nothing I can say about that, He always had been a good company, and who am I to give him a beating? He is too precious for that.’’

‘’Precious, indeed.’’

Kelkut pressed on Amare’s head with his index finger and gave a pat. ‘’My mother would not hit him, had they met.’’

‘’She bloodies her own child, you expect her to have mercy on mine? She would laugh at you, son.’’

‘’Just to go against you, she wouldn’t then.’’ Kelkut raised his hand and cast his gaze to the roses at their feet.

‘’But you know, master J, her fists were soft.’’

‘’...of course.’’

Jackson gave a pat to the giant with the tip of his staff. ‘’You better be as good as her when it comes to swimming.’’

‘’Ah, I am, but I won’t be teaching him—father said he would do.’’

‘’Oh? Since when he is so thoughtful, that old monster.’’

There was a moment of silence. Then Kelkut laughed again. He looked down at Amare looking away, his ears a tinge of red. ‘’Master J wasn’t rude, don’t worry about it. Though he really is a shameless guy.’’

‘’A mere shameless is not enough,’’ Kelbor arrived beside them at that moment; he laid several pairs of roses on the grave and turned towards them. ‘’But at least, this guy is not much of an idiot.’’

‘’Talk no more, you want to hurt your throat?’’

Kelbor averted his gaze to his son. ‘’Your sight hurts me alone, now get up!’’ Kelkut took Jackson upon his palm and Kelbor raised Amare to his shoulders. The shade of the straw hats protected them well enough from the sun.

‘’Leave the shovel, we’ll pick it up on the way.’’

So Kelkut put it next to the grave and started following his father.

While they moved, Kelbor spoke again.

‘’The river here is quite long; and it tastes queer. Before, we would get our water from here, but thanks to that idiot now we can supply it from our home.’’

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

‘’That...that well like thing in the back room?’

‘’It is connected to a well, and that well is connected to the source of this river.’’ Seven pairs of giant steps later, all the while listening to Kelbor, Amare realized they were standing right next to the flowing body of water.

He looked down at the shimmering blue reflecting the two giants, him and Jackson too blurry to see, and felt a tad bit more aware of his heartbeat. He took a deep breath.

He released the air in his lungs, and as he did so Father and son duo settled the two men on the ground. They descended, and as they did so the giants started taking their clothes off.

‘’...?’’

Jackson patted Amare’s back with his staff. ‘’Pay no mind to them. Look, there.’’

‘’...but there isn’t anything?’’

‘’How come?’’ Jackson raised a brow, looked across the riverbed to the open fields of wild grass and flowers, then once more gazed at Amare. ‘’You don’t see it?’’

Amare shook his head and focused on the horizon. Past the sparkling water and the dull yellow laid another set of hills curving into a gate of somesorts, and beyond them a patch of blurry dark and green. His eyes narrowed. He bent over his shoulders, gazing with all his might, but indeed nothing changed.

Once his moment of silence passed, Jackson sighed.‘’Oh, we should have your eyes checked back at home.’’ He tilted his neck and looked back to Kelbor. ‘’What kind of glasses would fit him?’’

‘’Before deciding that,’’ A milder voice replied, ‘’What did you even want to show him?’’

‘’Uh?’’

Amare took a step back, but it landed on one of those wet, muddy patches of rock near any body of water. He slipped, his lower back jolted in pain, but he let out no yelp.

‘’Don’t be too hasty!’’

‘’He is confused, fool, do not scare him further.’’ The manner of speaking, the flowing grey almost as long as his body, and the cracks all over his body indicated that this man, not giant, was Kelbor. The naked one beside him, the exact replica of the man except the hair, then would be Kelkut. But their monstrous height and singular eyes were no longer on display. Now, they had three, all on their forehead, and it seemed they also reached around three meters.

‘’Well, process itself is more grotesque, so good job not looking.’’ Kelkut gave a thumbs up. Kelbor slapped him at his nape, the young ‘giant’ toppled and rolled on the ground. Dust and his grunts rose at the same time, then ended with a splash.

‘’He...fell?’’

Jackson shrugged. ‘’Nothing surprising,’’

‘’We follow after him,’’ Kelbor said and grasped him from the shoulders.

Amare lost the touch of earth, then his sense of weight. World spuın around him, and then he realized he had been thrown as well. ‘’Huh? Whaaaaaaaaa-’’

‘’He is fragile, you know,’’ said Jackson after him.

Kelbor gave a smirk. ‘’You help him move anyway.’’

‘’That is also nothing surprising, is it not?’’

‘’Hmph.’’

*********

Amare went up and down through the water for a while. Panic gripped him for a moment, then his body moved on its own to stabilize him on the surface. His legs wavering under the calm flow of the river, Amare swirled around to look at Kelkut smiling at him.

‘’I was about to rescue you,’’ said Kelkut, ‘’But you got used much quicker.’’

Amare gave a short nod. ‘’The flow...makes it easier to stay up. It feels nice.’’

‘’It is, though being thrown into it does not feel that nice.’’

While getting used to keeping himself up, Amare saw Kelbor slide down the small slope into the river. Jackson smiled at his back.

He dove into the water, a splash followed. His shadow trailed under them and went further to the other shore where grew sets of wild flowers and grass. Right as he reached, he lunged out and landed on both feet without any tremble. Droplets fed the nature next to him.

‘’The shores,’’ he said and pointed down, ‘’—are quite slippery. If you flip and tumble down to hit the rocks, it would be the worst.’’ His three eyes glanced at Kelbor; the recipient turned around and lowered his head to look into the river. ‘’So it is better to land in the middle.’’

Amare gave another nod and looked around. Where he floated seemed neither too shallow nor deep, and when he attempted to strike out, his feet touched the hard ground after two steps. The river was quite safe. So he no longer hesitated. He took a glance at Jackson, then at Kelbor who jumped into the waters again, and once he saw no kind of objection started swimming up against the flow.

The best and worst thing about going against the stream was the fact that he couldn’t move. It helped Amare get used to the movements; how his feet rose and down with wooden sandals, how his arms spat out their strength after several pushes against the water, or how much he held his breath before requiring another one. After all, even if the water was shallow and there were capable people to help him at a moment of danger, if he acted prudent enough he wouldn’t see such possibility.

Yet, not being able to go further, to feel that sense of advancing across forces opposing him brought a little dissatisfaction. It troubled him, as if he couldn’t breathe fine enough to not burden his lungs.

But cautiousness came first.

So he spent a few minutes practicing and testing his young body, and strangely enough felt no exhaustion. As he got used to the strength of the river, he even managed to push a little further. He moved and moved, and then he realized something held him up from his stomach.

Someone.

Amare tilted his head to his left to see Kelbor; he held his belly under the water and showed him an uninterested expression.

‘’Practice,’’ Kelbor said.

Amare knitted his brows for a moment, then relaxed them back in fear of being rude. He shook, shot his head straight to avert eye contact. Then with all his might started advancing. In a moment, he felt nothing under his body, and lo and behold he swam through dozens of meters in a matter of seconds.

Kelbor, however, caught up with him in a smaller timespan and flashed a smile. ‘’Being angry helps, too, I suppose?’’

*********

For the remainder of the daylight, Amare continued swimming with Kelbor and Kelkut. They raced and dove under to compete in their breathing, and they warred against each other with wide splashes of water; Jackson became an unfortunate victim of one such attack.

When sun started to set, they readied and left, and Kelbor worked on the fields with his son till the last light extinguished. With their work done and their time none remaining, the group prayed in front of the deceased giant’s grave and departed.

On the way back, Amare struggled to keep himself awake. His head wobbled up and down. His state wasn’t quite enough to hold himself, so Kelkut carried him in one of his palms, where he succumbed to sleep.

When he awoke next day, everything seemed blurry in his eyes.

He stood up from his bedding and gazed at the morning sky outside the giant window. There lingered the shadow of someone obstructing the Sun. He looked around and saw Jackson snoring. He smiled for a moment, and when he turned to face the outside a loud knock shook the glass. Amare dropped his lips.

He saw Kelkut’s gigantic singular eye—they had transformed back, it seemed. With giant fingers he gave a wave, then disappeared from his sight with a yelp. But considering the distance, the yelp might as well have been a roar of its own.

When another smile lit up on his face, Amare felt...blank.

He felt different. There was something inside him, a thing he had no familiarity with—or something someone ripped out a long time ago.

He had expectations towards who would come through that door right now; what they would say, what they would do, and what they might bring into his life.

Was he...hopeful?

If he could guess without restrictions or minding a man, then he was. He felt hopeful. He felt cheery.

Like the last months of his former life.

There, he turned to look back at the snoring old man, shuffling in his blanket under the warm sunlight. His body had always been sensitive to the slightest cold, and it seemed to remain the same.

The small smile on Amare’s face grew wider when Jackson started picking his nose.

In the two instances of his life that he felt happy, this man was there to bring it. So no matter what, he would do the same. Whether through danger, through despair, or through pain; all of which he braved through, he would do again for this man.

That was what his heart told him so.

‘’I will...I will pay it back.’’

When the half-moons on his knuckles started shining silver, the door to the outside creaked open. In stepped two giants, one cheerful and other boorish—Just like their names.

‘’Amare, look, I brought this...’’

*********

Like the past two days they had their meals, relaxed outside the house, and slept through the night under the watch of many ghosts and wild owls. On the morning of his fifth day in this new life, Amare and Jackson gathered their very little belongings and a rather sizable amount of gifts from the giant father and son.

Parcels of fluffy white clouds spread out in the blue sky towards the horizon when Kelbor gave him a pat on the head.

‘’Listen to him frequent,’’ said Kelbor. ‘’He might be a fool and an idiot, and also too selfless for his interest, but he knows the best for you and himself still.’’

Jackson adjusted his hat and dangled its veil in front of his face. ‘’You flatter me now?’’

‘’I know you like I know my son,’’ He snorted. ‘’And you know that is no praise at all. But...’’

His gaze slid to his left, and his arm followed with a thud. His left arm wrapped around the shoulder of his son and forced him onto his chest. ‘’You are both the same. You will do good, and under you he will do good.’’

‘’I believe in your judgment and conscience well enough after all these years, I assume. All the acts you did and words you said with us...a quarter of those alone suffices to make him a great man like you.’’

Kelbor released his son and this time patted both of them in the head.

Jackson showed a smile and grasped his staff tight. ‘’I’ve learned from the best, of course I will make him into a great man.’’

‘’Then,’’ Here Kelbor, with Kelkut, gazed at Amare. ‘’You are free to come back here anytime. I doubt you will outlive me and my son. So there is a spot here for you—but you will need to work.’’

Amare gave a strong nod. He clutched onto the handles of the satchels at his back, then looked at Kelkut in the eye.

‘’I—we will visit again.’’

‘’You better do,’’ Kelkut smiled.

‘’Then,’’ Jackson waved his staff, and a long stretch of green light enveloped both of them. ‘’Farewell, old friend, son.’’

Amare saw Kelbor open his mouth, stop, then smile at them with a glare accompanying along the way. Then his vision expanded onto an endless sea of blue and white. The sound echoed a second later, and it boomed so loud in his ear that he felt like vomiting from the shock. A deep cold hit his face.

Shivering and trembling for a moment, He looked to his left. Jackson’s hand wrapped around his shoulder, and his staff on the other hand cloaked by whirlwinds of green, they stood above the ground thousands of meters in the sky.

The chill, the tremble, and the nauseous feelings all went away with another flash of green.

All left in his vision was the soothing light of the half sphere at the horizon and the blue sky stretching to touch its brilliance.

And he, like the clouds scattered all around, could now begin to float towards his new life under the light of hope.

‘’Welcome back, old friend.’’