The Half-Giant's Guide to Seeing the Future

The Day I Walked On Clouds

I don't know why I was surprised when Dylan led us out to the shed to get the ATVs. Dad drove one, and Kimmy sat behind him while I rode behind Dylan. Emma drove the third with Moreno hanging on to her waist.

Granmam usually didn't encourage the ATVs on the ranch often. She claimed they scared the cattle. Dylan seemed to know exactly where he was going, and I recognized the old dirt path that led to the group of giant sequoias where the ranch got its name. 

They were massive trees. I'd always wanted to climb one, but Granmam said it would require far too much equipment. Dylan had just laughed and made a joke about how the tree went on forever. 

The biggest of the lot had an arch in the trunk that was eight feet high and big enough for a person to pass underneath. Grandpa told us stories about the indigenous people who thought the arch was cursed.

They claimed it was the spot of a dead man, and crossing over his final resting place beneath the arch was bad luck. It had scared me badly enough when I was a kid that I'd never walked through. Now that I was older, that seemed rather silly.

Dylan stopped the ATV beside one of the smaller trees, and we dismounted. The others followed, and we stepped under the shade of the trees together. 

"Don't tell me the portal is the cursed arch," I said. 

Dylan grinned. "Hey, we both fell for that one as kids. You were so afraid you'd be cursed."

"Apparently, it was effective," I said. "So how exactly does one enter a mystical realm of giants? It can't be as simple as walking through a gap in a tree."

"There's one more step," Dylan said. "And you might not like this one."

I raised an eyebrow. "Ah, huh?"

"It takes half-giant blood to open the gate," Moreno said. "At least that's how this gate is rigged. Some of the others are different."

Kimmy stepped towards the gate and pulled a needle from her pocket. She pricked the edge of her finger and let blood bead for a moment on her skin. 

The blood fell onto the ground, and for a moment, nothing happened. Then, there was a flash of light under the arch of the tree. 

"It'll be open for a minute," Moreno said. "We don't have long."

Kimmy walked under the arch of the tree, and her body disappeared in a flash. Dylan nodded towards me, but I frowned. 

"Aren't you coming too?" I asked. 

"I have to stay and work the portal on this side," he said. "I'm the caretaker of the portal, Terri. I do come visit frequently, though."

"I'm holding you to that," I said. "What about you, Dad?"

"I swore an oath that I wouldn't ever step foot in Jontun again," Dad said. "I just came to see you off, Terri."

Somehow, I knew if I hugged my dad at that moment, I'd never let go. Instead, I shouldered my backpack and took a deep breath. 

I could do this. All I had to do was step through the arch my grandfather swore would cast a curse. I gritted my teeth and walked through the arch. 

I didn't see a blast of light. In fact, when I blinked, I was standing somewhere new entirely. The air was cool and crisp, and yet somehow felt perfect. I was staring at the brilliant pale blue sky and seemingly endless clouds. 

Kimmy pulled me to the side just as Moreno appeared right where I'd been standing. His boots sunk into the clouds at our feet. Even though the ground was covered in water vapor, it was somehow still solid. Nothing about it made sense, and yet it was.