With Love, Maeve

One

On the day of my twentieth birthday, I met a giant. I don't know why I never feared him like they taught us to as children. But never once did he frighten me the way he was supposed to.
    Giants have walked this earth for thousands of years, long before humans were created. I fear they will walk the earth long after we are gone.
    We learn all sorts of legends and stories when we are young. They say that humans are just the love children of giants and pixies - that they could not decide whether to keep us small or large, so they picked something in the middle and stripped us of all things magical so that they did not have to choose.
    I like to believe we are the aftermath of something wholly good and loved. That humans are not inherently bad, but just evolved to be so throughout the years. I like to believe that deep down at our cores, that purity and love still lingers.
    In school, they teach us to fear giants. We are taught that they are nothing but dumb, mindless, brutal, bloodthirsty monsters who need to be eradicated - hunted. We have rules to follow: do not wander into the woods alone; do not leave your homes at night; under no circumstances do we venture towards the mountain range, and if you ever, ever, see a giant, run.
    Everyone in my village knew these rules and obeyed them faithfully. My parents were no different and constantly reminded my sister, Eloise, and I to stay in Roskoan and never be out past dark. This was difficult for me, considering my entire life revolved around medicine and herbology. All I wanted in life was to help people. The forest was my happy place. My oasis. The only spot in the entire village that I felt free to be something more than what others expected of me.
    That day had been no different than any others before. I had snuck away from my sister when she wasn't looking, basket in hand and scarf around my ginger hair. Guards were posted at the only entrance, but I knew of a small hole in the wall, hidden by Miss Sandra's bakery.
    I made it to my favorite clearing to pick clover, feverfew, st. John's wart, echinacea, and a few other medicinal plants for my collection. Being the one of only two healers also meant I ran out of supplies quickly.
    There was nowhere else I would have wanted to spend my birthday, anyways.
    I had only been away for an hour so when I heard the rattling of leaves and groans of pain. I knew in my bones what awaited me if I investigated, but I was a silly girl. I couldn't stop myself from searching for the wounded.
    That's when I saw him. Never before had I seen a giant, and he was nothing like I pictured. While our teachers claimed the beasts to be as hideous as monsters, this sight proved them all wrong. Giants weren't vile, they were beautiful.
    He was large and not just tall; he was broad shouldered and made entirely of muscles. His eyes were large, his nose, his arms, his hands. His hair, unlike a human's, was dark green and coarse like moss, hanging in curls just below his large, pointed ears. His skin was so pale it was nearly green itself, and he stood at least twenty feet tall. Despite the small, two-point antlers protruding from his skull, it was his eyes that captured me entirely. Deep brown like the richness of leather - the bitterness of coffee. He was ethereal.
    He had to be at least twenty feet tall, twenty-five, maybe, leaning against a tall oak tree, left hand grasping his right arm. Blood was pooling from a deep wound in his bicep. I could not have guessed what had harmed someone of his size.
    Already I had broken at least three rules. I was alone in the woods, nearing nightfall, and had spotted a giant without running. I knew at that moment, however, that running was no longer an option for me. I did not fear the giant; I wanted to help him.
    I do not remember where I gathered the courage to walk right up to him, but the surprise in his gaze had only mirrored the pounding of my heart. His eyes were wide and frightened. I stopped a giant's length away to look up at him. "You're hurt," I had called.
    In the silence that followed, I feared the giant would not understand me. Perhaps they did not speak our language, or maybe he had chosen to ignore me rather than eat my bones. When he finally did speak, his voice was pure and smooth, rich like molasses and sugar after it's been boiled too long.
    "I am," he called back, voice booming in contrast to the quietness of the forest. A flock of birds took flight to enunciate his words.
    I had smiled then, as if fully amused by this all. I was amazed, truthfully, though I'm certain I looked crazy. His eyes studied me as if I was. "You can speak my language."
    He lifted a brow as if I should know better. "Of course I can."
    From as close as I was, I could see his arm bleeding more profusely. It was far worse than I gave it credit for at a distance. "Let me help you."
    The giant shook his head. "I do not want your help."
    I knew very well how to push back on patients, and I doubted giants were much different, despite all I had been taught. If only Eloise had seen me then. "Please let me help you? I am good at it, I promise."
    His thick, green brows furrowed. "I do not wish to be a bother."
    "Certainly not, but you did catch me whilst I was collecting supplies. The hardest part will be simply crushing these up."
    "I can do that." His head tilted slightly as he regarded me with those rich, chocolate eyes. He was far more hesitant with me than I was with him, but there was a youthful curiosity in his gaze.
    "See? No trouble at all. Please?" I had attempted my most innocent face, though I don't believe it had truly done much good.
    "You are quite stubborn."
    I grinned at that. "So I've been told. Go on, sit." I did not wait for him to obey me before stepping closer. Even with him seated, I did not properly reach his wounds. He was much too tall. But for the moment, all my focus was on finding and mixing herbs. I was lucky to have brought a day's worth of supplies.
    "Get into a fight with a tree?" I asked him, pulling out different plants and rues.
    The giant lifted one bushy brow and hummed. "Something like that."
    He regarded me like I would an infection — like he was trying to understand what went wrong and whether the wound was going to fester. I am certain he did not understand what was happening anymore than I.
    "You are not frightened of me?" He asked while I laid out all my supplies. He leaned back against the tree, legs kicked out in front of him.
    Despite the beating of my heart, I nodded. I wasn't afraid, but I wasn't quite sure what I had been feeling, either. "Should I be?" I returned.
    The giant huffed through his nose. "You are a human; you are all frightened of us."
    "Not me."
    "Why not?" He asked, tilting his large head slowly.
    I felt my brows crease. "I do not know." I took a bundle of different plants and held them up to him. "Your hand."
    He did as instructed and took the flora into his hand and began to crush the small leaves between his fingers in his palm. I had a small container of water and used that as a base for the paste I was concocting. When I had taken back the newly crushed plants and combined them with water, I realized I needed to reach his wound somehow.
    We both had the same idea, it seemed, because at that moment, he had leaned a hand down to help lift me up. In my mind, I knew I should have hesitated, but I didn't.
    He allowed me to inspect the wound; a deep cut about the length of my arm. I certainly didn't have enough paste, but a little would be better than nothing. He hissed as I touched the wound, but other than that he was docile.
    I tried to distract him from the pain by talking to him. I told him about the river in the west that I was certain he already knew, and of the animal tracks I had spotted on my way in. Of how peaceful the forest was when it was empty and quiet.
    "It's never empty," he reminded me.
    "No, it never quite is."
    When I had finished with his wound, my hands were stained with paste and giant's blood, dirty and worked. Sometimes I liked them that way. But his wound was treated and I felt accomplished knowing that my helpfulness was not limited to humans alone.
    He held me up in his hand even after, allowing us to see one another face to face.
    "What is your name?" I asked him then, sitting down in his palm.
    He huffed. "You would not be able to pronounce it."
    "Well, let me try anyways."
    He chuckled for the first time, as if now amused by my stubbornness. "Brutusias Uiasnuu Aueirun Ourusijian."
    He was right, I could not pronounce it.
    "Brutus, then," I told him after many horrid attempts at pronouncing it. The vowels were too large for my mouth and the letters did not flow. "I'm Maeve."
    I held my hand out for him despite our size difference. I did not truly expect him to shake it, but even so, he brought his other hand up and placed his index finger in my palm. We shook hands, and silently, I think we were making a truce. He was supposed to be the monster I feared, and I was supposed to be the creature they feasted on. But perhaps we realized early on that we were both wrong.
    "I didn't think humans wandered the forest alone," Brutus told me. He was more relaxed now, though I could feel his tension in his hand beneath me.
    "We're not supposed to," I explained. "However, it is my birthday and I wanted to spend it foraging. So I snuck away."
    A look of surprise flashed across his features. "It is your birthday?"
    I nodded once.
    "And you spent it helping a giant."
    I smiled. "That I did."
    The forest was quiet and still then, but something between us shifted. It was like the crash of a river rapid, or the peak of wind during a storm. It was something we both felt but couldn't place.
    When the sun was beginning to set, Brutus put me back on the ground and I cleaned my hands with my leftover water. He promised me his wound would be okay and he would properly treat it back home. I did not ask where home was for him. I did not think I had earned such trust.
    "Will I see you again?" I asked him before leaving. He contemplated my question for a long moment before responding.
    "You might," he told me. Cryptic, but was more of an answer than I had originally expected, so I accepted it with a nod.
    Before I turned to walk away, I lowered into a small curtsy and grinned up at him. "Until next time, Brutus."
    For the first time in my life, I saw a giant's smile. Slow and hesitant, but genuine enough to make my own grin widen. It is not a sight anyone forgets. It remains carved into your memories for years and years to come, fighting its way back when your brain threatens to toss it.
    No, you can never forget a sight so rare. I never did.