After Civ and Luk left, the whole camp was busy. The tribe followed what Civ instructed them. Gather as much wood and other materials as possible.

  Other things Civ requested were passed on to Arsh and Vel. But one of the things that made Arsh and Vel question the instructions.

  Staring at the small timbers in front of them, Arsh asked. “What do you think Civ thinks about making this?”

  Vel, who was sewing the tunic, replied and guessed. “I do not know either. Maybe another way of gathering the animal skin?”

  Based on what Civ instructed Arsh, they need to make a rectangular structure. Tie the braces on each side like a bench. Then put long woods in one direction (parallel to each other). Then, after that, put more braces on top of it.

  When Arsh finished, Vel commented. “It looks like a mud basin. But made of wood.”

  “You are right Vel. Still, I don’t know why Civ is asking me to do this. I guess we will know after he returns.” Arsh created two more in the afternoon.

  The afternoon comes. Kivrah and Mashu received their new clothes and happily chatted.

  “This is amazing material, Shaman Mahsu right? I can sit in the ground without getting soiled.” Kivrah happily sat while laughing.

  “I agree with you Tribe leader.” Shaman Mashu also silently appreciates the leather. There is stiffness in some areas. But she preferred this more due to protecting most of their skin. Especially in the lower parts of the body.

  “Once Civ returns later. I will ask him to teach me how to make this!” Kivrah was looking forward to seeing his son.

  But then, moments went by, and the sky started to go dark.

  “Shaman Mashu, Civ is still not here. Do you think they will return later?” Kivrah softly asked.

  Seeing the innocent face of the Tribe leader, Shaman Mashu replied.

  “Tribe leader. I had a dream.” Shaman Mashu paused.

  “Tell me Shaman Mashu. What dream was it now?” Kivrah looked Shaman Mashu in the eyes, not blinking or moving.

  “The Sun Goddess talked to me and said. That I need to guide the tribe in the moment of panic while the Chosen one is away.” Shaman Mashu bowed. Avoiding the gaze of the Tribe Leader.

  Hearing this, Kivrah's face was all red. With a trembling voice, he asked the Shaman.

  “What is the meaning of this Shaman?!!!”

  Shaman Mashu looked again at the Tribe leader. “This means the Chosen One might not return right away!”

  Kivrah cannot believe what he is hearing. “WHY HAVE YOU NOT TOLD ME IN THE BEGINNING!”

  The Tribe leader’s shout was heard all over the camp. Everyone stops what they are doing.

  “What is going on?!” Arsh asked

  “I would love to know Arsh. It’s better if we don’t bother the Tribe leader now.” Vel replied

  With the tone and what was said. Both Arsh and Vel know where the Tribe’s leader's anger is coming from.

  Arsh looked at the sky where some of the stars started shining.

  ‘Please come back immediately Civ.’ Arsh whispered to herself.

  Back at the Shaman’s hut, Kivrah was fuming with anger.

  ‘How?! How they hide it from me.’ Kivrah tells himself.

  Shaman Mashu bowed with her head touching the soiled ground and replied calmly. “I apologize Tribe leader. But this is the best way for us to know if we have a chance to face the giants.”

  With this apology, Kivrah wants to lash out. But he controls his temper as much as he can.

  “Why. Why did you not mention it to me before Civ leave?” Kivrah asked.

  “Be-because if you know, this travel will not be possible. You will do your best to stop your son from staying in the wild for a long time.” Shaman Mashu explained.

  Kirvah clenched his fist. Shaman Mashu is right. He will not let his son leave the camp for many Sun days. If he needs to break his son’s legs, he will do it! But since his son was already in the wild, all he could do was pray to the Son Goddess.

  “I accept your apology Shaman Mashu. But if my son does not return, or he returns with a missing body part, you will be punished!” Kivrah's gaze made Shaman Mashu freeze. A cold sweat starts running down her back.

  A couple of moments, Shaman Mashu replied. “I will accept any punishment you will give to me Tribe leader. But I hope you forgive your son. He is just doing his best for the safety of the tribe.”

  After listening to Shaman Mashu’s plea, Kivrah leaves the hut without replying to the Shaman.

  When the Tribe leader left, Shaman Mashu’s hands started shaking. The calm and poised Shaman was trembling, recollecting the Tribe’s leader's reaction.

  She took a deep breath to calm herself and said. “The father’s love can be an anger sometimes.”

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  Shaman Mashu composed herself for the last time and prayed to the Sun Goddess for the rest of the night.

  The next day, back to Civ and Luk. They were woken up by the sunlight that was shining in their faces.

  “Luk, wake up.” Civ slowly stood up. Stretched his arms and did some morning stretching.

  Luk also did the same thing. They had a breakfast of dried meat.

  After the sleepiness had worn off, Luk wanted to know the plan for today.

  “Today? We move forward. We still need to walk to the east.” Civ explained.

  Luk scratches his head. “Do you think we can find them?”

  Civ touches his chin and replies. “I think so.”

  “How?” Luk quickly asked.

  “For that, we need to find out.” Civ replied.

  But in reality, Civ already knows it. He does not want to let Luk know it yet because this might spoil the plan. When the time is right, he will explain it to him.

  Luk nodded. They stood up and were their faces.

  “You ready? We will need to start working again.” Civ asked.

  “Lead the way Civ, I will follow you behind,” Luk replied.

  Civ looked at the river. He wants to swim there. But the current is too strong for a person to swim. He looked forward and continued their search for the giants.

  The plan for today is simple. Walk straight east until noon. One of the main reasons is that they need to return to this river to refill. But if the giants are not staying in the east, they need to return to the camp within two days. Otherwise, the tribe leader might start looking for them. This might make things more complicated.

  Traveling in the forest that was quiet made Luk uncomfortable.

  So he asked Civ. “Civ, if we find the giants. What will you do?”

  Civ took a pause for a moment and continued walking. Right. We only talked about looking for the giants. But if they see it, what will he do? It was a question he thought deeply about.

  “I guess observe them. Fighting them will kill us for sure.” Civ replied.

  Last night, before he slept, he tried to remember how the last Tuanir happened. He tried it multiple times, but some of the recollection from his memory was missing. The memory was shady. It was like his mind forcefully hid that memory from him. He pictured how big the giants were, but he forgot how strong or how scary they were.

  So Civ continued. “But we need to see them as near as possible.”

  Luk silently listened and did not continue to ask more about it. Imagining facing these giants is something he does not want to do. He changed the topic. He started asking some questions about crafting and maintaining their weapons.

  Their discussion continued for more than an hour. Civ saw a leaf that resembled something, and he paused.

  “What is it Civ? You heard something?” Luk asked. He also tried to look where Civ eyes were looking.

  From the north, Civ saw a tall plant. He walked towards it.

  “Hopefully it was one of the plants,” Civ muttered.

  Luk followed Civ’s increasing pace. When they arrived at the location, Luk remembered this plant.

  “This plant Civ, they said the fruit of this plant is useless,” Luk explained.

  “When my Father was still alive, we encountered this fruit, and my Father said that it tasted bitter. So they did not try eating this kind of plant.” Luk continued.

  “Have someone tried to eat it again?” Civ asked.

  “No. This is the moment I saw this plant again.” Luk replied.

  ‘This fruit was avoided due to its taste. Maybe they saw it when it was not ripe yet.’ Civ thought about it.

  The fruit above his has the same structure as the yellow grapes. But the fruit was shaped as an inverted J, like a hook. The trunk was smooth and brown. The fruit was colored green and had a faint gray hue.

  What’s Civ in front of him was a banana, or that’s what he thought.

  He plucked one of the fruits. It has the same texture, and when he peels it, the insides are light orange.

  ‘I need to bring some of this back to the camp. I want to confirm if this is the same banana that the Earth has.’ Civ looked at the fruit closely.

  He tried to smell it, but the smell was pleasantly neutral. He tried to bite it, but the taste is unpleasant. It was starchy and slightly bitter, like a banana plantain. Even with the taste, Civ’s eyes brightened.

  “What do you think Civ?” Luk also thought about bringing some.

  “We need to bring some of this back to the camp. Maybe we can do something about it.” Civ explained.

  Luk nodded and smiled. “Sure, let’s return later here.”

  To make sure they can notice the area. Civ and Luk rolled a big log in front of the bananas so they can easily notice it when they return. Then they continued their search.

  Their walking already consumes half of the day. Luk and Civ looked worried already.

  “Civ, do you think we can find them?” Luk was still hopeful. But there are no signs of them around the area.

  “I think we can. I know they will be coming from the east.” Civ still tried to look around.

  Civ thought to himself. ‘One more hour. Wait-’

  Noticing marks from the ground, Civ quickly ran towards it.

  “Footprints!” Civ exclaimed.

  “Fresh footprints? I thought all of the animals ran away already?” Luk questioned what he was seeing.

  “You are right. Something is not making sense here. Luk, be more alert. We need to follow these footprints.” Civ instructed.

  These footprints are mixed. Some are from the boars, and others are from the deer. Some footprints are unrecognizable.

  “Let’s continue.” Civ and Luk went deeper into the east.

  As they went deeper, the volume of footprints was increasing.

  ‘Is my assumption incorrect?’

  Civ starts doubting the evidence he saw in multiple places.

  But then-

  “Ci-” Luk's mouth was shut.

  “Shhhh let’s keep our voices low from now on.” Civ whispered.

  Because what they are seeing is a pair of big footprints!

  ‘We are near!’ Civ exclaimed in his mind. He looked at Luk. Luk’s heart is beating so fast that Civ can hear it beside him.

  “Luk, let’s calm down before we continue,” Civ whispered, and Luk nodded.

  Luk leaned on one of the trees, and Civ stood up. Looking around, Civ tries to identify the footprints. Looking around, he concluded.

  There are three footprints. Two was bigger compared to the last one.

  Adult and Child?

  Family?

  Smaller giant?

  A question starts running through Civ’s mind. But one of the unexplainable things is the visibility of animal footprints here.

  After a few minutes, Luk takes a deep breath. “I think I feel better now Civ.”

  “You sure?” Civ asked

  “Yes.” Luk replied while looking at Civ in the eyes.

  Feeling that they were in the enemy's territory. Civ and Luk slowly followed the footprints.

  At first, it was chaotic, like all of the animals running around. But some steps later, the footprints were uniform. It was like a pastor led a bunch of sheep back to the pen.

  However, before he can analyze what is going on, the ground shakes!

  As he looks forward, Civ’s hands start shaking, and his heartbeat is running amok!

  Behind the tall grass is the one they are looking for - The Giants