INTERVIEWS WITH CHARACTER
DIANA
I am escorted to our meeting place blindfolded, with earmuffs firmly around my ears and my hands
bound in front of me. The friends of my quarry are very protective; these measures are taken to
ensure the privacy of the individual is maintained. There is no way for me to know exactly where it
is that I am being taken.
It takes only a couple of hours to arrive. I am led out of the car and walked a short distance, where I
am seated in a camp chair apparently brought for this purpose. My blindfold and fetters are
removed, and I am at last able to see my surroundings. It is a fairly large clearing, almost as large
across as a town square. It still does not large enough for my contact.
The young woman that I have come to meet is sitting on a large boulder, looking a little
uncomfortable. She has the body of a high school cheerleader, with long blond hair, baby blue eyes,
and a heart-shaped face. Her beauty is staggering to behold, despite, or perhaps enhanced by, the
fact that she is wearing what appears to be cave-man era attire; a wide fur top that wraps around
and supports her and a long skirt of similar material that goes down almost to her ankles. The only
out-of place attire is a wide metal bracelet on her left forearm. Well, that and the fact that she is
over fifty feet tall, perfectly proportioned, and has enough strength to rip trees out of the ground
and hurl them great distances.
“So, what can I tell you?” she asks me a little nervously. It is clear she has never been interviewed
before, but is trying to act as if it is all commonplace.
“Why don’t you start by telling us how you came to be this way?”
“It wasn’t on purpose. At least, not my purpose. I had been working late that night for the shelter?”
“Is that the Red Cross Shelter down on Sapwood Street?”
“No, this is the smaller one, near the edge of town on Sycamore Street. Anyway, I had been asked
just that night to give the Keystone speech for the upcoming Halloween event. It was on Saturday,
and that day was Thursday, so I didn’t have a lot of time. My boss told me to get a…ah…sexy
costume.” She blushes slightly and hurriedly clears her throat. “I left work with the full intent of
getting something that would satisfy the needs of the clinic and still be something I would wear.”
“The needs of the Clinic?”
“Yes. The clinic had been running short of money for several years. Each time our politicians just
put it on the back burner. They didn’t want to know how many cases we handled, how much illness
was on the streets. They didn’t care about how many homeless people we sheltered or kept safe at
night from the gangs that roamed the streets after dark. Unless they could play it up to their
advantage, they just weren’t interested in providing any funding, and donations had been getting
harder to come by. This party was hopefully going to change all that.”
“By looking sexy?”
She laughs slightly, and the red in her cheeks gets a little darker. “Well, some of that I suppose. I had
been hoping that more would be listening to my words rather than staring at my…chest. To be
honest, I knew that wasn’t going to be the case, but I still hoped. Anyway, all of our current
investors were going to be there, as well as other businesses in town and even from the city. My
boss was hoping that having me plead our case would bring in some money.”
“So you went shopping.”
“It was all on my own dime.” She tells me fiercely, leaning over me. I shrink back slightly alarmed at
her vehemence, and she continues.
“I didn’t take a penny from the till to pay for this costume! I knew it was going to be expensive, but
the shelter needed the money, and I was still living with my parents who would help me. I didn’t
consider it a business expense at all. Just a necessary one.”
“And you added to the till when you assisted a young woman who had been hurt that night.” I say
quietly.
“How did you?? Yes, I suppose you’re right. She had been picked on by thugs after being threatened
to supply cash or face living on the streets. She had taken to walking for her cash, but these men
weren’t going to pay and she was realizing how big of a mistake she was making.”
“You frightened them off.”
“Yes.”
“With your cellphone.”
“You’re pretty well informed for…of course. Well, you’re right. I told them that I had 9-1-1 dialed
and that they would be there in seconds. They took off running.”
“Even though your phone was, in fact, turned off?”
“Yep. Hadn’t thought about turning it on when I left the center, didn’t even occur to me until the
confrontation, and turning it on then would alert them before I was ready.”
“And when you came back?”
“I had Crystal in tow. Belle looked her over, and I paid for a new outfit for her to wear. Those bullies
had torn through her shirt and the waistband of her pants. Really, she was nearly completely
exposed. The girl definitely needed a new wardrobe.”
“But why not supply her with normal far from the shelter? Or at the very least, consider it a
necessary expense for the shelter as part of its mission?”
“Weren’t you listening? The clinic was going belly-up fast, it didn’t have spare cash. The clothing we
had was in the gift shop for the odd tourist or lookie loo that came by and wanted a souvenir. I paid
the price for it and gave the clothing to Crystal. There is nothing wrong with that.” She is looking
increasingly upset with the line of questioning, and I hastily change the subject.
“So, after the day at the clinic, you went down to find a costume.”
“Yeah. It wasn’t easy. The ones that would save the clinic were all slutty nurse costumes or things
that, if you sneezed, would fall off completely. I mean, for God’s sake! I saw one that had the top of
someone’s…um…” she breaks off in embarrassed silence for only a moment before continuing on.
“All right, nipple showing. How can we say our society wasn’t decadent? Anyway, there was no way
I was going to wear any of that at all. I was running out of time and stores, and was worried that I
would have no choice in the matter, when I spotted this sandwich board advertising a costume shop
called Enchanted Threads. I took it as a sign of good fortune, and hurried into it.”
“What did you find?”
“It was just a costume shop, or so I thought. There were rows upon rows of costumes, many I
couldn’t even begin to guess at, and plenty of options. I heard this thumping noise, and I turned
around to see this old man coming towards me, hobbling on his cane. I walked over and we fell to
talking. He wanted to know what kind of costume I wanted, so I told him. He asked me if I was sure I
wanted something sexy, and I told him yes, explaining the plight of the center. He told me he had
something special in the back that just might work for me. He came back with what you see before
you.” She gestures ruefully at the outfit she is wearing.
“Well, I can tell you, I thought I had found something perfect. It appeared more like a dress that
could be found on the Hawaiian Islands, and still be considered decent. I bout it and he told me
something strange. He explained that the store had a policy of No Returns once bought. I thought
that was strange, but he had cut me a great deal on the costume, and was afraid of offending him. He
told me there was a fitting room in the back, and I went to try it on. It was surprisingly warm and
comfortable, even the stilts were nice.”
“Stilts?”
“Oh yes, the costume included a pair of stilts done up to look like giant’s feet. I slid them on and they
fit just like oversize boots. I was happy. It seemed like the perfect costume for me, and just one last
item to snap on.”
“The bracelet.” I prompted.
“The moment I snapped it on, I felt this strange…sensation. I’d call it pain, but it was too intense and
to fleeting to be really noticed. I-I think the real pain I was feeling at the time was my exit through
the roof. That compression, and feeling of being squeezed then set free.”
“What did you do then?”
“Stood around like a bloody idiot, wondering what the heck had happened. I realized that I had
fallen for a trap, and had somehow become a true Giant.”
“And?”
“And what? I panicked. I had this sudden urge to get as far away from the town as I possibly could. I
was also anxious not to be seen, until I figure this out. I crept from building to building in shadow as
best I could, to escape. It wasn’t until I made it most of the way out that I spotted Belle making her
way home. I stopped her and begged for help.”
“Stopped her?” I asked.
“Just waited in the shadow of this large abandoned factory that was scheduled to be demolished.
When she walked by, I picked her up. She was a little…all right, maybe more than a little, frightened
at first, but she quickly caught up. She was the one who suggested the park.”
“The one up by the dam?”
“That’s right.”
“And what happened next?”
“I settled down. I didn’t know how long I was going to be there, didn’t want to go back and have my
secret exposed to the world, I especially didn’t want to appear on national television in this outfit!”
She cracks a laugh. “Just think of what my parents would say!”
“How did you settle down?”
“Hmm? Oh, well I built myself a little shelter deep in the forest. Couldn’t make it too elaborate, or it
was likely to get noticed. It was just a set of boulders big enough for me to stand beside pushed
together to form the back and sides, with fallen logs pushed together above. Then I used needles
and grass to fill in the cracks to try and keep the rain out. Surprisingly, it worked!” She seems
amused by her efforts. “At first, I was so terrified of being seen by anyone I spent all day in that hut,
rarely coming out except to find things to eat. After it was straight back to that hut!”
“What exactly do you eat?”
She looks down at her hands, suddenly sad. “It?it wasn’t easy, you know, to adjust to such a
lifestyle. I had eaten balanced meals all of my life, perhaps going a little heavier on the salads, fruits
and vegetables I loved. But as a giant, well…”
She looks at me earnestly. “It’s not true, what the legends say. We don’t have to eat meat. I raided
small outlying farms, taking some fruit off the trees here and there, not enough to hurt them, and
snuck back into the forest. But the takings were so slim! I wasn’t feeling well, and my hunger kept
growing. As much as I hated it, I…switched to having to hunt to survive. I turned out to be
surprisingly good at it, deer and other animals are busy looking at ground height for danger, and
never saw me in the trees. I’m not proud of it, but I managed to satisfy my hunger and keep myself
healthy. And Belle helped me pay for the apples I took.”
She adds quickly. “Whenever I saw a big job I could help out with, I did. They had this big tree come
down on one of the houses. They turned in for the night after lopping some of the limbs off, going to
get a big rig to pull it out in the morning, I guess. I crept in that night and took the tree off the house
and set it next to the barn. I imagine they were quite surprised in the morning!”
“And? Did your family ever find out where you were?”
“Well, yes, but that would be telling? After all, you haven’t written that section of my life yet.”
I am completely taken aback, looking up at her twinkling eyes I felt a little unnerved.
“What, you thought I wouldn’t figure it out? It was pretty obvious now, wasn’t it?”
“I?I guess you’re right.” I admitted.
“That’s okay. I was kind of curious to see how far this went.”
“Not much longer, I’m afraid. Time is starting to run out.” I gesture to the sun.
“True. Alright, let me ask you a question.”
“Shoot.”
“When are you going to let me continue my life?” Her manner is serious, and I can see she is tensing
up. I choose my words carefully.
“Diana, I know you are frightened right now, but you will do the greatest good here. You will know
it when you see it. You’re already a brave and wise person, willing to help anybody in need. You
proved it with Crystal, and those mountain climbers that got into trouble, and that lost child in the
woods. You kept her from getting eaten by that bear after she got too close to the cubs. Your deeds
are not yet finished, and you haven’t even faced your greatest challenge yet.”
“Which is?”
I smile. “Well, that would be telling. Suffice to say however, it will change you in ways you do not
expect.”
“That’s not an answer.” She looks at me with a slight smile and laughter around her eyes.
“It’s all I can give.”