Big AJ

Part 1

Bobby asked his mom if he could go out and look for some other children to play with. She said, "Yes you may but don't stray off too far." Bobby promised and left his house.

He hadn't gone far before he met a boy named Jefferey who was about the same age as Bobby. They hit it off right away and began talking. As they were walking, Jefferey said, "You'll love it here, but I have to warn you, DO NOT go to that big house down there over the hill."

"Why not?" replied Bobby. As they got a little closer to the house Jefferey said, "Because a giant lives there. His name is A.J. and if he catches you around his house he'll eat you".

"That can't be true" said Bobby. "There's no such thing as giants, and besides, how do you know he'll eat people?"
Jeffery replied, "I heard rumors that Mrs. Flemming, who lives across the street from him, got mad because he knocked over a cake she was baking while it was in the oven just by walking by the house! He got mad and ate her!"

"That's just a rumor, Jefferey," replied Bobby. "You don't know if that really happened; besides, A.J. may just be a very tall person that someone made you believe was a giant."

Jefferey pointed to A.J.'s house and said "Then explain to me why his house is that big." Bobby looked at the house in shock and said "Whoa! That IS a big house!"

Jefferey said "I told you. Hey, I'm going to the arcade, wanna come?"
Bobby replied "I'll be along in a while, I wanna investigate this "giant" you are so worried about."

Just as Jefferey left, the door to the house next door opened and Mrs. Flemming came out. Bobby thought "hmmmm, I wonder?" and went over to talk to Mrs. Flemming. She was a very giggly lady in her early 40's.

Bobby approached her and said, "Excuse me ma'am, are you the lady who supposedly got eaten by a giant?" Mrs. Flemming giggled and said "Oh, don't be silly; A.J. apologized for the cake incident 3 months ago, hee hee hee." She got in her car and left.

Bobby went next door to A.J.'s house and hid in some bushes to see if A.J. was going to come out, and 5 minutes later, the ground began to tremble very hard. The door to A.J.'s gigantic house began opening slowly.

Bobby started to run because he got very scared but before he could get any farther than in front of the steps to A.J.'s house a voice boomed out, "Well now, what do we have here?"

Bobby turned around and standing in front of him was the very person he feared seeing the most, Big A.J. himself. A.J. was a young giant who looked to be about 24 years of age. He had a large build, short hair, and a neatly trimmed goatee. He was dressed in shorts and a tank top.

Bobby who was very nervous replied "I....I....I was just ummmm....leaving!" But before he could run off, A.J. dropped his giant hand in front of Bobby to block his path. Bobby was very very scared now; he dropped to his knees and shouted, "Please A.J., don't eat me! I didn't mean to bother you."

A.J. looked down at Bobby who to him was no bigger than an ant and said, "What?...me?...eat you?....relax little fella, I won't hurt you." Bobby, who was relieved to hear that A.J. was harmless, said "But all those rumors about you eating people, I've heard so many!"

A.J. chuckled and said "That's all they are little guy, just rumors. I wouldn't hurt a fly; people only spread those rumors about me because they think I'm some sort of freak."

Bobby felt very bad for A.J. and said, "I'm sorry to hear that, and I didn't mean to make you feel bad by trying to run off like that."

A.J. smiled and said, "No need to be sorry my little friend; I get that reaction all the time."

Bobby was getting affected by the heat and said, "Man, is it hot out here!"

A.J. replied,"Come on in my house little fella; I don't want you catching heat stroke." He placed his incredibly huge hand down on the ground and Bobby climbed in; A.J. very very slowly and carefully lifted his tiny friend off the ground and stood up to his full 275 foot tall height.

Bobby was amazed at the view he had from sitting in A.J.'s hand which was about 28 feet long. He said to A.J. "Wow! I can see clear across town!" A.J. chuckled and said, "Enjoying the view, little bud?"

Bobby looked up at A.J. and said, "I don't know why anybody wouldn't want to talk to you; you're awesome!" A.J. smiled and said, "Why thank you very much little pal, you're pretty cool too; now let's get you inside." A.J. very slowly walked indoors.

Bobby was amazed at A.J.'s house. Everything was enormous! A.J. placed Bobby very gently on the kitchen table and asked, "Can I get you anything to eat?"
Bobby replied "Yeah, I'm starving!"

A.J. made a ham and cheese sandwich and tore off tiny pieces of it and handed them to Bobby. He had the pieces of sandwich gone in no time. A.J. was amazed and said, "Gee little fella, you must have been hungry!"

Bobby looked at A.J. curiously and asked politely, "How did you get to be so big?" Then he paused and said "Oh wait, that was a dumb question, I shouldn't have asked you that"
A.J. laughed and said "No, it's ok little fella, I'll tell you. When I was born I began growing at an extremely rapid rate because my pituitary gland was unusually overactive. The doctors tried to do something about it but were unsuccessful."

Bobby asked "Will you get any bigger?"

A.J. said "Maybe a little. The doc said I could get as big as 330 feet tall, but I'm hoping this is as big as I'll get."

Bobby then asked "Do you have any friends as big as you?" A.J.'s head sank and then Bobby said "Oh wait, I'm sorry A.J., I didn't mean to ask you that, I'm so sorry."

A.J. replied "Nah, it's ok little bud; to answer your question, you are the first person I've talked to since I moved here 3 years ago. Everyone else is too afraid of me because of my size; I try my hardest to talk to people but they all just run from me, calling me a monster."

Bobby said, "That's a shame, you're such a cool person! Why wouldn't anyone wanna talk to you?"
A.J. stopped him and said "Don't you mean monster?"

Bobby smiled up at him and said, "No, I mean person, I don't think of you as a monster and neither would my parents. In fact, let's go to my place; I want to introduce you to them"

Inside Bobby ran into the kitchen and said, "Mom, Dad, come outside; I want you to meet someone." Bobby's mom said "Now Bobby, you know it is bad manners to not invite your guests inside."

Bobby replied "Ummm mom, the person I want you and dad to meet won't exactly fit in the house."

Bobby's father replied ,"Why not?", and Bobby said, "Because he's a giant." Both of Bobby's parents began laughing and his father said, "Oh my Bobby, that was a good one. You and your jokes, ha ha ha ha." Bobby got a little flustered and said, "No, dad, I'm serious; my friend is a giant; now come outside, I want to introduce you to him".

Bobby's parents followed him outside and when they arrived on the front lawn they saw that Bobby wasn't joking, for there towering above them was the giant form of A.J. "Mom, Dad," Bobby said, "I'd like you to meet A.J.... A.J. these are my parents Debbie and Robert Phillips."

Bobby's father walked right up to A.J. and said "Pleased to meet you A.J." A.J. sat down on the lawn beside the house and said "Likewise Mr. Phillips."

Bobby's mom said "I see you've met our son Bobby."

A.J. responded "Yes I have; he's a great kid, I've enjoyed spending time with him-- he's very intelligent for a kid his age. By the way, how old is he anyway?"

Bobby replied "I'm 6, I'll be 7 next month." A.J. was amazed that such a young boy was as mature as Bobby was. What surprised him even more was that Bobby's parents didn't even run when A.J. arrived. A.J. asked Bobby's parents "Why didn't you run when you saw me? Everyone else does."

Bobby's father said "Why should we have? You're just like anyone else except you're a giant; you haven't done anything to harm us or Bobby so we have no reason to be afraid. Any friend of Bobby's is a friend of ours."

A.J. was honored that he had made 3 new friends, but Bobby wanted to introduce him to his friend Jefferey. Bobby said "Let's go A.J. I want to introduce you to another friend of mine" A.J. lowered his hand down and Bobby climbed in.

Bobby said to his folks, "Don't worry, I'll be home before dinner"

Bobby's father said to A.J. "Take good care of our son, A.J."
A.J. replied, "Don't worry sir, nobody will touch him with me protecting him." and A.J. and Bobby left.

Bobby knew that Jefferey was still at the arcade so he had A.J. take him there. Bobby watched as parked cars bounced off the road with each step A.J. took. A.J. was careful not to step on any of the cars or people that were around.

When they arrived at the arcade A.J. put Bobby down and Bobby went inside to get Jefferey. When Bobby found him he said "Jefferey, guess what? I made a new friend." Jefferey replied "Who?" and Bobby said "Come see for yourself."

Bobby and Jefferey exited the arcade. When they got outside, Bobby said, "Well, what do you think?" Jefferey took one look at A.J. and let out a terrified scream. Bobby said "Jefferey please, pull yourself together!"

Jefferey said "Bobby are you NUTS? Do you know who that is?!" Bobby just calmly said "Yeah I know, it's A.J., what's the big deal?"

Jefferey said "I'll tell you what the big deal is-- unless you wanna get eaten you'd better run before he catches us!"

A.J. then spoke. "Jefferey I don't know who told you those things about me but none of the rumors you've heard are true. I didn't eat Mrs. Flemming, and I don't eat people."

Jefferey slowly came closer to A.J. and said "So.....you're not mean.....and not gonna hurt me?"

A.J. smiled down at Jefferey and said "You have nothing to worry about little fella, I mean you no harm at all."

Bobby said to Jefferey, "A.J. is very nice; just give him a chance."

A.J. lowered his hand so the boys could climb in so he could take them home. Bobby climbed right in but Jefferey didn't move. A.J. kindly said "Come on Jefferey, I promise you have nothing to be afraid of."

Jefferey tried to climb into A.J.'s palm but had a bit of trouble because he was a bit shorter than Bobby, and Bobby wasn't strong enough to help him. A.J. put his gigantic finger down and said, "Hold on to my finger and I'll lift you." Jefferey reluctantly put his arms around A.J.'s huge finger and A.J. lifted him up very carefully and gently placed him in his hand with Bobby.

A.J. said with a smile "That wasn't so bad now was it?"
Jefferey said "You know, actually it wasn't!"
Bobby said "See Jefferey, I told you A.J. was friendly."
A.J. then said "Hold on tight guys, I'm going to stand up now." Jefferey's eyes got really big and said "S-S-Stand up?"

A.J. said kindly "What's the matter Jefferey?" Jefferey responded "I'm afraid of heights!"

A.J. asked, "Would you like to ride in my shirt pocket so you don't have to look down?"

Jefferey said "No, I think I'll be ok in your hand as long as I don't peek over the edge."

A.J. said "Tell ya what I'll do. I'll cup my hand just a little so you don't have to worry about being able to see below you" A.J. cupped his hand ever so slightly and said "There, how's that?"

Jefferey said "Much better, I can't see a thing below me" And with that, A.J. stood up and took the boys home.

The next day Bobby and Jefferey went for a walk and came to an old rickety bridge. Jefferey climbed over the rail and said "Come on Bobby, climb over" Bobby said "I don't think that's such a good idea Jefferey-- this bridge is old you know."

Jefferey said "What could possibly go wrong?" And just as he said that the cement under his feet gave way and Jefferey was left hanging from the bridge by one hand. Jefferey began screaming and said "Don't let me fall Bobby!!" Bobby began to shout for help.

Back at his house A.J. was out on his porch when he heard Bobby's cries for help (A.J. had incredibly good hearing). "That sounds like Bobby; he must be in trouble"-- and with that, A.J. got up and followed the voices to where they were coming from as fast as his 275 foot tall frame could carry him.

When A.J. saw the boys he shouted "Hang on guys, I'm coming!". and within seconds A.J. was at the bridge. He put his huge hand directly underneath Jefferey and said "OK little fella, let go" Jefferey replied, "I can't; I'm too scared!"

Bobby said "Let go Jefferey; A.J. won't let you fall." Jefferey reluctantly let go and to his surprise, he only fell 2 feet right into A.J.'s waiting hand. A.J. had done just as he promised and caught him leaving Jefferey without a scratch.

A.J. then put the same hand that Jefferey was in and said "Your turn, little fella" and Bobby hopped right on to A.J.'s hand. Jefferey looked up at A.J. and said "Thank you for saving me A.J.! I'm sorry about all those rumors I spread about you."

A.J. smiled and said, "No need to apologise my little friend. I can understand how scared you must have been when you heard I moved here."

Jefferey said "Can we be friends?"

A.J. looked down at Jefferey and said "We sure can little fella; I'd like that a lot."

When the news reporters and media had heard about A.J. and what he had done to save the 2 boys, he became a big hero. Everyone in the town gathered and showed their appreciation to A.J. for the kindness he showed to 2 little boys.

Jefferey's mother came up to A.J. and said "Thank you so much for saving my son's life-- how can I ever repay you?" A.J. responded "No need to thank me ma'am. I did what anyone else would do, I saw a human life in danger and I stepped in to help. I'm sure they would have done the same for me, right boys?"

Bobby and Jefferey looked up at A.J. and said, "You bet we would, buddy." And from that day on, Bobby, Jefferey, and A.J. the giant were the best of friends and to this day, they still are.

PART 2

Bobby headed over to Jefferey's house and knocked on the door; Jefferey answered and Bobby said "You wanna go to A.J.'s house and help me check on him?"
Jefferey replied, "Let me go ask my mom." Bobby waited and after a few seconds Jefferey joined him to go check on their giant friend.

When they got to A.J.'s house, they knocked on the door; instantly the ground began to tremble but it seemed to tremble much harder than usual; was A.J. running? Suddenly the door began to open and before long the answer was revealed.

Standing in front of them was A.J., alright....only much bigger than before!! The growth spurt the doctors said A.J. could possibly have had indeed happened! A.J. now stood an incredible 330 feet tall! The boys were amazed; they weren't scared though because they knew it was only A.J. and that he wasn't going to harm them.

A.J. looked down and said, "Hey fellas! How are you? Long time no see!" He placed his hand down, which was unimaginably huge, and said, "Hop on guys!" The boys tried to get on his hand but at his new size getting in his hand was easier said than done.

When they finally managed to get on his hand A.J. very slowly and carefully lifted them up; he stood up to his full height and said, "Where have you guys been?" Bobby looked up at A.J. and said, "We assumed you were busy and we didn't want to bother you."

A.J. laughed and said, "Now why would I be too busy to visit with my two little buddies? I'm never too busy for you guys; I was just getting ready for my trip to the city." The boys wondered how a guy so huge would be able to even fit in the city. Bobby asked, "No offense A.J., but aren't you a bit too big to fit in the city?"

A.J. just smiled and said, "Nope, I spoke to the mayor of Pearl City and he said they would make the city negotiable for me to explore it without harming anyone or damaging any buildings." The boys got really excited and Bobby said, "Can we go with you?"

A.J. said "I don't know guys, you'd better ask your folks on that one, but if they say you can you are more than welcome to tag along."

Jefferey asked, "How long will you be in the city?"

A.J. answered, "Only a couple of days at the most, I don't wanna wear out my welcome. If you guys want to go we'd better get permission from your folks, I leave in an hour." A.J. gently put the boys back down and they both ran home to ask their parents if they could go with A.J.

A couple minutes later 2 cars pulled up to A.J.'s house. A.J. was standing outside and bent down to talk to the boys' parents. A.J.'s mom said, "It was very sweet of you to invite Bobby along on your trip A.J.; please take good care of him."
A.J. smiled and said, "Don't worry Mrs. Phillips, Bobby will be fine." Jefferey got out of his mom's car and they climbed in A.J.'s hand and were on their way.

In no time at all they reached the entrance to the city. Bobby was surprised to see that the streets were surprisingly wide enough to accomodate A.J. and he easily made his way into the city. The streets were deserted except for the cars parked alongside of the curbs. Bobby watched as each car bounced off the pavement with each thunderous step A.J. took.

"Where are we going first?" Bobby asked.
A.J. said, "We need to stop by City Hall first so the mayor knows I'm here; then we are free to explore the city." In approximately 4 steps they were at city hall; the mayor was outside waiting for them. He was a chubby man in his mid 50s.

The mayor looked way up at A.J. and said, "Well hello there A.J., it's so good to finally meet you, young man." He extended his hand up and A.J. touched his hand with his huge finger in his own version of a handshake. "Well, now A.J. what brings you to our fine city?"

A.J. responded, "I've never been to a city before; I was always afraid to come here in fear that I would accidentally destroy the buildings or hurt people. I don't want to do that."
The mayor smiled and said, "Well as you can see you have nothing to worry about; there is plenty of room for you here."

After speaking with the mayor, A.J. and the boys were about to start exploring when they suddenly smelled smoke. A.J. looked ahead and saw that one of the high rise buildings had gone ablaze. A.J. quickly went over to see if he could help the fire fighters contain the fire.

As he approached he looked and saw a little boy who couldn't have been any younger than about 3 years old hanging from a ledge. The unbelievable force of the explosion that triggered the fire had hurled the young lad over the ledge, leaving him to hang there perilously.

But the young boy looked at A.J. who was smiling at him and screamed in fear. A.J. remained calm so as not to frighten the little boy and said, "It's alright little one, let go, I won't let you fall." The boy looked at A.J. again who had a friendly look on his face and to A.J.'s surprise and relief; the boy let go and landed safely in A.J.'s hand.

A.J. very gently brought his hand down to the ground where the boy's mother was waiting safely below. She ran up to A.J.'s hand, took her little boy in her arms and said, "Thank you; thank you so much." Tears of joy began streaming down her face as relief that her little boy was safe had overcome her. Her little boy just looked at A.J. and giggled saying, "Big man saved me!"

A.J. smiled and waved to the tiny boy and as soon as the fire was contained and he made sure that everyone was safely out of the building he and the boys went on their way to explore the city. As they were walking away though A.J. heard a tiny voice shout, "Big man come back!" He turned, looked down and saw the very same three year old he had just saved chasing after him! His mother was close behind.

A.J. bent down and put his finger out to the tiny boy who put his arms around his finger and hugged it. The boy's mother came up and said, "I am so sorry; he seems to be fascinated by you for some reason."

A.J. said, "It's no problem ma'am; I love little kids." He let the little boy hold on to his finger for a few minutes then said, "OK little guy, I have to go now. I'll visit you again before I leave the city."

The little boy stuck out his bottom lip and sadly walked back to his mother. A.J. looked down at the tiny boy, winked at him and said, "I'll be back little guy, I promise." He then got up and he and the boys continued on their way to explore the city.

The next day was no different from any other day. A.J. and the boys got an early start so they had as much time as possible to explore the city before they had to leave that day. They walked to the shore and stopped by the seaport that bordered the city. It had large cranes that loaded trucks with steel support beams and all sorts of things.

A.J. and the boys watched as trucks zoomed in and out of the port carrying beams and cargo boxes. After a while one of the workers approached A.J. and the boys and said, "Well, howdy there fellas, my name's Lester; I'm in charge of everything you see here in our sea port." A.J. shook hands (or fingers) with Lester and the 2 continued talking.

A.J. noticed that Lester had a nervous look on his face and asked him what was wrong; Lester said, "I'm just afraid that monster will come back." A.J. looked confused and said, "Monster?...please explain."

Lester proceeded to tell them about a large hairy beast that once attacked the city and nearly destroyed it.

A.J. said, "Well, I don't think that the monster would attack if he saw me here; if he decides to and I'm still here I'll put an end to him real quick.

Lester said, "I only hope you're right A.J.; we can't afford another attack from that beast; he nearly wiped us out the first time."

A few hours had passed and everything was quiet and peaceful. A.J. and the boys were quietly exploring the city when suddenly they heard a faint roar in the distance. Bobby said, "Did you guys hear what I just heard?". Jefferey replied, "Yeah, I heard it too, what was it, A.J.?"

A.J. looked off at the seaport and said, "I don't know fellas but I think we're about to find out." All 3 looked out and rising up out of the water was the very monster that Lester had alluded to earlier! Panic had struck the city instantly and people began running for their lives.

A.J. put the 2 boys down and said, "I want you two to go to City Hall and stay there."

Bobby said, "But A.J.; we wanna help."

A.J. replied, "No guys, it's too dangerous; let me handle this; I'll come back for you I promise." A.J. then headed to shore to confront the monster.

By the time A.J. reached the shoreline the monster had already made it ashore. A.J. walked right up to the monster and to his surprise the monster only came up to his waist! A.J. laughed hard and said, "This is going to be a piece of cake!" Both A.J. and the monster began to battle.

A.J. had very little trouble forcing the monster back into the water. He wanted to try to keep the battle there so the city and it's people would be spared. A.J. and the monster fought furiously and at one point A.J. showed incredible strength by lifting the monster over his head and throwing it farther out into the water.

The monster battled back swatting at A.J. and even nailed him with a glancing blow to the head. A.J. just shook it off and picked up the monster over his head yet again and was going to throw him when he looked at the water and saw a strange glow. He held on to the monster with one arm and reached underwater with the other arm.

Within seconds A.J. pulled out a green glowing space rock that had crashed underwater! Could this be the source of the monster's power? A.J. threw the rock in one mighty toss and hurled it back into space. He was about to throw the monster again when he suddenly felt the monster getting smaller.

A.J. held the monster and watched as it continued to shrink and before long the "monster" was nothing more than an ordinary sea otter! It had been mutated when the space rock landed on earth! Knowing that this was one of God's creatures A.J. walked to a remote spot on the shore and very gently placed the otter in the water and let it swim away.

A.J. got out of the water and went back to city hall where the boys waited on him. Bobby was relieved A.J. was ok and said, "Did you beat the monster A.J.?"

A.J. replied, "Yup I sure did; even found out what its source of power was; it was just a sea otter that had been mutated by a space rock."

Later that day a huge celebration was held in A.J.'s honor for his help in saving Pearl City from the fire and the monster. A.J. was rewarded with a medal (that he used as a ring instead of neckwear) and the mayor said that A.J. was welcome to visit the city anytime he wanted.

A.J. said, "I was glad I could help everyone out; I want to thank you all for your kindness during my stay here; but now if you'll excuse me there is someone I need to keep a promise to." Remembering the little 3 year old boy he had saved before; A.J. asked the mayor where he lived so he could pay the little boy a visit.

The mayor pointed to 34th street and said, "He and his mother live in the 3rd row house on the right; you can't miss it." A.J. and the boys thanked the mayor and told him they would return before they left. Then A.J. and the boys went off to visit the little boy just as A.J. had promised.

Outside, A.J. said, "Knock on the door for me Bobby." Bobby knocked on the door and the little boy's mother answered; when she saw A.J. a big smile crossed her face and she went back in to get her little boy. When she brought him out he looked up and when he saw A.J. his face lit up with joy.

His mother put him down and instantly the little boy ran to A.J. who had his hand on the ground. A.J. looked at Bobby and said, "Help the little guy into my hand, Bobby." Bobby lifted the little boy up who to him was quite heavy for a 3 year old and put him in A.J.'s hand. A.J. very very carefully lifted him up.

A.J. looked at the little 3 year old whose name was Tyler sitting in his hand. He was amazingly tiny sitting there. A.J. said to Tyler in a gentle voice, "Here I am buddy, just as I promised." The little boy looked up at A.J. and in a little voice said, "Are we friends?" A.J. smiled and said, "Friends forever little guy.....friends forever."

Tyler reached up as if wanting a hug from A.J. and A.J. brought his huge finger down and Tyler hugged it.

Tyler's mom was amazed at how such a huge person could be so incredibly gentle with her son. She again thanked A.J. for everything he had done for them and said he could come visit Tyler whenever he wanted. A.J. said, "I'd like that very much ma'am." Tyler's mom smiled up at him.

A.J. looked down at Tyler and said, "Well little buddy, I have to go now." Tyler looked at A.J. and said in a little voice, "Will you be back?"

A.J. smiled and said, "I promise little buddy, I'll be back to see you soon." He very gently placed his hand on the ground and Bobby lifted Tyler out of A.J.'s hand.

Tyler went back and stood by his mom and said, "Bye A.J." A.J. was surprised to hear Tyler finally say his name and said, "Goodbye Tyler, I'll be back to see you again ok buddy?" Tyler smiled and said with a giggle, "OK". Then A.J., Bobby, and Jefferey left the city and began the trip home.

THE END