The Giant who Walked Through His DreamsBy TimothyGreat Cyclopean vistas stretched forth before Jonathan. People as big as mountains walked this great land. Jonathan woke up and took the back of his hand and wiped the sweat from off his brow. His body shook with excitment. Leaning up against the head-board to his bed, Jonathan thought. "It always feels so real. I know it is a dream, but the same dream for sixteen years?" At school, on the computer, Jonathan looked up everything he could find on giants. A friend of his, Jane Goodall, came by and said, "Still on the giants." She leaned in close to him. She whispered to him, "You have always been a giant to me. I would love for you to tuck me away in your pocket." He looked up at her big brown eyes. He was about to give her a kiss, when a site that he was looking for popped up. He returned his attention to his screen. "Oh---you--and your giants." Jane left in a huff. He turned and watched her walk away. He wanted to go after her, but his mind went back to his studies. On the screen, he read about giants in human history. He found an article by a Howard Carter, who died fifty years ago and had wrote a book called, "Dream Giant Quest." It talked about his visions of landscapes beyond anything of the scope of man's. And great beings who dwealt there. "Yes, Yes. That is what I see," thought Jonathan. He smiled. "I am not alone then. Others have had this passion." Several hours later, Jonathan was crossing the school campus, when he heard the sound of heavy machinery. The sound surfaced a few images in his mind. The were the images of great beings walking. They made the same labored thumping sound. Jonathan shook his head and tried to ignore the sounds. Andrew Parks, his friend, said, "Hey, Jonathan." He turned to his friend. To his surprise, he heard another voice coming from out of his friends mouth. "Child of endless eons dream me." Jonathan just stared at his friend while the strange voice came out of his mouth. He shook his head to break free of the voice. "Jonathan, you ok?" asked his friend Andrew. "Yeah---ok. Forget it." Forget it? Jonathan wished he could. During the rest of the day, Jonathan kept his thoughts on present matters. His last class of the day was gym class. They were doing rope climbing. The gym teacher, Mr. Baxter, an ex-marine, who still wore his hair in that crew-cut style, said, "Ok girls, hit the ropes." He then blew his whistle. When Jonathan's turn came, he climbed up the rope like an old pro. After reaching the top, he felt that warm daze-like sensation he had when he heard the voice earlier in the day. He was no longer on the ropes, at least not in his own mind, he was drifting over an alien landscape. A landscape he had seen many times in his dreams. Giant buildings, if you could call them that, rose mightly in the air. Great beings worked, lived and played in and around these dwellings that seemed to change shape and color. As he drifted over this world, another conscience seemed to be there with him. A loving presence. And one that seemed, in his heart, to have been waiting eons for him. The gym instructor and the other students looked up at Jonathan, yelling for him to come down. Finally, Mr. Baxter blew on his whistle. Drifting over the landscape, Jonathan heard the whistle. He found himself falling helplessly down toward the giant landscape. Before he hit the ground, for a split second, he thought he saw something that resembled a giant hand, reaching up for him from down below. He felt a thud and a burning pain on the palms of his hand. He had a minor rope burn. Everybody was giving Jonathan a strange look. He just stood there, with a sheepish smile. His friend Andrew came up to him, to see if he was ok. When they headed for the locker room, a Peter Bergeron, whispered under his breath as Jonathan passed him, "Stupid freak." Andrew pushed him aside. "I guess, this is one I will be hearing about for a while," said Jonathan, trying to be light hearted about it. "Don't worry about it, pal. And for Peter, he is nothing but a jerk," said Andrew. Though, inside, Andrew was worried about his friend. On his way home, a car passed Jonathan. It had a group of his fellow school chums in it. One of which was Jane, who looked back at the receding figure of Jonathan, and felt a tug at her heart. At home, Jonathan didn't tell his parents about the two strange occurances. He did ask his parents if there were any mental heath problems on any side of their family. The parents looked at each other with wrinkled brow, and told their son that there wasn't. At bedtime, he lifted his bedroom window up, and looked at the starry sky. He said in a whisper, "What do you want of me?" He shut his window and went to bed wondering. Wondering if he was crazy. During the night, his dreams took him to that land of giants.
Jonathan was floating through a blue cloud. And before him, which caused him to feel humble before the grandeur of the cosmos, was a cluster of seven suns. Passing in front of him was the purple and blue planet. A planet that hung like a rare orb among the other countless planets. This was the planet of the giants. When the dream ended, Jonathan woke up. Looking at his clock, he saw he had a few hours before he had to get up and get ready for school. He couldn't fall back to sleep; he climbed out of bed and went over to his bedroom window. The first rays of dawn was starting to show. He looked and saw, just above a branch of a tree, the constellation of Taurus. Jonathan let out a sigh. The beginning of school started off well. For standing at his locker, was Jane. "Are you ok? I mean, after what happened at gym class yesterday?" asked Jane, shyly. "Oh sure. It's nothing. But thanks for asking." Jonathan, wanted to kick himself after that lame response. The two looked at each other with lambs' eyes. Struggling to talk, "I know lately, that well---I have been kind of weird. But seeing you always brightens me..." Jane smiled. "Don't worry. Yeah, you frustrate me at times with your giants but..." She couldn't finish her sentence either. The two were silent. Then they kissed. "Hey, that looks good. How about letting a real man kiss you," said Peter. Jonathan stiffened up and went right up to him. "Even the thought of you kissing me, makes me want to rinse my mouth," said Jane, spitting out the words. "It's your choice." Peter then walked off, with a cocky grin. "Someday, I'am going to pound that guy's face in."
Jane placed a hand on the side of Jonathan's face. "Why bother with the goof." The bell sounded and it was time for the first class.
"Get out of my face, (blank) brains," replied Jonathan, clenching his fists.
"You (blank) jerk. Try and make me."
Jonathan was feeling his anger rising, when all of a sudden, he found himself drifting over that giant land again.
Peter was confused for a moment, by Jonathan's peaceful face. "Freak," shouted, Peter, who belted Jonathan right in the nose. Blood poured down Jonathan's face. Punch after punch, Jonathan just stood there, oblivious to what was happening to him.
Peter was getting turned on by the pounding he was giving Jonathan's face. And by the blood that was on his hands.
"Stop it!!" screamed Jane, who came into the cafeteria and saw what was taking place. A few other students, pulled Peter off of Jonathan.
Jane took Jonathan's head into her embrace and leaned it up against her chest. "Jonathan what is happening to you? Oh God, what is happening to you."
Jonathan came back to his surroundings. His face smarted from all the punches. He found his head resting on Jane's chest. When he lifted his head up, he saw that her sweater was covered in blood.
Jane and a couple of students helped Jonathan back on to his feet. Jonathan spotted Peter standing with his group of friends. He saw the dried-up blood on Peter's hands. Peter just gave Jonathan a sneer, while he tucked in his shirt tails.
Going down the school hallway to the nurses station, Jane asked, "You ok? You took such a beating."
A warm tingling sensation moved around Jonathan's face. The pain seemed to be dissipating.
Jonathan only saw the school nurse for a few minutes, who felt he was fine.
After school, Jonathan met with Jane and Andrew and another teen named Roger, at a Pizza joint. Andrew smiled as he prepared to sink his teeth into the sausage topped pizza. With his mouth half full, Andrew said, "So Jonathan, you ok?" He then swallowed and took a big gulp from his can of soda.
"Yeah. I guess so. Wished I could have given Peter back a few of his punches." Jonathan sat back in the booth and placed an arm behind Jane. He was glad that the fight was over and to be with his closest friends, especially Jane. But even so, his mind was still troubled by his visions.
"Going to the movies with us tonight?" asked Roger, a short, round-faced boy.
"Sure. What's playing?"
"It's a cool movie," said Roger trying to contain his enthusiasm. "The movie is Giant Teens From Space. It sounds so awesome man."
Jane and Andrew gave Roger a cold stare. "Hey---what did I say." Roger then realized. "Well, there's that new Cliff Peek film, Don't Stop Screaming Until You Are Sure. That sounds cool," suggested Roger, as he sank down in the booth.
"Either film is fine with me," said Jonathan.
After he left the pizza joint, Jonathan headed home. He was glad it was Friday and looked forward to being with Jane. He zipped up his jacket as the wind picked up. Rain clouds had started to appear in the sky.
Before supper, Jonathan told his parents about his visions. Visions he has always had, except now they are getting stronger. His mother left the living room for a moment and then came back with a small gray box. She took out of it a yellowing piece of paper that had a drawing on it in crayon. "You drew this when you were in first grade, said the mother.
Jonathan took the aging, dry paper into his hands. In blue, brown and yellow crayon, was an image of seven suns in a blue cloud and a tiny stick figure before a gigantic hand. "Am I nuts."
"Of-course you're not," said the father. "You have always had an active imagination. Look. Think about it during the weekend, and if you really feel strongly about it, maybe you could see someone to help you through it."
Jonathan didn't like the idea of seeing a shrink, but something has to be done about, he felt.
The father handed Jonathan the keys to the car and told him to be careful and be back before midnite. Pulling out of the driveway, Jonathan was looking forward to a fun time at the movies with his friends. On his way to pick up Jane, the rain started to pour down. The heavy winds caused the limbs of the trees to thrash to and fro.
Jonathan pulled up in front of Jane's house. He rushed through the rain to the front door. Jonathan was wearing a parka. He took it off to cover his and Jane's head with it.
The movie house was downtown. Jonathan and Jane exchanged a few glances at each other. Jane slowly moved her hand over and placed it on Jonathan's knee. He straightened up in his seat and felt so manly. Here he was, with his girl.
A pair of bright lights hit Jonathan's eyes. "What does that guy think he's doing?," said Jane, a bit alarmed.
"He's an idiot," responded Jonathan, trying to avoid the oncoming lights.
There was the sound of squealing brakes. And the horrid sound of bending metal. All Jonathan and Jane knew was the feeling of being turned upside down.
The car had tumbled down a ravine and landed upright. When Jonathan came to, he felt an enormous amont of pain. With great difficulty, he turned toward Jane, who was slumped over in her seat. With the one good arm, Jonathan unbuckled his seat-belt and slowly moved himself toward her.
A warm feeling started to rise through his body. Visions of the giant world appeared in his mind. A voice was calling to him. To come. "No! Not me, her." Jonathan put his hand on Jane's shoulder. "Save her," he said, through tears and sobbing.
It was night out. Taking a hand out of his pocket, Andrew held a piece of paper cut from the newspaper. On it had the location of the constellations for that day. He scaned the heavens with his eyes, until he found what he was looking for. The constellation Taurus. He then spotted the Pleiades. A cluster of seven stars.
Looking up at it, a joy started to embrace him. He put the piece of paper back into his pocket. Andrew started to walk away, when he stopped and looked back up at the stars. He whispered, "I am going to miss you, my friends."
Jonathan had walked out to the edge of the giant finger. He could see and hear the voices of other beings like himself, who were with their giant companions. He turned and looked up at the life giving face. Jonathan was filled with joy.
He lowered his gaze, and held out his hand. Taking his hand, was Jane. The two embraced.
THE END
By Timothy Lacey 01-28-2001
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