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perpetualsarcasmmachine · 1 year

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The Baker and the Botanist

I took a little writing commission from @not-in-the-library to give her characters Jimena and Dhriti a first meeting. It was a lot of fun to write and now I can share it with you. Thank you @not-in-the-library for letting me breathe more life into your characters.

7,500 words of g/t fluff for your reading pleasure.

Chapter One

Jimena Flores Molina ran the best bakery in town. Properly speaking, it was the only bakery in town, and really, it was her parents’ bakery, but it felt like hers and Jimena knew the bakery could have beaten any competitor. Right now, she rather wished they did have competition. It was one of the busiest times of the year for Molina’s Bakery with the Festival of the Hunt just one week away. The bakery’s books were completely full of orders for holiday fare, especially the fluffy, spiced loaves that everyone looked forward to during festival season.

While Jimena was looking forward to eventually enjoying the festival, she first had to get through the rest of the day's orders and close up the shop. There were another thirty loaves to shape and top with a traditional arrow decoration, inventory to take stock of, starters for tomorrow's loaves to be made, and the money to be counted before she could rest and do it all again tomorrow. At the moment, she was preoccupied with the hair that had escaped from her thick, dark braid and was tickling her face, but her hands were covered in butter and the red sugar used to top the hunter's loaf. She jutted her lower lip out, exhaling forcefully in an unsuccessful attempt to blow her hair back into position. She resolved to endure these errant locks while she finished prepping the next batch.

The bell that hung from the bakery's front door clanged, interrupting Jimena. She wiped her sugary hands on the rough fabric of her apron, tucked her hair behind her ears, and went to the counter to see who had arrived. Normally, she would not be responsible for baking and keeping an eye on the shop herself, but her parents were currently visiting a flour mill in search of a new supplier.

Jimena was relieved that it was only Arturo, her delivery man, checking in at the end of his route.

"How did the deliveries go today, Arturo? Any news from the regulars?"

"Smooth sailing, Miss Jimena. Everyone is excited for Molina’s famous hunter bread," Arturo said. "Some of the customers really talked my ear off about it, which, uh, brings me to my next point." Jimena gave him a look. "There's one delivery I didn't have time for. You know the missus wants me home early to help with preparations and the new baby."

She was annoyed but it was a small enough town. One delivery wouldn't cost her too much extra time. "Who was it? I can drop it off on my way home."

"Well. I apologize, Miss Jimena, but it's that big order that goes out to the ranger station."

Jimena sighed. It was going to be a long night.

"Why don't you borrow my bicycle," Arturo continued. "I've already loaded up the order into the cart so it's all ready to go."

Jimena tried to mask her displeasure. Getting upset with the delivery man wouldn't help anything. "I appreciate that, Arturo. Enjoy the time with your family."

"I surely will. Good night, miss!"

After Arturo left, Jimena loaded her last batch of loaves into the oven, removed her apron, and made a quick check of her inventory; it wouldn't do to run out of butter, sugar, or star anise right before the Festival of the Hunt. She scrawled a note for the next week’s order from the general store, then returned to pull the loaves from the oven.

Jimena decided to take the last delivery then come back to the shop in the evening to mix the starters and get the dough ready for an overnight rise. She hung her apron on its peg in the kitchen and headed out the front door where, true to his word, Arturo had left the delivery bike loaded with bread and pastries. Before departing, Jimena dashed back inside to gather up the last of the loaves and pan dulces that hadn't sold that day. She might as well take them to the folks at the ranger station rather than sell them at a day-old discount tomorrow.

She hiked up her skirts and mounted the bike, settling in for the ten-mile ride to the old ranger station.

It was not long before Jimena left the town's paved streets behind and was riding along a wide dirt road through the forest's canopy. She looked up, noticing the sky through the gaps between the crown-shy trees. She had to admit that the ride was a pleasant one, even though it was making for a very long day. The chilly air kept Jimena from overheating and reddened her cheeks as she enjoyed the calm of the forest. It was a refreshing change from the warm and bustling bakery.

After a while, Jimena’s legs grew tired, and the cool air had turned from refreshing to chilly. She tightened her shawl around her shoulders and wondered if she would ever arrive at the ranger station.

Not long after, she glimpsed the station a little farther up the road. She was nearly there!

It took another 10 minutes of furious pedaling to reach the station. She had forgotten it was a mixed-size building. It was so big, that she had assumed she was closer to it than she really had been. It must have been 100 feet tall! Not even the finest buildings in her town were that big. Although, it was extremely rare for a giant to pass through her small town. Maybe the capital had buildings this large, but it had been years since her last trip to the big city.

Jimena dismounted the bicycle and pushed it up a very wide ramp with a gentle incline and approached the door. There was a human-sized door, outfitted with an ornate door knocker in the shape of a wreath, next to, what she assumed was, a door so big that she couldn’t even visualize the person who would use it. Jimena smoothed out her dress, repositioned her shawl, and lifted the knocker to rap on the door.

A minute passed as Jimena waited. She hoped someone was here to take the bread and pay for the order. She could extend some credit, but her parents had lectured her many times before about her soft-hearted approach to collecting payments and she dreaded the thought of hearing it again.

She knocked again, a little more forcefully.

After a moment, she heard shuffling and a loud tapping noise. She had no idea what kind of activity was happening inside but, as long as someone was coming to the door, she was resolved not to complain.

The tapping stopped. In its place was a loud thunk followed by a scraping noise. It sounded a little like a door opening, but she was right in front of the door, and she could see that it was not moving. The noise continued.

Jimena’s mind finally arranged the clues for her in a way she could comprehend. The giant door was opening!

Chapter Two

Jimena was bewildered. There was a giant here? So close to her little town? She had thought the large, weekly delivery to the ranger station was for a group of humans. She knew of giants of course and had even seen one before, but she had never spoken to one!

She looked past the threshold and found herself looking at the giant’s ankles and some kind of large pole. She looked up and then immediately looked back down. Looking up was dizzying. It was like trying to make eye contact with the top of a tree. Jimena was flustered. She had never done business with a giant. She was too overwhelmed to speak.

Fortunately, the giant spoke first. “Hello, are you here with my bread delivery?”

The voice was loud and it was strange to hear someone speaking from so far above, but Jimena managed to answer. “Yes, I’ve brought a cartful for you.”

“Wonderful, I love these little pastries. If you could be so kind as to bring it on to this platform here,” the giant pointed their foot at an area large enough for the bike and its cargo trailer that had railings on three sides, “I can take it from there.”

Jimena walked the bike and its delicious cargo to the space the giant had indicated. “Okay,” she hollered at the giant.

The platform jolted and Jimena nearly lost her balance, grabbing the parked bicycle for stability. She heard creaking and gradually realized the platform was leaving the ground. She was on an elevator! As she ascended, she slowly formed an image of this mysterious giant in her mind. She saw their rough brown pants and, as she reached the giant’s waist, she realized the pole she had seen on the ground was, in fact, a cane. It seemed funny in a way to imagine someone so big needing help to get around, but she supposed anyone could be disabled, even giants. She saw the giant’s loose white shirt, and noticed, as she got even higher, that the giant had left the top unlaced, revealing the smooth V of their chest.

The motion finally stopped and she heard a loud clunk as the giant set a break on the pulley that, Jimena could now see, they had used to pull Jimena to the level of their face.

“Oh,” the giant said softly, “you’re new!”

Jimena looked up at the giant’s face, noticing the scholar’s glasses perched on their nose and the moue of surprise drawn on their mouth. “I’m not new,” was all Jimena could think to say.

“Are you not? You don’t look familiar, but you small people can be quite hard to tell apart from my viewpoint. Uh, respectfully. ” the giant stammered.

Jimena was taller than all her girl cousins and had to squash the impulse to argue about being called “small.” This was neither the time nor the place. Instead she said, “I guess I am new. Arturo usually makes the deliveries. I’m Jimena Flores Molina.”

“Molina,” the giant said thoughtfully, turning the name over in their mouth. “Of course! Molina’s bakery! Tell me, are you the one who has baked all these wonderful treats?”

Jimena smiled, “I don’t bake all of them, but I baked everything I brought today.”

“Marvelous!” the giant said. “You must come in and have something warm before you turn around.” The giant chucked. “I can’t believe I get to meet the baker.”

Jimena looked around. She was suspended dozens of feet in the air with her bicycle. She had no idea what the giant intended to do next or how she was expected to come in. She frowned in confusion.

“Where are my manners!” the giant exclaimed. “My name is Dhriti. I can take your little cart inside for you. I’ll lower this platform back to the ground and you can walk in. There are little stairs and walkways for humans that you can use in the giant part of this building, but let me know if you require assistance.”

Jimena stepped back as Dhirti scooped up the delivery cart, dragging the bicycle with it. “Oops,” Dhriti said. “Do these detach? I don’t wish to damage your transportation.”

“They do,” Jimena responded, “but I don’t have the tool with me to separate them.”

“Not a bother,” Dhirti responded, carefully repositioning the cart and the bicycle in their hand.

Dhriti set their cane against the wall then unlocked the pulley and slowly turned the crank to deliver Jimena back to the ground. Once returned, Jimena took a deep steadying breath. Dhriti waited for Jimena to enter the building before shutting the large door behind them.

Dhriti, cane once more in hand, took large strides deep into the building. Jimena had no choice but to jog to keep the giant in sight and not get lost in the cavernous station. Dhriti stopped in what Jimena thought might be the kitchen, but it was difficult to figure out what anything was from so low to the ground. She heard Dhriti set the bicycle and its cargo on a surface far above her head.

“There’s a lift you can use on the other side of this counter,” Dhriti called down to her. “If you get in, I can pull you up.” Jimena made her way along the giant counter in search of another platform. She found it, and they repeated the process that had brought them face to face at the front door. Although this time, when the lift stopped, she was only as high as Dhriti’s waist. Jimena spied the bicycle on the counter and went to unload the goods.

Dhriti smiled down at Jimena. “Please, let me make you something to drink. Coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate?”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.” It seemed impossible not to impose on someone so much bigger—how hard would it be for her to pour a drink into a human-sized mug?

“No, no, I insist!” Dhriti said.

“Then, um, hot chocolate, please.”

Dhriti swept to the stove, leaving Jimena adrift on the expanse of the kitchen counter. She finished unloading the bread and pastries, which seemed comically tiny now that she knew the recipient. She wondered why no one had ever mentioned that they were supplying a giant with baked goods.

Dhriti made several trips back to Jimena’s counter. First, she placed a steaming, giant-sized mug of chocolate nearby. She returned with a small (for them) plate, and then, in the palm of their hand, a doll-sized mug and plate. As they set the last in front of Jimena, she realized it wasn’t a table setting for a doll, but for her.

Dhriti then dipped the tiny mug into their own, scooping out a portion of hot chocolate for Jimena. “I know this is graceless, but it’s the only way I can fill a cup for you. I apologize,” they said, setting the cup before Jimena. “Oh, let me get you a napkin.” The giant produced a cloth napkin the size of a blanket. Jimena used a corner of it to wipe down her mug then sat on it like she was at a picnic.

She laughed, more from awkwardness than anything else. This had turned into quite an unusual afternoon.

Dhriti peered at her. “Is everything alright?” they asked.

“Yes, it’s just,” Jimena gestured broadly at everything, “I did not expect this. I had no idea this was a delivery for a giant.”

“I’m sorry! I must have startled you,” Dhriti said, the corners of her mouth turning down.

“Please there’s no need to apologize. I,” Jimena paused. “I would have liked to make you some larger bread, had I known.”

Dhriti laughed. Then Jimena laughed too, caught up in the strangeness of it all.

Dhriti sipped their drink then popped a loaf of bread into their mouth. “Delicious as always, Jimena!”

“I’m glad you like it.” The giant’s appreciation warmed her.

“That reminds me, I need to pay you.” Dhriti pulled a coin purse from their pocket and emptied its contents on the counter near Jimena. “Would you mind helping me give you the right change?” Dhriti asked. “I find it dreadfully difficult to tell all those little coins apart, especially with my eyesight,” Dhriti gestured to their glasses.

Jimena kneeled in front of the pile of cash and sorted out her payment, counting out loud to reassure the giant. “Is that it?” Dhriti asked.

Jimena nodded, then realized Dhriti might not be able to see such a relatively tiny gesture. “Yes, that’s it,” she called.

“Please take a little more as a tip. You rode all the way out here. Plus, your bread is worth it!”

Jimena stared at the giant, who eventually leaned over the counter, adjusting their glasses, and gingerly shoved a small pile of coins at her. “That should do it,” they declared. Dhriti then swept the remaining money off the counter, back into their purse. They settled down in a seat next to the counter, setting their cane aside. This brought Dhriti a little closer to Jimena’s level, but it was still impossible to see the giant’s face without standing some ways apart.

“What are these?” Dhriti asked, pointing to one of the seasonal loaves Jimena had made today.

“These are hunter’s loaves. For the Festival of the Hunt next week,” Jimena said. “They’re flavored with orange and anise.”

“Sounds exciting,” Dhriti said, “What does this festival celebrate?” Dhriti squeezed the loaf between their thumb and finger and dropped the whole thing into their mouth. “Delicious!”

“The festival honors the abundance that comes from the land. It’s a feast and celebration before winter. It’s a lot of fun. There’s a parade and lanterns and people fly kites.” Jimena stopped and sighed. “I love it but it’s the busiest time of the year for the bakery, so I don’t get to enjoy the festival as much as I used to.”

She saw that Dhriti’s eyes were fixed on her, wide with curiosity. “Don’t giants celebrate the Festival of the Hunt?”

“Oh, no, but it sounds like a classic sort of harvest celebration, and we do have one of those,” they replied. “Although yours sounds particularly lovely.”

“You should come to the parade next Saturday!” Jimena said, surprising herself.

“That’s very nice of you, but,” Dhriti hesitated, not sure how to politely refuse when the answer felt so obvious to them. “I think I might stand out too much.” Dhriti could sense that Jimena wanted to argue the point and continued, “it’s not safe for a giant to go into a human town like yours. I couldn’t live with myself if my clumsiness harmed one of you little folk.”

This gave Jimena pause. The giant seemed nothing but conscientious to her but she considered, for the first time, her surroundings. Here, everything was giant-sized. It was much easier to feel secure in one’s own environment. There were giant-sized chairs and handholds all around, presumably to help the giant or let them rest when they needed to. She also noticed that there were plants everywhere, placed on any space surface—including the floor—and tucked into every nook that she could see from her countertop vantage.

“You don’t seem clumsy to me,” Jimena finally said.

“That’s very kind of you, but you’ve only known me for five minutes,” Dhriti replied.

In the ensuing silence, Jimena drank from her hot chocolate. It really was warming her, as the giant had suggested. She untied her shawl and set it aside. “You seem to have an awful lot of plants in there.”

Dhriti’s eyes lit up. “Oh, yes! That’s why I’m here, in fact. I’m researching how best to cultivate a plant that has certain medicinal applications. It’s extremely temperamental and difficult to grow at the best of times. I’m investigating how to grow it more efficiently so it can be distributed on a wider scale. I received a grant for the research—” Dhriti paused. “Ah, but I’m sure you don’t care about all of this.”

Jimena had been basking in the giant’s excitement. “No, please continue. I don’t know much about plants beyond what we use in the kitchen, but I love hearing what others are passionate about.”

“I could certainly go on all night, but I would hate to keep you.” Dhriti looked towards the window. “How long will it take you to travel home?”

Jimena realized that it must be getting dark outside. She sighed. “It took me about an hour to ride here.”

“An hour! I forget how different distance is for little folk. I have enjoyed the company but my conscience compels me to see you out so you don’t have to travel home in the dark.”

Jimena didn’t disagree. She took one last swig of her chocolate, then started walking toward the platform at the end of the counter. She had an idea. “Could you just carry me to the door? It seems like it would be easier than pulling these elevators up and down.”

Dhriti’s face blanched. “I would not presume to carry you, Jimena!” Jimena frowned. “Giants don’t take carrying little folk lightly. Furthermore, it’s not easy for me to bend down to the ground in my condition. The lifts are as much for me as for you.”

Jimena felt embarrassed. “I’m sorry, how rude of me!” she said and made her way to the platform.

“No, no. You wouldn’t have known. Please don’t fret on my account.” Dhriti turned the crank to lower Jimena back to the ground. Being on the counter in the giant house was much less overwhelming than being on the floor.

“I’ll take your bicycle back to the front door,” Dhriti said, then clattered off ahead of her. Jimena did not feel like running to keep pace with the giant. She walked, observing the details she had missed on her hurried way in. There were plants everywhere and most of the pots were at least three times her size. She wondered what kinds of things the giant was growing, and how hard it was for them to prune and care for miniature fauna. Jimena thought that Dhriti must have some giant plants too, at least to cook with. It would be impossible to peel garlic cloves at their size. The idea made Jimena giggle.

Jimena reached the threshold as Dhriti was lowering her bicycle to the ground via the lift. This seemed like more work to Jimena than just leaning over and setting it down. She realized the giant must not be exaggerating about the difficulty they had bending over if they were willing to do all this instead.

She walked the bicycle off the platform and turned back to Dhriti to say goodbye. “Are you sure you won’t come to the parade next week?” she asked.

“I’m sorry but it’s hard to hear you. Something about a parade?”

Jimena hopped back onto the platform. Dhriti took her point and raised the lift up to about shoulder height. “Now, what did you say, Jimena?”

“Just, are you sure you don’t want to come to the parade? I think it would be fun.”

The giant smiled sadly. “That is sweet of you but I don’t think it’s wise. Besides, I need to be here, focusing on my work. These plants won’t graft themselves!”

“I understand,” Jimena said.

Dhriti returned Jimena to the ground. She waved and shouted “good bye!” then hopped on her bike to pedal home.

It wasn’t until she got back to the bakery that she realized she had left her shawl.

Chapter Three

Jimena was alone in the bakery again today, but it was Saturday. Molina’s bakery was closed on Sundays, so she didn’t have to end her day with preparations for tomorrow. Once the shop closed, she was free.

That is, she would be free if she had not decided to test the limits of their bread oven to make the biggest loaf possible. She couldn’t stop thinking about Dhriti eating loaves practically the size of a peptia. Jimena could do them better than this.

Jimena had spent the afternoon alternately dealing with customers and kneading the biggest pile of dough she had ever amassed. She had needed to scrub bits of dough off her arms all the way up to her biceps afterwards. She was standing on a stool at the bench to get above the dough so she could lay the traditional decoration on this—she hoped—giant-sized loaf.

She removed all but one rack from the bread oven and wrestled the massive loaf inside. She was not sure how long it would take to bake but it was a while yet before the shop closed. She found yesterday’s inventory note and crossed out the old totals for butter and sugar. She hoped her parents would not ask why she had used so much more than expected.

Two hours later, she pulled her masterpiece from the oven. The browning seemed a little uneven, probably because the bread had nearly touched the oven’s sides, but it would have to do. She wrapped the loaf in several clean bath towels to keep it warm (there were no paper bags big enough for it), then took it out front to load it into the bicycle’s cart.

She locked the bakery and took off into the forest.

When she arrived at the ranger station, she parked her bicycle on the lift by the giant door, then knocked on the human-sized door. She knocked as loudly as she could, knowing the small knocker might be hard for Dhriti to hear. She waited a minute before banging on the door again. Several minutes passed. Jimena realized the giant either wasn’t home or couldn’t hear her.

She tried the door. It wasn’t locked.

Jimena was sure her mother would have something to say about barging into someone’s house like this, but she had ridden all the way here and thought Dhriti would not be upset about this. She stepped inside.

She looked around. There were normal, human-sized rooms to one side of the ranger station, but that wasn’t where Dhriti would be. She had no sense of the layout of the giant’s demesne, but struck out towards the kitchen she had visited yesterday.

In the kitchen, she found the lift she had ridden to the counter. She noticed that there was also a flight of stairs for humans built into the side of the counter. She wasn’t looking forward to climbing all those stairs after riding her bicycle for an hour, but she figured she could get a better view from up there than from the floor. She began her ascent.

She alighted on the counter, then flopped down to catch her breath.

After a short rest, she stood and made her way around the counter, looking for signs of life (well, signs other than plant life). It looked like there were lights coming from a room down a hallway.

Jimena made her way back down the stairs, then started her hike through the giant house. She wove around plants and chairs and other large, unidentifiable objects. As she neared the door from which the light was emanating, she heard the scratch of pen on paper and Dhriti’s muttering.

She stood at the entrance of what must be an office. Dhriti looked to be sitting at a desk. There were sheafs of papers and folios spread out all around them in an avalanche of vellum. There was a huge bookcase piled with giant volumes and other furniture that a giant could lounge on.

“Hello,” Jimena shouted as loudly as she could. Dhriti did not look up from their work.

Jimena was becoming increasingly unsure about her plan now that she was faced with the giant themselves. Would it be wise to interrupt someone so big? She had already come this far. She approached the nearest leg of the desk and searched for a human-sized staircase. There was none to be found.

“Hello, Dhriti!” she tried again. The giant paused their scribbling for a moment, but did not look in Jimena’s direction.

Steeling her nerves, Jimena approached Dhriti’s ankle. She patted it and tried again, “Dhriti! Hello!”

Dhriti shrieked. They reached a hand down to brush the spot Jimena had touched. Jimena jumped back, but not far enough. Dhriti’s hand bumped Jimena, knocking her to the floor.

“Oof! Dhriti, it’s me, Jimena! From yesterday!”

Dhriti finally looked down.

“Oh my days! Jimena, you startled me. I’m terribly sorry.” Dhriti stretched a hand out to Jimena, but paused before they reached her. Jimena remembered what they had said yesterday about picking up “little folk.”

“I’m okay!” she called, placing her small hands on Dhriti’s finger for support as she hauled herself back to her feet. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I brought you some more bread but you didn’t answer the door. It was unlocked so I let myself in.”

“How in the world did you get the door open?” Dhriti asked, wonder written on her face.

“Not your door,” Jimena amended. “The human door was unlocked.”

“I see. Yes, that makes much more sense.” Dhriti paused for a moment to consider. “You said you brought bread? I wasn’t expecting anyone today. Aren’t you tired from all that travel?”

Jimena was tired but didn’t want to admit it. “I made you a special order!” she proclaimed. “It’s at the front door. If you’re lucky, it might still be warm.”

Dhriti smiled, then regarded her for a moment. Jimena watched several emotions play out on their face. “It feels rude both to make you walk back to the door but also to carry you there,” they said. “What would be better for you?”

Jimena was in no mood for another long walk through the giant house. “Would you carry me? Please?” she said.

“Are you quite certain?” Dhriti asked. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m sure,” Jimena confirmed.

Dhriti leaned over and placed their open palm on the floor. Jimena put one hand on Dhriti’s finger to steady herself, then stepped onto their hand. She immediately lost her balance and fell into a seated position. She flushed as she realized Dhriti was now touching her whole rear end.

“Are you alright,” Dhriti looked down, trying to read her tiny expressions.

“Yes, this is just very unusual.”

The giant chuckled. “Hold on.” Dhriti raised their hand from the floor slowly and deliberately, so as not to jostle Jimena. “Can you hop onto my desk for a moment while I get to my feet?” they asked.

Jimena slid from their hand to the desk, marveling at the mountain of books and papers. She walked around while Dhriti grabbed their cane and stood. Then she heard Dhriti laugh.

“What?”

“You seem to have stepped in some ink. You’ve left tiny boot prints in the margin of my notes.”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t realize I was ruining your paperwork!” Jimena said. She was mortified.

“Don’t fret, dear one. They’re only notes. You haven’t ruined a thing. In fact, you may have improved them.” Dhriti chuckled. They held their hand out again for Jimena. “Shall we see about this bread that was important enough to bring you here two days in a row?”

Jimena blushed again then clambered into the giant’s hand.

Dhriti made their way out of the office and past all the plants. Now Jimena could see that the pots were full of tomatoes, herbs, pumpkins, and corn. She saw some giant plants that she had no names for.

After a moment, they reached the kitchen. Dhriti said, “I’ll need to set you down to open the door. It might be easier to leave you here in the kitchen. Did you ride your bicycle again? I can bring it here.”

Jimena agreed and Dhriti let her disembark from their hand and onto the counter. “I’ll be back shortly,” they said.

Jimena listened to the giant shuffle towards the door. She heard the scrape of the door, and the creak of the lift. Soon, Dhriti had returned and was carefully placing the bicycle and its freshly baked cargo on the counter.

“Now,” they said, “let us see what all the fuss was about.”

Jimena grinned as she pulled the oversized hunter’s loaf from her cart and unwrapped it. It was still a little warm, as she had promised. “I wanted to make you something that was your size!” she called, pulling the last towel from the loaf with a flourish.

Dhriti smiled warmly. “I’m honored,” they said, picking up the loaf and setting it in one palm to admire it. “Is this the same as the festival loaves you brought me yesterday?”

“Yes, only bigger,” Jimena said, but looking at them, she realized it still wasn’t big enough. It was maybe the size of a small roll, relative to Dhriti. She pouted. “I wanted it to be the right size for you, but that’s as big as the oven we have at the bakery.”

“Don’t be sad, this is perfect. You didn’t need to go to all this trouble just for me. I knew what to expect when I came to live among humans.”

“Still, you deserve nice things,” Jimena said.

Dhriti took a bite of the bread, easily fitting half of it into their mouth. “Well this is even better than what I had yesterday, so I thank you, Jimena.” They popped the second half into their mouth.

“I’m glad,” she said. “I wish I could bake you something even bigger.”

The giant thought about this. “Well, I have an oven here, you know. It would be dangerous for you to operate, but maybe you can guide me. I’m not a baker but I can follow instructions.”

“That would be fun,” Jimena said. “Giant baking!” she laughed.

“Oh, I have something here for you too,” Dhriti said. They stood and crossed to the other side of the kitchen, then returned with a tiny piece of cloth pinched between their fingers. “I believe you forgot this yesterday.”

“My shawl!” Jimena exclaimed.

“Is that what it is? I couldn’t figure it out,” Dhriti said, regarding the shawl quizzically. Instead of placing the shawl in front of Jimena on the counter, they very carefully laid it across her shoulders. “There you are,” they said, and gave Jimena the lightest of taps on the head with the tip of their finger.

Jimena laughed. “Thank you for keeping it for me. I didn’t realize I had left it until I got home.”

“I was planning to send it back with next week’s delivery, but here you are,” Dhriti said.

For a moment, neither the baker nor the botanist knew what to say. They had made their respective deliveries and now a canyon of unfamiliarity separated them.

“I suppose you need to return home,” Dhriti said, uncertainly. “And I have my own work to attend to.”

“I’m sorry I interrupted you,” Jimena offered. “You seemed very focused.”

“Oh, no. It’s good actually. I always forget to take breaks.” They looked thoughtful. “You know, I don’t think I’ve eaten since breakfast. Would you like to join me for lunch? I assume you’re hungry after traveling here.”

Jimena was indeed hungry and wanted to take Dhriti up on their offer of hospitality, but how difficult would it be? Was their pantry stocked with giant food? “I would be delighted to join you for lunch, but, um, will that be very inconvenient for you?”

Dhriti furrowed their brow. “No, why? You’ll hardly eat anything compared to me. I have plenty of food here.”

Jimena did not know how to politely ask what she wanted to know. “But is all your food, you know, really big?” She reddened with embarrassment even though it seemed like a reasonable question. She put a hand to her face.

Dhriti laughed softly, “No, I brought some stores with me from home but most of what I have is local human food. No need to worry yourself. I was going to warm up some beans and rice, not try to whittle a torta down to your size.”

The pair shared a meal then retired to Dhriti’s office. Dhriti had placed Jimena on a small stack of books on her desk. Jimena was seated on the edge, kicking her feet back and forth, and peppering Dhriti with questions. Dhriti wondered how someone so small could contain so much energy. Maybe this was normal human behavior. Then again, perhaps it was the novelty of being in a room fifteen times her size. Who could say? Dhriti had not had occasion to interact much with little folk.

Dhriti realized that Jimena was looking at them intently, waiting for a response. They had let their mind wander considering the mystery of this tiny person.

“I’m sorry, what was the question?” they said.

Jimena huffed. “I said, are you sure you won’t come to the festival next week?”

Dhriti thought they had already addressed this question. “It’s not wise for me to be in a crowd of little folk,” they said. “Especially given my limitations. If someone were to scamper out in front of me, I’m not certain I’d have the agility to dodge them.”

Jimena frowned. “I understand. I just think you might enjoy it.”

Jimena’s sadness was as infectious as her enthusiasm. “I’m sure I would enjoy it, but there’s nothing I can change to make it possible.”

Soon, dusk was upon them and Jimena had to return home. She was not keen on another hour-long bicycle trip, but there was little choice.

Dhriti had carried her to the front door and placed her on the lift.

“I hope to see you again,” Dhriti said. “You make for pleasant company.”

“Maybe you can see me next week at the festival,” Jimena said. Dhriti rolled their eyes. Unflappable, Jimena continued, “If you change your mind, I’ll be at the edge of town to meet you, where the forest road meets the town’s paved streets. I’ll be there at sundown.”

Dhriti favored her with a small smile. “Thank you, but please don’t count on it.”

Dhriti watched Jimena ride homeward until they couldn’t see her any longer.

Chapter Four

A week had passed since Dhriti had seen the little baker, Jimena. They supposed Jimena was busy in her bakery and couldn’t spare two hours of travel just to see them. Dhriti hesitated to admit that they missed her. Still, they had to admit it was enjoyable to have the company, even in the form of a tiny, excitable human. In the six months they had spent here, they had scarcely spoken to anyone. Most of their interpersonal interaction came in the form of correspondence. They had a research assistant, but she had stayed at the university. It hadn’t been practical or affordable to send two people their size into the field.

It was the night of Jimena’s harvest festival. Dhriti had initially dismissed the idea of attending the human festival outright. Despite the obvious good sense of not going, they had been dwelling on the matter all week. Dhriti tried to get lost in their work, only to flip through their notes and see Jimena’s boot prints in the margin. This made them feel … something. Lonely, perhaps. Breathless.

Dhriti had no business interfering with the lives of the local little folk. They were here to study plants. They had a grant and a schedule and a goal. There was no way the local village could accommodate them, given their size. And they knew that walking with a cane was one more hazard for tiny people on the ground. It already took so much of their energy to move around. Thinking about the level of agility and attention required to visit humans had them preemptively exhausted.

Dhriti resolutely returned their attention to the latest folio on fungi that their assistant had mailed. It should be easy to get caught up in something so interesting.

They read the same page for the tenth time in as many minutes. It was becoming clear that focusing on their academic pursuits would not be enough to distract them from the unwise plans coming together in their mind.

Dhriti sighed. Perhaps some tea would calm their restless mind.

In the kitchen, they put the kettle on and set up their diffuser in a mug. Dhriti sat down while waiting for the water to boil. Something colorful caught their eye. There was a tiny piece of cloth hanging on the human lift to the kitchen counter. Dhriti went for a closer look. Jimena had left her shawl again! Dhriti was forced to consider whether Jimena was a naturally forgetful person or if this was some sort of ploy. Forgetting her shawl the first time must have been an honest mistake. But to leave it again?

The kettle whistled. Dhriti turned off the stove and steeped their tea.

There was nothing for it. Dhriti would simply have to attend the festival to return Jimena’s shawl.

They poured their tea into a thermos. It might be chilly out.

Dhriti shouldered their rucksack and left the station. They had not bothered locking the door. Who could open it?

They considered themselves lucky that the road here was even and well packed. Dhriti had worried about tripping on rough terrain, but it was a pleasant enough stroll to the human town. The sun’s fading light illuminated the canopy that, despite their height, was some ways above Dhriti’s head. They concluded that this must be a very old forest to be so tall yet so close to humans. It comforted them to see nature on their scale.

Before long, they saw lights in the distance. This must be Jimena’s town. They slowed as they approached the town’s border, hoping not to startle anyone. They should have sent word ahead, but there was no use worrying about it now.

Jimena had said she would meet them on the road into town. Dhriti hoped that would be obvious and that there wouldn’t be too many little folk there. It was challenging to tell them apart from their vantage point. Their bad eyesight added insult to injury.

Dhriti felt the change in texture when her cane struck the pavement, which resonated in a way the forest road’s packed dirt had not. This was where Jimena had said she would meet them. There was a sliver of light remaining on the horizon.

Dhriti scanned the ground. They didn’t see Jimena, or any little folk for that matter.

This had been a foolish venture. Dhriti would return home before any little folk saw them and they caused a commotion.

They looked around once more. There was no sign of Jimena.

Dhriti sighed and turned around.

“Dhriti!”

They paused. They thought they heard their name.

“DHRITI, WAIT!”

They definitely heard their name.

They scanned the ground. A human was running towards them waving their little arms frantically. “Dhriti!”

“Jimena, is that you?”

“Yes!” she called out. “You came!” Jimena stopped running and stood some distance before them, panting wildly.

“Are you quite alright?” Dhriti asked. They were unable to hear Jimena’s response. They pursed their lips and leaned forward as much as their mobility would permit.

“Follow me!” Jimena shouted.

Dhriti frowned. “Is it quite safe for you?” they asked. Jimena’s only response was to wave them forward. Dhriti followed, keeping a little distance behind Jimena just in case.

Jimena led them through, what they assumed were, the town’ backroads. Dhriti could see several streets over where there was a crowd of revelers parading through the streets with colorful lanterns. Dhriti was grateful that Jimena hadn’t tried to take them that way. It wouldn’t have been possible for them to weave through the crowd.

After a short distance, Jimena stopped at a gently sloping hill, where a patchwork of small cloths—blankets for humans, they realized—had been carefully assembled into something Dhriti could sit on.

“Have a seat!” Jimena yelled.

Dhriti slowly lowered to the ground, situating themselves on the ad hoc picnic blanket. Now closer to the ground, they could see there were more colorful lanterns hung in the nearby trees. Had Jimena done all this?

Once they had stopped moving, Jimena dashed up and put her small hands on their leg. She smiled up at them. “You really came!”

Dhriti placed their open palm next to Jimena, an invitation. Jimena lept into their hand and Dhriti carefully raised her to eye level.

“Did you do all this for me, Jimena?” Dhriti asked?

“Yes! I had to scrounge blankets from half the town. I’ll be doing laundry for the next week.” Dhriti felt guilty for putting this burden on her. “Don’t be sad,” Jimena continued. “I’m so glad you’re here. What made you change your mind?”

Dhriti smiled and reached a hand into their coat pocket, withdrawing a small piece of fabric. “You forgot your shawl.”

Jimena slapped Dhriti’s palm with her own smaller ones and laughed. “That can’t be the only reason!”

They stared at each other.

Jimena finally filled the silence. “You wanted to see me too?”

The giant released a long breath, but did not respond. Anything Dhriti said would put undue pressure on Jimena. How could they say anything about the butterflies in their stomach when they were literally holding Jimena in one hand. Dhriti had no right.

“Bring me closer,” Jimena said, startling Dhriti. They halved the distance between Jimena and their face. “No. Close enough so I can touch you.”

Dhriti’s breath became shallower, but they did as the tiny woman asked.

Jimena rose to her feet in Dhriti’s hand, then placed a warm palm on their cheek. “I wanted to see you. I’m so glad you’re here,” Jimena said. Dhriti felt the impression of tiny lips across their increasingly warm face.

“I’m glad I’m here too, dear one,” Dhriti said. They put a finger to their lips then, very lightly, pressed their finger to Jimena’s head.

Jimena smiled broadly then shouted “Turn me around! We’re missing the parade.” Dhriti brought their hand to their chest so Jimena could look out on the town.

“I love watching the festival parade from here,” Jimena said. “You can see the whole town and all the lights.”

“It’s wonderful,” Dhriti said, “Thank you for sharing this with me.”

#g/t writing #g/t #original characters #not my characters though #the baker and the botanist #sfw g/t #dhriti and jimena #giant/tiny #commission #writing commissions

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not-in-the-library · 1 year

Text

The dialogue for when they finally have that conversation

Jimena sat under Dhriti’s chest as they leaned over their desk, scratching away deep in thought. It was a bad habit of Dhriti’s to practically lay over their paper as they worked, it was a terrible strain on their back, but Jimena was too lost in thought to correct them.

She had made it routine to come and visit the botanist at least once a week, after church each Sunday. Months had passed since their first meeting, the leaves outside had all fallen long ago, leaving Dhriti indoors much more often than they would’ve usually preferred. Dhriti initially wanted to make the trip less of a burden on Jimena by escorting her to and from the station, but with increased holiday traffic through the woods, they both agreed it would be better if Jimena biked to and fro like she had before. It wasn’t that bad, the chilly rains had turned to snow, but not enough to stick and pile up.

During these visits Jimena always made sure to bring some kind of activity with her to keep busy if ever Dhriti’s work kept them from stable conversation. For the past few weeks Jimena had been working on a few little crocheted items for Arturo’s daughter. The jumper she had gifted them before her birth was now too small, so along with a new blue one, she worked away at a yellow bonnet with matching shoes.

As she continued down the row for the chin strap, she allowed that lump in the pit of her stomach to climb her throat, making her break out in a sweat. This was beyond butterflies. Ever since that afternoon, when Dhriti had laid that red shawl over her shoulders, it was like an angry hornets nest made a home in her heart. At first she wanted to write it off as raw terror, paved over by manners keeping her from screaming in the presence of a titan.

But fear wouldn’t make you come back. Morbid curiosity maybe, but it sure as hell didn’t make you knock on the door of every house in town asking for blankets so your monster can have a dry place to sit. It didn’t make you steal paper lanterns from your brother’s house so they might be able to see in the dark just a bit better. It didn’t make you help them button their cuffs or tie their hair into plaits like sailor’s knots while they were preoccupied. Fear didn’t fill your lungs with laughter, but something else did make her blood run cold and her breath hitch just from meeting their gaze. “Oh God.” She breathed out.

She looked down at her hands and realized she had completely used up her yarn on the longest chin strap ever. She opted to just start over, she couldn’t be bothered to count back right now.

Dhriti stopped their scribbling at the sound of Jimena’s voice. A low rumble emanated from their chest as they sat up to look down at the human below. These kinds of rumblings were felt more than heard, but Jimena knew they counted just as much as words.

“Sorry. I-ach- I zoned out and totally lost count.” Jimena choked out as she continued pulling away at her chain. Her hands were more than a bit frantic as she realized she neglected to wrap up the tail and had little more than a pile of knots in her lap. This did not go unnoticed by Dhriti.

“Don’t say sorry to me, you’re dismembering that poor defenseless hat.” Dhriti began to scoot their chair back a bit to talk without having their chin tucked into their chest. “You’ve been real quiet today.” They stretched a bit before continuing, “is the weather getting to you?”

Jimena kept her back turned, trying to pull apart the knots to hopefully wind up neatly. “No, I’ve just been thinking.” She raised her voice a bit more than she would’ve liked.

“Oh?”

“Mhm.”

“Well?”

“I.” What could she say? Being near you makes me want to throw up, but in a good way? You smell like dirt mixed with body odor and it’s heavenly? That the stray thought of you makes me shriek to myself? That’s. Weird. Not that.

“Do you like me, Dhriti?” She shuffled to position her knees beneath her.

“Yes! Oh, did you think is was ignoring you? Because I just get so restless I can’t work, but when motivation hits I get completely wrapped up. I’m sorry if I’ve been bad company.”

“Oh no! You’ve been great! I love just. Being in the same room as you, I just.” She swiveled around on her knees and forced herself to look Dhriti in the face. “I really like you, Dhriti.”

“I like you too, Jimena.” They spoke slowly, a bit off guard.

Jimena kept her eyes firmly planted in theirs, wanting to stop the conversation and stay strong in her station as a friend, but that hornets nest was too much to let her shut up.

“I mean. I really like you. Like a lot, Dhriti.” what.

Dhriti swallowed the words, letting them sink in their chest like a rock. A rock that was gonna make them vomit. A deep, low rumble came out of them like the purr of an engine, despite their best efforts to keep it in, the rumble shook Jimena to her core.

Jimena opened her mouth, but shut right back up, mortified.

Dhriti tried to fill the silence, but only let out a squeak. They tried again, croaking out, “Platonically?”

Jimena shook her head, eyes wide.

“Romantically?” Dhriti felt like a fool, losing the ability to string more than one word together. They had Jimena beat though, all she could do was nod her head with a stony face.

At her affirmative, it took all of Dhriti’s might to not leap out of the chair and take off running. If their back would’ve allowed it, it might’ve happened. This was great. This was terrible. “Oh no.” Was all they could say.

Jimena’s face immediately fell. “No?” She repeated into her lap.

“No! I mean, me too, I really really like you Jimena.” Dhriti all but shouted it. It was rare for them to put the bass in their voice to make it rumble, but they just couldn’t help it. “But are you sure you want to have this conversation with me?”

“Yes!” Jimena chirped as she stood. “I’ve wanted to have this conversation for months!”

Dhriti soaked up all of her form, breathless before they tried to gulp up their rumble before talking, “Me too.” They swallowed, trying to even their voice. “I just didn’t want to back you into a corner.”

“What does that mean?” Jimena asked as she stepped forward.

“I mean I didn’t want to make you feel like you ever had to reciprocate feelings for me. Or scare you off. Or make you say yes out of pity.” Dhriti looked away as they continued, “I mean, look at me Jimena, how could I ever make advances while holding you in the palm of my hand?”

Jimena took a moment to comically take in their whole form, leaning forward then far back, “Pretty easily.”

“I know! It wouldn’t be fair of me to put you in that position.” Dhriti met her gaze, not expecting her to look so happy.

“Well I would’ve hoped you’d have more faith in me.” She stepped forward again, gathering a fistful of fabric from her skirt, “I like to think I’d be tough enough to tell you off.”

Dhriti cautiously leaned forward, resting their arm on the table, allowing themselves to loom a bit over her, casting a shadow over the little baker. “You only think that because you like-like me.” They said, the corners of their mouth turning up, making their dimples deepen.

Jimena laughed as she stumbled over to the crook of their arm and collapsed. “Is that really how I said it?”

“Yes that is how you said it.” Dhriti said as they leaned back in their chair to peer through their glasses at the tiny woman.

They chuckled deeply before bending over to meet Jimena’s gaze. “But really, is this okay?”

Jimena leaned her head on their bicep before she sighed, “Yes, I think so.”

Dhriti silently sat back once more before pulling their arm to brace across their stomach, cradling Jimena with the other hand keeping her from slipping off. “What will people say?” They sighed, looking anxiously at the blank wall before them.

Jimena tapped her cold hand on their arm, “we don’t have to tell anyone if you don’t want to.” Dhriti let out a long sigh and looked up to the ceiling, heart beating like running footsteps, “Let’s just go one day at a time.”

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