Chapter 7: The giant hatched a plan

Celeste stood by the shore of the small beach with Vinnie pressed to her chest, the water splashing her feet with each push and pull. Tears streamed from her glossy, silver eyes as she stared at the vast ocean.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear when Ben came up behind her. "Little girl," he called and she jumped upon suddenly hearing his gruff voice.

Celeste sniffled as she quickly wiped her eyes before turning around to face the old giant.

"I'm sorry if I startled you," he apologized while scratching the back of his head. He looked at her face carefully for a hint of terror or fear, but he only saw sadness, despair, and guilt. Her eyes were puffy and wet from her tears, and the tip of her nose was red.

Ben couldn't help but wonder what she had to be guilty of. It seemed, however, that she didn't overhear his conversation with Cara. There was no fear in her eyes as she stared at him.

"Why did you leave the house?" Ben questioned. "We were worried something happened."

Celeste's long lashes lowered as she looked at her wet feet on the sand. She slightly bowed her head before speaking in a small voice, "Thank you for the food and your hospitality. I'm sorry if I upset you by not eating right away; I meant no disrespect."

She raised her eyes, tilting her head back in an attempt to meet the giant's eyes but he was too tall. From where she stood, she couldn't see above his hairy, slowly heaving chest.

"I do not wish to be a burden any longer so I'll take my leave," Celeste told him. She didn't know where she wanted to go or what she intended to do being on her own, but she knew she didn't want to be a burden to anyone ever again.

Celeste was about to walk off toward the woods when the giant spoke, "It's not safe for you in the woods, especially at nighttime. All kinds of beasts out there. How about-"

Celeste cut him off, "I'll be fine; animals are quite fond of me." They were her best friends in the celestial kingdom and always enjoyed her company.

"I'm not talking about animals," Ben said in a serious tone. "All kinds of monsters are out there."

"Trolls, nasty goblins," he started to list. "Starving vampires and maneaters that fancy little girls like you." Been shook his head, "The dark woods is no place for a defenseless little girl."

A cold shiver ran up Celeste's spine at his words, but she put up a brave front nonetheless. If she was going to make it on her own, she'd have to learn to protect herself.

Ben stood by the ocean and watched as Celeste's small figure disappeared into the woods, the sun gradually setting behind him. "Who doesn't hear must feel," he muttered to himself. "Let's see how long you survive out there, little girl."

When he returned home he found his wife skipping through a large, tattered brown book. She looked much older in her frantic state. Her eyes were bulging from her small head and her veins pulsated from below the shriveled skin of her sweaty forehead.

"Where is it?" she growled under her breath.

Cara briefly looked up at the old giant. "I couldn't find her." Her glare twisted her ugly face as she spat, "That little runt," before muttering swears under her breath.

"I found her," Ben finally spoke.

Cara stopped skipping through the book and looked up at him with wide eyes filled with hope and relief. "You did? Why didn't you say so sooner." She tried looking behind him from where she sat on the wooden chair by the bed. "Where is she?"

Cara felt all the tension and anxiety leave her body; just now she was in such a panic that she could've ripped her hair straight from the root of her head without feeling anything.

However, her husband then said, "But I let her go."

Cara's breath hitched in her throat, her left eye twitching as Ben's words repeated in her head. Her face reddened with anger, steam coming from her ears; she was incredibly pissed.

The witch was like a trembling, hot volcano waiting to explode.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?!" Cara exploded. "You let her go?!"

"She didn't hear anything earlier," Ben told the raging witch. "I spoke to her." He detailed his conversation with Celeste to her before saying, "Then when she said she'd leave the second time I didn't stop her."

Cara looked at him as if he was insane. "That doesn't justify anything, Ben. I'm still short a fucking ticket out of here!" She pointed at the door, her finger shaking as she spat, "You're going to go out there, find that little girl, and bring her back here."

Cara took up the shotgun and pushed it against his large chest. "You better pray to all the gods that she's still alive." She pointed at his axe hoisted on the wall. "Take that thing with you; all sorts of demons are out there."

"Cara," Ben tried to start but she turned her back to him.

The old witch folded her scrawny arms across her chest. "Don't come back here without her." She briefly glanced at him over her shoulder as she added, "And if you find her corpse, take her eyes; the scientists would pay good money for them."

Ben knew how stubborn his wife could be especially when she was angry; she wouldn't listen to what he'd have to say no matter what, so he didn't bother telling her anything about his plan.

"You're still here?" Cara irritatedly questioned.

Ben sighed before opening the creaky wooden door and closing it behind him. He put his axe on his back before starting for the woods behind his home, repeating his plan in his mind.

"That little girl won't survive in here for long," he said to himself with a smirk as he squashed a ginormous, black bug under his boot. "I'll have her back home in no time."