The Little Signs

1

Lucy looked up at the giant that held her life in his hand. Now she could see what he actually looked like. When they were in the dark cave, all she could really see was his scarlet eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness.

He was a lot larger than she previously thought...

His skin was very pale, due to the lack of sunlight he got. He had black, greasy hair that he slicked backward and really bad five o'clock shadow. Since he was severely malnourished, he was thinner than he should be.

He looked down at her, "Ready?" he asked.

Lucy nodded and gave him a thumbs up. She grabbed onto his shirt for support as he started to walk into the Great Forest. She closed her eyes as tree branches brushed past both of them. It took her some time to get used to being carried like this. It was better than being trapped in a fist, but the motion and the height made her stomach flip a little.

"Are you okay?" the giant asked.

'I'm okay' Lucy signed, breathing in the fresh forest air. She felt the familiar pressure in her mind and relaxed, letting the giant into her mind. 

His voice filled her head. "Why can't you talk?" 

Lucy shrugged, "I was cursed..."

"Cursed?"

"When I was a baby, a powerful sorceress took away my ability to talk ...or make any noise for that matter."

"Do you miss your voice?"

"I don't remember having one... You can't miss what you never had."

"How did you learn the hand language?"

"My mother taught it to me."

"Where is your mother now?"

"Dead..."

There was silence for a little while.

"Sorry."

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault," Lucy reassured.

"Can you teach me your hand language?"

"Alright."

The giant hummed in content. They continued on their way through the forest. Lucy watched the nature around them start to grow to now match the size of the giant.  Lucy bit her lip and concentrated on the giant. She could feel his mind and tapped it lightly. She didn't know how this all worked but was grateful that they could communicate easily. The giant's voice boomed in her head again.

"Yes?"

"Where are we going?"

"A place where we won't be bothered anymore."

"Oh...okay"

Lucy played with the hem of her dress anxiously.

"There is something wrong," the giant commented out loud.

Lucy shook her head "I'm okay" she signed.

"Liar. You want to know something."

Lucy looked down at her feet.

The giant stopped walking and slowly brought the small girl up to his face. He could feel the anxiety oozing out of her. He quirked his eyebrow. "What do you want to know?"

"What is your name?"  she asked timidly in her mind, knowing that the giant would hear it.

A whisper of a smile graced the giant's lips. "Taron." He watched the girl do some more of her hand language and asked, "What are you doing?"