Going On--Finding Human, by Timothy

I started Going One several years ago. Dealt with a man with no name who finds himself shrunken and doesn't remember how and who he is. He has all sorts of strange and scary adventures.

Going On: Finding Human

My body aches for want of food. The bit of news paper I have been wearing for clothing is coming a part. Strange or funny. However you want to look at it. I tore this tiny piece of paper from an ad for a giant sale at a local furniture warehouse.

I saw shinning under the light of day a discarded gum wrapper. Seeing the giants were not nearby, I ran for it. Once in my hands I brought it with me behind one of those coin operated newspaper stands. This green metal stand stood above my the size of a three story family house. The gum wrapper once in my thinning and boney hands I tore a piece to fit around my waist. It smelled of peppermint.

I wanted so much to eat. I wanted to seek help. The people I had in the past who took me in mistreated me. I remember the teen and his brother who had found me. I was nothing but a living toy to them. The older of the two used me as a living nose wipe. Whenever his nose began to run he used me to wipe away the goo. He then wiped me off on the seat of his pants. It took me a while to pull this foul goo from my hair and face. Then there was the stupid backyard races. I would run then he would catch me with his net. Oneday, I made it to some bushes where I could escape. His giant hand searched angerly for me. I escaped to surive and with dignity fitting a person. After that though, I became afraid of making contact.

I found a place at the local supermarket. In a hole in the cement wall underneath the loading dock. Strange, you would think being a place that sold food I would have my fill. I was sadly mistaken. They kept it spotless for fear of rats. All refuge went into the dumpster that was as big as a small office building to me. Once in awhile food would drop and I would have my fill of bread, bananas and bits of deli meats.

Sometimes the bag-boys on break would sit on the edge of the loading dock dangling their huge shoes and eat their lunch. Again I wanted to get their attention for help but I would lose my courage and stand back and only watch these giant boys who reminded me of those huge statues you see in photos of Egypt.

Once a cat had me cornered next to a row of glass bottles that had been placed near my hole. I saw a group of stockers who looked around college age. Fearing I was going to get eaten, I tried to get their attention. I was just to far away and to small to be scene. The cat lost interest and left.

There was this cashier who everyday at the sametime came out on break I guess, to have a cigarette. I thought of getting her attention and maybe ending up safe in her pink store smock she wore. She made me wonder if I was married. And I wondered if I had kids. Even if I did, at this size I would be nothing but an action figure or pet to them. I just didn't know what my life as one of these giants had been. All I knew I was around my late twenties.

When the cashier had to leave she always threw her butt into the loading dock. I would run to it and use the last of it to warm myself with. I would see red lipstick at its end. I would think again, "Is their a woman waiting for me?"

At night when the store was closed, gangs of street toughs would come to hang out. I would just stay deep in the hole.

It came to pass that once out looking for food they had sealed up the hole iI had been living in. I was devastated. I was back on the sidewalk. Getting food became harder. I wanted to make contect, not just for food so I could live, but to be near and interact with another person. I think that was one of the factors that was killing me. The loneliness.

Out on the sidewalk early in the morning a car drove by close to the curve. I was walking or staggering alone its edge. The car stopped waiting for a green light. A woman with dark skin and dark hair stuck her head out. She seemed to be transfixed on something near me. Her eyes then opened widder with a surprised look. She withdrew her head. She then started saying something to the driver. The car began to move. The woman stuck her head out again. She said something and then threw an object out onto the sidewalk. I went up to it. It was dark purple. I realized as I drew closer to it, it was part of a blueberry muffin. I with weary arms picked it up and went behind some street trash and began to eat it. It was moist and tasty. It felt so good as it went down my dry and swollen throat.

Soon however, the cramps of hunger came back. I had it. I wlked out on the sidewalk. Let an animal or person crush me. I came up to a pair of sneakers. They were black and white. They looked new. They had the fresh rubber smell of a new sneakers. Drapping over them was the cuff to a pair of denims. The denim ran up the leg many stories. Reaching up with the last of my energy I pulled on the cuff and hoisted myself up into it. I panted from the chore. I layed on my back at the bottom of some stranger's cuff waiting for death.

After sometime I do not know how long the cuff began to move. I went in and out of consciousness. I heard the sound of many giant voices. And at some point giant music.

Later, I woke up to violent swinging. I was surprised to still be alive. I then tried to stand up. When I finally did, I fell out of the cuff onto a brown carpeted floor. The floor stretched before me for miles. All sorts of huge objects that would belong to a giant was scattered far off into the distance.

I had a shock. When I turned around the tips of the black and white sneakers where before me. I stumbled back. I tried to look up. Above the hundred foot high pants and far above the white shirt was a giant face...................

I could only see the underside of thehuge face. The chin the two dark nostrals and jet black hair that fell over the cliff that was the guy's forehead. was all I could see.

I didn't know what to do. I said outloud, "Enough. I began to run away from the sneakers. If he thinks I'm a bug, I can only hope he slams his foot down hard so my end will be quick."

My running was uneven. I zigged zagged for maybe a minute before falling flat on my face. I let out a tired sigh. I turned over on my back. It was then the loud thumping and rumbling began. The shock was so intense it hurt my back. The two hundred foot high pant legs came over me. "This is it," I thought. The hundred tall pant legs stopped. Like two brown moons, this giant seemed to be looking down at me. There was something odd about the eyes. A gust of wind and pressure came down on me as the giant stooped. Two fingers the width of trees seemed to suddenly appear. They came down from the heavens for me. They clamped on both sides of my chest. Fingers that could easily crush my ribcage as if it was nothing. I was elevated up. Then lowered onto a warm surface. The fingers released me. I figured with a slow working mind I was on the giant's hand. Another finger came down and its tip moved my head gently from side to side. It then moved my arms. It then came to rest over my heart. The tip of this mighty finger was just about the width of my chest. I wondered what was next. The finger retreated and the face drew nearer. I looked up at the giant nose where warm air raced over me. The brown eyes I found seemed odd to me because they were slanted.

Movement started again. The giant remained quiet which scared me. He deposited me on a cool surface. I felt to weak to stand so I just sat their. The giant's face filled the sky before me. He then spoke, "Who are you?" His draught breath hit me like the wind of a summer storm. I tried to talk but I was too weak to make my voice heard. Only a whisper came out.

I felt the pain of hunger again. I jestured to my stomach. And made the jesture of drinking from a glass. He nodded his huge head and his jet black hair bounced in front of his massive forehead. He left thundering as he did.

Around my like strange buildings were the sides of books stacked on top of each other. And unopened stacks of paper. My mind being weak I had no sense of the passage of time but when the giant returned he had a plastic bottle cap in his hands. He placed it down before me. He then placed bits of bread and meat down. I on hands and knees crawled over to the cap. It was filled with water. Using my hand like a cup I scouped up the cool water. And when I took a sip; moved it around my dry mouth and swallowed. I crawled to the bits of meat and tryed not to tear into the meat like a wild animal. During my meal the giant stared at me. When I looked up at the sky filling face, the giant had a slight grin and wonder in his eyes.

For a few minutes I drank and ate. I felt a quiet calm come over me, I layed on my side and fell to sleep.

When I woke up, my body still ached but I felt more alert as if the body was coming back to life. I found I had been placed on a white soft surface. It was a giant tube sock. The giant was no where to be seen. Shortly though, I heard his earthquake sounding steps. As he came over I had a chance to really see his face. He looked asian, maybe of Japanese decent. He looked around twenty. He had a few soccer ball size pimples on his forehead. "How you feeling?" he asked.

I tried to shout, but still couldn't. He put his face right on top of me then turned his head so his mammouth ear was infront of me. Using as much strenth, I tried to shout, "Much better." He shook his gigantic head.

Still feeling unsteady, I crawled over to the bread. When I took the bread I felt tears come to my eyes. I got onto my knees; lifted the bread toward his face and lowered my head as if in prayer. I just sobbed. He said, "Don't do that. Its ok." The tip of a giant finger slowly lifted my head up.

I grabbed on to his finger, wrapping my arms around it and tried to shout, "You saved me from death and showed me kindness. Me a three inch person." I rested my head down on his finger crying.

"Your a living thing whatelse could I have done."

I hung on to his warm finger for a while, then I lifted my head, released my arms from the finger.

"My name is Dan Oda and welcome."

For the next several days I re-gained my strength. And learned to live in my giant world with Dan. He kept my presence for a while a secret. He wanted to introduce me to his parents but wanted me to be stronger and also find away to approach them about it. The same went with his younger brother and sister. As Dan put it, "They are great kids but hyper. I need to explain to them your size and who you are. Otherwize they may crush you with good intentions. And the importance about keeping this in the family. I don't want you taken away to some lab. There are dangers to consider." I agreed with him.

It was difficult being three inches and trying to talk and explain about myself To Dan, but we found ways. I would stand on his key board while his tree size fingers would type away at letters I pointed to. That worked out very well.

My life with Dan was an interesting one. At night I would travel by pocket of his bathrobe or pajamas to the bathroom where we both cleaned up. I found Dan was part of the orchestra at his college. He also was part of the school swimming team. He lead a busy life.

When Dan would sit down next to me, it was hard to believe I was once so very huge. Once when he sat down, he was wearing a pair of black sweat pants. The opening of the pocket was well over my head. The pocket itself was to me, the size of a small room.

Dan would bring me to his classes. Sometimes, I would be riding in the pocket of his pants. Or he would place me behind his ear like a pencil; his thick black hair would hide me. Othertimes, he would place me in the hood of his sweat jacket. I would be in the deep recesses of the hood while the folds of fleece surrounded me. At times, I liked to crawl out of the hood, grab on to his long black hair and crawl up into the thick head of hair. I would peek out at the giant world from this field of black. Many times out with his friends; Dan would have me in one of his pockets. When they went to the movies Dan had a couple of shirts where the breast pocket had a hole cut in it so I could watch the movie. And he would slip in a kernal of pop corn or piece of candy. And their were times I used small pices of wood in the pocket if I needed to stand and watch the film while my arms rested on the lip of the pocket.

Being small it was hard to find ways to return his kindness. So at times when he was tired or too serious over something and when he was stretched out on his bed, I would climb up on to his chest and do a silly dance. He would chuckle. A few times I had been able to help him fix a radio or computer by using my small size to go inside the main body of these things.

Maybe I will end up as sort of a pet. But I felt who cares as long as I can bring some happiness to the guy who saved my life and made me feel human again by showing what human kindness can be.

FIN