[WIP] [ST 7: HOME STIFF HOME.]

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Seeing the human downcast in his hand still. He feels the need to distract him somehow.

“Well, we’ve reached the plaza. Where do you live?” The giant asks in a friendly tone.

“Ugh.” The little one tries to mumble an answer, holding his head in his hand as he tries to fight off the headache.

“Easy there” his tone shifts to be more condescending. “It’ll pass. Give it time.”

The giant waits patiently for the little guy to recompose. After a minute or so the human manages to raise his head and face the giant with a forced smile, ready to give his answer finally. 

“Sorry, I-” he pauses, to his surprise he finds the giant’s face with a worried frown in it. “I’m feeling better”.

“Good.” The giant’s worried expression lessens. “Where then?”

“I live in an apartment building around here…” The human looks around, his head still hangs heavy for the pain. He searches around the urban landscape, buildings all around them but none taller than the giant. Then he points northward in the city. “That’s the one, it’s kinda far still.”

He points to a section of buildings no more than 30 meters away, right where the building's heights descend and allow them to see right behind them. Through the opening, and several blocks away, a building stands out for being the only one on its block.

“That red building, that’s where I live”. 

The giant searches for the building squinting his eyes, until he finally spots it. A smile spreads across his face.

“Ha!” The giant lets out a single hearty laugh, which he tries to disguise with a twisted grimace afterward.

The little man gets lost in the giant’s reaction, overcome by a sense of bemusement that makes him momentarily forget his discomfort.

“Interesting…” He coughs, regaining his composure. “Well, I built that one.”

“That’s for sure,” the human replies after a brief pause, unable to decipher the giant’s recent outburst. “As sure as you’ve built most of the city’s buildings, either by your own hands or under your ironclad supervision. Or so the legend goes.”

“Legend, huh?” The giant smiles at the little human in his palm. “Interesting choice of words you humans have.” He focuses his gaze on the little’s distant apartment. “Well, let’s get going then.”

The giant resumes his stride, his steps shaking the city once more. The little guy in his palm is taken aback as he sees the giant advancing without hesitation, in a straight line to the building he pointed out.

“W-Wait! You can leave me here… You don’t need to bother carrying me through the city” the human exclaims, visibly concerned about the potential chaos the giant might cause in Suhr because of him.

“No bother. I told you, I know this city like the back of my hand” the giant takes his first step onto the pavement, which creaks and yields under his weight.

The human swallows hard. He peeks his head nervously above the giant’s palm, anxiously observing the busting neighborhood of cinemas and bars where they currently stand.

“Phew” he exhales relieved. “They activated the sirens on time, that's good.” The little guy reassures himself quietly.

To his relief, he finds the stores, streets and sidewalks empty, only a few cars parked on the curbs. People took shelter in their homes as recommended by [GIMU], the security services regarding giants matters. Their instructions in this situation are as follows: clear the streets for the giant, take refuge in rooms close to the ground and keep the lights off until he’s gone.

The giant ventures through the city’s layout with confidence. His colossal steps carry him over the rooftops of countless homes, as he sets his massive feet down upon the streets he finds along the way. 

The little guy in his palm watches with fascination as the giant, despite his colossal size, moves with ease through the streets of Suhr. A tough fit, yet a careful stride. It's his personal brutish way of care.

The giant walks for a few meters until he comes across a row of buildings blocking his path. He firmly places a leg on the front sidewalk and lifts the other leg over the buildings, making way across  the slim block with one stride, his foot connecting with the pavement on the other side. 

For a moment, the figure of the giant obscures the moonlight and is illuminated by the city’s streetlights. Those curious and brave enough to spy on the giant from a window are greeted with a front-row view of the beast’s bulky package hovering just a few meters above them.

But then, as quickly as he crossed one leg, he does the same with the other. Continuing on his tracks while not losing sight of his destination. Leaving behind only the earth-shaking tremors caused by each subsequent step he takes. 

“Amazing…” the human mutters to himself. The locomotive that once plowed through the forest without difficulty or care is now capable of traversing the city without causing major havoc.

Seen from ground level the damage caused by the giant’s stride is more noticeable: cracks in buildings and pavement, toppled light poles and traffic lights, flattened trees and more. But now, seen from above and on a larger scale, the damage is much less significant than it could really be.

“I know. I am amazing.” The giant suddenly speaks, a smug smile drawn on his face. Playing on the previous whisper the human muttered to himself.

“I-… I’m just..” The young man is taken aback again by the giant’s hearing capacity, he won’t forget to report that now. “I'm blown away. You just walk through the city like it's nothing.”

“Years of experience, pequeñin." He responds with a toothy grin, his tone brimming with assurance. 

The human looks up to the giant bearded face, instantly drawn in by the confidence that exudes from the giant. Simply awaiting what he will say next.

“And a lot of work too.”

Luckily, the big guy loves talking about himself.

“It’s easier to walk in here now” The giant comments as he does. With his gaze up and ahead, searching for his optimal route to reach the little’s home. “Before, this city was pure chaos. Not a day of work without debri between the toes.”

Soon he approaches a block packed with tall buildings and low roof houses, he quickly decides to cross it through its center. He places his hand on a tall building’s roof that instantly creaks under his weight as he lifts his right leg over the frontal row of low roof houses. He perfectly places his right foot inside a compacted backyard of one of the residences. His foot occupying the entirety of the patio, instantly crushing several flowerpots, an elegant garden table and a grill underneath, completely unnoticed by the giant. Taking another step, the giant reaches the sidewalk on the other side of the block, continuing on and leaving the crushed remnants of the backyard behind him.

“That’s why I remade the city; to walk around without much trouble.” The giant continues speaking as normal as he navigates around more human structures. “Entire neighborhoods I moved with that in mind.”

“I know that well…” the little guy interjects, arms crossed. “Three times I had to move my stuff in a hurry because you were just going to crush my block.”

“Haha! Yes, there are always complaints.” the giant smiles. “But I, what I crush, I build anew.” He adds, with an almost sarcastic tone in his voice.

He carries the name of ‘Great Builder’ for that reason. At least the giant of Guarida is considerate in fixing the damage he causes on purpose.

“By fortune, you've all learned to behave by now. Not to grumble as much and to heed my word. Nowadays, I can work without major grievances.”

What the giant may perceive as obedience is nothing more than the result of resignation, habituation, and acceptance over time. After all, once he decides to make a change in the city, it happens. There’s no stopping him. However, his decisions have proven to be effective in the long run. Besides, he's always been considerate of the housing and transportation needs of the human population in the city.

“I widened streets, built bulkier structures, planted entire plazas…”

The little guy in his hand stays quiet, just watching the giant talk with so much passion about his work and decisions. The way the giant passionately discusses his work with dedication and pride captivates him.

“... and all of that done in only a few decades.”

‘Only a few decades’. The words linger in the little man’s head. As long as he can remember, he has seen the giant coming and going from here to there all over Suhr, working on a new project almost every week. Even his parents and grandparents who emigrated from devastated lands spoke of the capacity and dedication of the Great Builder. Decades worth of time, perhaps the entire lifetime of any of his relatives, but a minimal fraction in the endless life of a giant.

“-Although there are things with your kind that never change.” He pauses for a moment, almost as if he’s mentally listing things. “Like the habit of leaving obstacles in the way” he concludes.

The giant encounters another wall of buildings, this time with just a narrow street dividing it, wide enough for the width of his legs to pass through. With no possibility of bypassing the buildings otherwise, he is forced to advance by walking sideways.

The echo of the giant’s footsteps in the narrow corridor is accompanied by the creaking sound of metal and shattered glass.

“There goes one.” The giant scoffs. “No matter the times I tell, they never keep the path clear.”

“And there goes another.”

The giant finally manages to exit the narrow alley into a wide avenue, where he has enough space to move normally again. The little man leans over the edge of the palm to look at the giant’s muscular legs.

“Doesn’t it… hurt?” he asks, unable to shake the thought of the pain that tons of metal trapped under foot could cause. He would scream in pain for much less, like stepping barefoot on a plastic block for children.

The giant stops in the middle of the avenue and lifts his left foot, maintaining his balance. He reveals the sole of his foot in the direction of the little guy on his hand, for whom the image seems surreal: adhered to the wall of skin he sees both cars he heard crunch seconds ago. Absolutely flattened by the sole of the massive foot, reduced to what in conventional circumstances would look like just a couple of crumpled soda cans.

“Do these metal boxes hurt? Not at all.” The giant comments as he runs his thumb under the vehicles and peels them off his sole. The dented metal plates fall onto the pavement making considerable noise. “But they are annoying to step on, may leave splinters.”

“Oh I see.” The human watch the cars drop to the ground. “Hope those were empty…”

The giant releases the tension in his foot, flexes his toes, and arches the sole, stretching it fully. Finally, he returns it to the ground.

“Much better.”

The giant resumes his stride, comfortably walking along the wide avenue that’s as spacious as the width of his shoulders. 

Now that they have ventured deep into the city it is more common to encounter people on the streets, though they all seek shelter to avoid the giant's gaze. Regardless, he pays little attention to the ground where he walks now that he has free rein to do so, his stride now becomes the problem of the few drivers who dare wander along the avenue in the presence of the trampling beast.

“We’re almost there, little boy” the giant nods towards their destination, just a few blocks away from them.

The human gets excited at the idea of getting home after all that happened that day. Despite getting used to the constant sway on the palm of the giant, he’s desperate to be able to use his own legs for a change.

“So… What do you think of the apartment I built for you?” The giant inquires curiously, expectant of the feedback of his work.

The human can’t help but blush at the thought of the giant building something solely for him… but he’s well aware the giant must be referring to them as a whole.

“Well… it looks nice” the human responds, not really having paid much attention to the whole design of it, he just moved in there a few weeks ago afterall.

“I’ve done a few of those. A whole neighborhood in fact, another city. Some say it’s a hard neighborhood to live in.” the giant adds.

“I see…” The little guy isn’t quite sure what to respond, then adds “But it’s pretty comfortable inside. It has enough space for me and…” He pauses for a moment. “... and my cat.”

“Good to hear, little guy.” 

The conversation comes to a halt as the pair walk a couple more blocks, now lost in their own thoughts. The young man focuses on his apartment that comes closer each step the giant takes. He’s finally going back to the comfort of his home. Although he also realizes that this bizarre encounter with the Great Builder, the guardian of Guarida, is about to come to an end.

In a final attempt to prolong the experience, he recalls a random piece of trivia.

“Hey, Great Builder.” The little guy catches the giant’s attention. “I just remembered something…”

“Ummh?”

“I’ve read that you like to name all buildings you make, is that true?”

“That’s correct. Well, most, not all. But yes.” he answers. “Though you never keep the names I pick.”

The giant reaches the building and stops right in front of it. The structure’s roof rises up to the height of his hips.

“Well, out of curiosity… have you named this one?” the human asks, genuine interest shining in his eyes… along a hefty dose of naivety.

“Funny you ask.” The giant relaxes his body, shoulders slumping loosely to his sides as he strikes a cocky pose. “Yes. This building does have a name.” 

He points to the building confidently, a smile from ear to ear in his face.

“I like to call this one ‘Una verga parada’.”

“Huh?”

“A standing cock.”

The little guy turns to look at the building, from top to bottom.

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