Hello, I hope everyone has been doing well since I went offline two years ago. Without further ado, here is the long awaited chapter since the last update.

Chapter 8

Jack

There's uh, not much fresh air in here. Oof, smells like sweat." Jack complained but he had more reason to worry beyond the stench surrounding the young giantess's pocket. The area snugged every inch of his body due to the amount of wool from within. It wouldn't be so bad if it not only prevented him from moving around, but the wool warmed him up exponentially. He embraced the warmth for a first few minutes but the continuous heat plus his body temperature and he began to sweat and pant for every breath he took. Afraid of catching a heatstroke, Jack decided he must find the opening of his stuffy prison, even though this was easier said than done because he had no idea how deep Inma's pockets were and with no light shining through, he could only hope he'd make it in time for some fresh air.

The tiny farmer felt humiliated about crawling on fours because this made him feel no different from the animals in his farm. Yet, there was one animal that stood out from all other livestock. For as long as he could remember, he had absolutely hated the family cow. Anytime he was asked to feed or milk it, that one cow always gave him a hard time. From kicking, biting, and mooed uncontrollably, his only happy memory with that cow was when he sold it off for the beans. It was at the moment he finally understood why his mom berated him over selling their most valuable possession for three measly beans. He could hardly imagine the alternative. Had the beans not been magical, he would've been the biggest idiot in all the land for falling for the most obvious scam.

"If I make it alive from this adventure, the first thing I'm doing is buying the family cow back. That's the least I can do for my mom" Jack thought. He had no idea how much time had passed during his exploration, but he felt liberated the moment he popped his head out of Inma's pocket. The charcoal hair farmer was in such bliss he was unable to avoid an upcoming flurry of leaves whipping his face until his captor stopped running.

Inma

The blonde child thought about what she had just said to her father and although she wants to show Jack to her father, she wasn't sure if her tiny human would be on board with the idea. For now, she wanted to earn her tiny human's trust first. Her legs continued to carry her across the vast field of crops, beyond the carrots and the potatoes from her home to her favorite spot at the cornfield . Just by the edge of her home was a river streaming from the depths of the forest and ran for miles. For Inma, she loved playing the water because she enjoyed kicking her feet in the water and splashing back and forth with her dad to their heart's content.

This time around, the river was more shallow than usual and only went past her ankles. The long windy river that streamed mildly downwards from the depths of the forest nearby to well past her house and stretched for as far as the eye can see before falling from the edge of the land of the giants. She would've loved to have venture into the forest afterwards, but she needed to notify her father first. She shrugged and began to plot how to make do with where she was now. It was only then that the young giantess felt something squirming in her pocket. She was confused for a second but immediately pulled out her hand, pinched onto the source of such sensation and brought it up to her eye level.

"And what were you doing just now, Little Man?" The blonde child looked at her tiny human with a disappointment scowl, whom she noticed was unresponsive.

"I looked away for one minute and you're already planning to escape again. You better have a good explanation for this" She glared at Jack.

"I'm sorry, I-I wasn't trying to run away from you. It's just your pocket was really stuffy and I was suffocating, so I needed to get myself some fresh air. Please forgive me, m-miss Inma. Jack pleaded for his life was at the mercy of a child who could easily crush him with her thumb.

The young giantess said nothing and continued to stare at him with an irked expression. Eventually Inma's facial expression mellowed and she sighed in concession.

"I'm the one who should apologize, I'm the one who accused you of running away when you had a good reason to peek out of my pocket. You're just so small and I want to protect you." The blonde child spoke aloud. She saw Jack flinched once more but this time she assumed it was because of how loudly she was speaking. They were both getting used to one another but Inma felt she needed to be more mindful of the farmer's little ears along with his well-being.

"I don't want scold you but, please to call me "miss". I don't want us to feel distant. Here, Let me make it up to you". Inma spoke softly and placed the tiny farmer onto the palm of her hand. She then brought him up to her to her face and lowered her head.

Jack

The young farmer was taken aback when the blonde giantess brought her face before him and he stared at the behemoth that is her nose. He was afraid of any slight movement from him or Inma would causing a reaction and blow him away to who knows where using only her nostrils. He just stood there awkwardly when all of a sudden, the young giantess's nose reached ever so closer to poke his body. It was then that Jack realized what Inma might have wanted all along and he opened his arms as wide as he could to give the biggest hug possible for a giant nose. Jack slowly began to relax and closed his eyes for he felt assured he had received his captor's forgiveness. Just before Inma's nose pulled away, Jack had only one thought in mind: Women are scary, no matter their size.

The young giantess then caught a whiff of Jack's scent and winced while looking down at him. "When was the last time you took a bath? You're stinky. We'll have some fun today, but please wash yourself and your clothes before we leave this spot. Maybe even both" The young giantess said as she lifted her nose away from her tiny human.

"You done?" Jack announced as his face glowed with red from both embarrassment and the pain of being whipped by multiple gigantic leaves.

"Sorry, but you can't blame me. Us giants like to tell it like it is. Thanks for being so patient.

"You're lucky to have a friend who is about 60 feet tall. Just as I am lucky to have a tall dad who's about 100 feet tall, no one dares to pick on his little girl. Hopefully I catch up to him someday" Inma giggled along with a wink. Jack was simply mind blown over both Inma's and her father's height. It was official that Inma was by far the tallest friend he, let alone any human could befriend. That and the blonde child's height was not even the average height for a giant in this world.

"If I'm being honest, I'm still kinda scared over your sudden change in attitude, but since nobody got hurt in the process, I'll let it slide this time" Jack said

"Like you have a say in how I treat you" Inma stated bluntly.

"Fair enough" Jack sighed and then shrugged.

The charcoal hair teen nodded and felt the gravity within the area sink from Inma lowering her hand and placing it onto the ground. He cautiously stepped out of the giantess's hand and looked around his new surroundings. Perhaps because he was beginning to get accustomed to seeing everything larger than life itself, or it could be because he grew up around crops and being close to the soil was a norm for him. Jack spun in a circle ever so slowly and was amazed at the giant poles of cornstalk that towered before him. He sought out this place to find treasures, instead he found a different form of goodies.

Just one of these giant corns could feed him and his mom for months and maybe be revered as a savior who lifted the entire valley out of a famine. The young farmer ended his fantasy abruptly and shook his head because he knew it would only be a matter of time before everyone in his land would get sick of tired of eating corn. It was a short-term gain at best. Jack then decided to crouch to the ground and then walked toward the river. He only needed a moment to confirm that not only is the soil fertile but it had been tended every day. Clearly the people in this world did not have to worry about famines. He kneeled down and managed to get a peek of himself in the water's reflection. He was aware he had smelled thanks to his captor's comments, but how he had been able to live his life up until now was beyond him. Inspecting up close to the river's reflection, he inspected the river up close and was appalled by his appearance.

If anyone from Jack's childhood friends and bullies witnessed the embarrassing state he was currently in, he would've crawled underneath a rock and never come out. His face was swollen from the flurry of leaves that that slapped him during the moment he sticked his head out if Inma's pocket. Aside from clear marks of leaves that slapped his face, every inch of him was caked with dirt and sweat. On top of that, his clothes were also covered in dirt and sweat. When he decided to inspect his arm to see the severity of his condition. To his relief, his arm was the same caramel color he had been born with. It was at that moment he accepted just how disgusting he looked as of now and walked up to the water, kneeled on his knees and started washing his face.

Inma

The blonde child brushed her hair to her right shoulder and sat down, looking up at the sky. While waiting on her tiny friend, Inma figured she would pass the time by creating pictures with cumulus clouds above her. The weather as of now was partly cloudy with patches of the blue all over the sky. Thanks to the numerous clouds that have spawned, Inma's only limitation was her imagination. The first image that came to the young giantess's mind went to a cluster of clouds forming the shape of big leaves. "Hey that looks just like the leaves from that plant you were on, Jack!" Inma bellowed. She looked down at her tiny not with disappointment, but with curiosity. She lost track of the leaf shaped clouds, but she was able to spot new figures: the first being a big goose followed by a couple of eggs.

"Aww, it's a mama goose taking care of her babies." She said out loud.

"Ooh, that one looks like a harp." Inma had fun looking up and playing make believe but after a while she began to feel bored. The forest across the river showcased the luscious green giants that towered the average giant but posed no threat for all they did was provide food and shelter for the animals and give air for all within the land. She was however taken aback over a mysterious figure appeared at the edge of the forest, surrounded by the mist all over its body. The figure easily towered over the trees and appeared to be scourging through the forest in search of something. The figure stood still for a moment and then stabbed the ground and a moment later picked up a freshly killed elk and let out a deep sinister chuckle. Inma began to feel scared and before she could react, the silhouette stared right at her. She couldn't see much with the sudden fog covering her line of sight, but the one characteristic the blond child picked up was this mysterious figure was incredibly obese and that it carried some sort of lance.

Her investigative moment came to an abrupt end because at a moment's notice, the fog gathered and began to form a hideous face. It took the shape of a grotesque male face with its dark grey buzz cut, along the small yet bushy eyebrows and the droopy black mustache, sitting below a giant-sized potato nose was the giveaway of the cloud's gender. The giant head kept getting bigger and bigger until Inma herself felt as small as Jack. Inma knew she was not being the tallest person in the land, but this is the first time in her life she felt like a speck.

The eyes on the oval shaped cumulus began to glow a fiery red glare and opened its mouth wide open, revealing a black abyss as it advanced towards her. The young giantess screamed and flinched by covering her face with her arm as she saw the monster's mouth engulfed her. After a thunderous roar, both the silhouette and grotesque smog disappeared quickly as it came. The blonde child slowly lowered her guard and was relieved the ominous figure was nowhere to be seen, she had no idea who it was but for some reason, her mind recalled the dream she had last night. Inma wondered if there was a connection with this face and the hand from said dream. One thing was for sure, it was time for to get up and get away from this spot but first she needed to pick up her little man.

Jack

The young farmer had no idea what led to this moment. A second ago he was cleaning himself and the next thing he knew, he found himself in the heart of the river. Jack may have some experience of swimming in the past, but his training amounted to nothing in comparison to the sheer strength and size of this torrent. The charcoal-hair teen size had already been given a disadvantage from any scenario against running water. His small stature along with the stream flowing away from Inma meant that unless his captor or some other entity rescued him, all he could do was pray he had enough stamina to stay afloat. He held his head high and motioned his arms and legs nonstop. From Jack was able to see, an unusual amount of mist engulfed Inma ever so slowly, which must have caused her to freaked out. From the young farmer's mind, that would explain how he ended up in the water because he tried to positioned himself close enough to Inma for her to spot him whenever, but keep some distance should she decide to adjust herself. Unfortunately for him, his muscles were beginning to ache once more and lifted an arm and waved it towards the blonde child as a desperate plea for her to finally before he sank into the river. He took deep breath and kept his arm raised until the last second possible.

"Jack… Jack!" A loud voice yelled the tiny human's name out loud. It was muffled, but he was much too occupied on coughing up water he had consumed he was drowning. He rubbed his eyes to get a clearer vision and after somehow surviving the ordeal of nature, Jack was more than happy that his friend, came to his rescue before he drifted into the unknown. Although he was happy to see her face, he couldn't help but notice she appeared distant, even with their size difference. Jack managed to clear both his ears from any remaining water and hoped he could hear the young giantess better.

"If you can hear me, please slide down!" Inma expressed with worry.

Jack wondered why she would give such task until he looked around his surrounding and everything startedto make sense, he was wedged between Inma's first two toes. At any other given moment Jack would've been grossed out, but he had no energy to fight back and frankly, he was grateful his friend saved him and thought to himself: Beggars can't be choosers. But I hope not to get rescued like this again. The tiny human managed to pull himself over and sat on her crevice before sliding down the top of her foot. With that, Jack stared at the giant fingers that plucked him upwards to Inma's face. She smiled softly and let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm so, so sorry for nearly letting you drown under my watch. I'm trying my best to be a good caretaker for you, and I am lucky to have spotted you floating. But I worry that I might lose your trust and you'll hate me." Inma replied as she started crying. Jack was feeling bad because he knew none of this was her fault so there was no need for her to be so hard on herself. He yelled her name as loud as he could and was grateful to get her attention in such a short time.

"Could you please put me down on your shoulder?" Jack asked politely while breathing heavily.

Inma wiped her tears and simply nodded. Jack could feel the full experience of the blonde child's gross motor movement that was her arm and was placed carefully between her neck and shoulder. The charcoal-hair teen steadied himself and looked up at the young giantess who was sniffing and rubbing her eyes and nose with her hand. Jack couldn't stand seeing his friend in distress. He balanced his weight by holding up his arms but slipped down the side of her throat. No matter, he was just happy to have gotten his footing and then grabbed a bundle of her strawberry blonde hair and tied it around his waist. The charcoal hair teen was then greeted by a giant pair of chocolate eyes, staring at him with curiosity.

"Jack, what are you-" Inma looked down at her little man and was shocked to what happened next. The young farmer launched himself from her collar bone and glided in the air. Soon afterwards, Jack lost all momentum of her hair and he was stranded in the middle of the air. His captor's orbs remained focused on him, he assumed she was worried and was ready to catch him should fall. However, Jack was confident in his skill in tying knots.

"You looked like a fly for a second" Inma giggled while Jack rolled his eyes, he had a gut feeling this would be the case.

"It's okay. I'm not mad at you whatsoever, sure my arms and legs feel swollen, but I chose to go the extra mile to make you stop crying. But this isn't about keeping score, this is about taking chances. Opportunities don't come to us on a silver platter. They're sporadic, inconsistent, and leave quickly as they come. I don't know about you, but I'm glad I took a chance to come up here. I'm glad you took a chance to finding me. You should continue doing so not just for my sake, but for yours too. You're a nice person, you have what it takes to do anything you set your heart on. So please, don't punish yourself anymore" Jack broadcasted as loudly as he could.

As a human, the young farmer will always have to keep his guard up with everything in this world for his life could come to an end if so much as a bug crossed his path. Even so, he had gotten comfortable being close to Inma, who was truly making the effort to looking after him. At that moment, his own speech reaffirmed that he too needed to take a chance, not just with his new friend but for himself too. Ever since he could remember, Jack had to become man of the house and complete the daily tasks of a farmer, working every day to earn money for his mom and their house, thus left him with little to no time to hang out with his friends. As such, the charcoal hair teen wanted to embrace his one chance to get a feel of freedom from responsibilities. To find who he was outside of being a farmer.

"Thank you, Jack. You remembered what I said last night about you being my first and only friend. It's tough making friends when you're not only the smallest giant, but flinches anytime someone yells" Inma replied somberly.

"My dad told me something similar about having courage but for some reason, I feel better hearing it from you. I hope we continue taking chances together" Inma spoke softly. The children stayed in silence for a moment. Afterwards, Jack clung onto more of the young giantess's hair.

"I hope this reduces the chances of me falling. And who knows, this method could prove to be useful." Jack said.

Inma rubbed his head carefully with her pointer finger. Jack blushed at her prodding but he was also grateful to have gotten a look at her chocolate orbs. They were a little red from her crying earlier but all in all, he could just tell she was in better spirit. All he could do now was hang tight and not let go. The blonde child got up to crouch so she can splash some water onto her face and then left to go back inside.

Words cannot describe how deeply sorry I am for not being able to post this chapter for the longest time. These past two years, I was swamped with university while keeping myself at ease from homework and COVID-19. It's crazy to think the last time I posted here was just before the world quarantined itself because of the pandemic. As of now, I graduated from university and currently learning to drive while looking for a job. I want to thank Clear-Blood for messaging me whenever he could and I want to thank Cristofer25 for leaving a review for all my chapters. All in all, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Any feedback is always welcomed and I will see you all in the next chapter. Hopefully sooner than two years.

Edit: Man, even I feel depressed from reading this. While I am truly sorry to have taken this long to update, my life is not as gloomy as I make it out here. I have time off to get into stuff I held out on such as watching both live action and animated series, drawing, and learning Japanese. All in all, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Any feedback is always welcomed and I will see you all in the next chapter. Hopefully sooner than two years.