The Titan and the Child

A lone stone giant sat quietly on the stump of a once great tree. The forest around him was dull. Dead trees can be found on every turn and the grass struggled to claim its place.

Night and day he ponders on the mysteries of the universe but finds life itself meaningless.

By chance, a little human boy wanders around near his territory. The child playfully runs around only to stop at the sight of the titan. They both stared at each other. The child smiled. The giant raised an eyebrow.

"Hello!" the child greeted him. "It's a wonderful day! Why are you just sitting?"

The giant was familiar with human languages. But his structure made him unable to speak any of them.

"It's pointless" the giant spoke in his ancient tongue. "We're only tiny specks in the grand design of reality. Even those such as myself can look upon the heavens and be humbled by its majesty."

He continued to speak of philosophy and the cosmos. The boy, however, scratched his head and chuckled.

Ignorant of the giant's complex language, he replied "You talk funny."

The giant sighed which sounded like a beast's growl to the boy. In the child's mind, the giant was simple and maybe not too bright.

"I have an idea!" the boy said. "Follow me!"

The giant sat wondering whether or not should he expend energy to follow the tiny human.

"C'mon!!" the boy insisted.

At last, the giant stood up albeit slowly. Only in very few occasions did he resort to mobility.

The child took him to many places. Places that were far more breathtaking than the giant's home. But the giant has already been in all of them and more. As the child explains the wonders of the world, the giant can't help but recall the finality of all things. Even the beauty of Mother Nature ends in due time as things change.

The giant's long life allowed him to witness many things humans will never live long enough to see. And he has witnessed the death of many wonders, his current home being the most recent.

He frowned over his memories which the boy mistook as disgust.

"What's wrong?" the boy asked. "Don't you appreciate these simple things?"

"It's not that" the giant said. He stood up and walked away.

"Wait!" the boy said. But the giant kept going. The boy couldn't keep up and the giant found himself back to his favorite stump.

The sun was about to set when the giant heard screams for help. He recognized the voice. Quickly, he stood up and went his way to the boy.

The human child was cornered by a pack of wolves. Just as they crept closer to him, the earth shuddered followed by the sound of heavy footsteps. The predators fled.

The giant appeared before the boy. "Are you okay?"

On the giant's palm the child sat on and was carried back home. As they near the gates of a kingdom, the giant lowered his palm and the kid hopped off. He thanked the giant and left.

The giant pondered on his actions. Despite finding meaningless and death everywhere, he still felt value in the child's life. He decided to keep himself busy. The forest around him became his garden which he took care of for many years. The once dull forest was now teeming with life.

Though things end, he can keep them alive long enough for others to find meaning with. Several years passed and the giant sat on his favorite tree stump to rest and admire his work.

One day, a king wandered into his territory.

"Old friend!" the monarch said. "It's been so long!"

The giant smiled. "I see you've grown."

The king sat beside the giant. "Nice work you've done here."

"Thanks" the giant said. Only this time, the king understood him perfectly.

"Years back, I didn't understand your point of view" the kind said. "It takes years to understand life and you've lived far longer than any mortal. Finality has inspired me to do great things knowing that my time is insignificant."

"Indeed" the giant replied. "I foolishly took finality as synonymous with being meaningless."

The king smiled. Eventually, the two went back to their separate ways.