There he sat. An ogre in chains, watching the seasons go by. He had the figure of an eight foot tall man with horns and green-tinted skin. He was emaciated, not having eaten anything in years, though you could hardly see it through his baggy and tattered clothing. Still, he clung to life like an infant clinging to its mother. His black, tangled mop of hair hung over his eyes, but he still could see the scenery around him.
Below the cliff, where he had been chained, was a vast forest filled with flora and fauna, except for ten feet around the ogre. This was his curse. He could not be around a living being without stealing the life from it. He was forever alone. His curse killed whatever came near.
The village close by the cliff had made rumors about the ogre. Every now and again, adventurers would set off to find him. They succeeded, but never lived to tell the tale. Still, the ogre never complained. He let destiny do what it wanted with him. If the humans were to die by his curse, then he felt no need to help them. This was the ogre’s outlook. A cursed view of the world.
One day, a young girl, no older than five, approached the ogre. She had bright blonde hair and eyes as green as the leaves. The dress she wore looked tattered. It was clear she wasn’t from the village.
‘Another abandoned by fate,’ the ogre thought.
The girl never said a word to the ogre. She would not speak. Instead, her stomach spoke for her, and for some reason, the ogre responded.
“There is a berry bush that way,” the ogre told the girl, pointing towards the forest.
The girl did not move. She stared at the ogre in curiosity. Again, the ogre pointed towards the berry bush in the forest.
“Food. That way.”
The girl began to walk in the direction of the bush, which granted a sigh of relief from the ogre. He did not understand why he chose to help the girl, but he did not think much of it.
‘A call from destiny, perhaps.’
The girl came back soon afterwards. She held a small branch of berries in her hands. Sitting in front of the ogre, she placed the branch on the ground between them. It perplexed the ogre.
“Aa…ee…vvv…” The girl enunciated.
“Aeve? Is that your name?” The ogre asked.
The girl nodded before pointing to him.
The ogre shook his head, “I have no name.”
That didn’t satisfy Aeve’s curiosity, but she decided that she would first satisfy her hunger. While she did, the ogre pondered on how she was sitting with him. It did not often take this long for something to die while it was near him. It was puzzling.
Aeve soon finished her berries and pointed at the ogre again.
“Neeeiiiii…mmmmmm…?”
The ogre shook his head, “No name.”
“Then… what… call…?”
The ogre shrugged. He did not know his name. It had been lost to time.
Aeve stared at him, seemingly lost in thought.
‘What a strange girl,’ the ogre thought to himself.
“Big,” Aeve managed to say. “…Old?”
The ogre nodded, “I am very old.”
Aeve’s face brightened with a wide smile, “Papa!”
“…What?”
“Papa!” She pointed at the ogre.
Before he could protest, Aeve pounced on him, clinging to his chest like a cat. The ogre would have pushed her off if he had full use of his hands, but they were chained so that he did not have much reach.
“Aeve, I am not papa,” he told her, but she would not listen, continuing to nuzzle her face against his shirt.
Eventually, her stomach rumbled once again.
‘Of course she’s still hungry, berries aren’t enough for a child,’ he thought, ‘but I have no way of feeding her. Then again, it is not my duty to take care of this girl.’
He was a cursed ogre. He was destined to be lonely for the rest of his days.
‘…How has she not died yet?’ He asked himself. ‘Could this girl be resistant to my curse? But how?’
“Papa,” Aeve started, standing up and walking to one of his chains, “this… bad? Hurt?”
The ogre nodded, “Yes, it does hurt, but it is alright. I am bound here for a reason.”
Aeve clearly didn’t understand what he was saying, based on her confused expression. After a moment, she faced the chain with a look of concern.
“Papa hurt… I…I fix,” she muttered to herself.
“No, Aeve. You couldn’t do anything to it. Don’t even try.”
The metal in the chains was one used by the top adventurers in the country, and it was also used to keep dragons caged. The ogre had no hope of escaping.
Aeve knelt down and faced her palm at the chain. Her green eyes were focused intently on it.
Her voice, soft as flower petals as she spoke, “Go away.”
As if following her order, the chains dissolved into a clumpy gray goo, freeing the ogre’s arm.
He held his hand up in disbelief. “How did you…?”
“Papa, better?” Aeve asked, lightly shaking the ogre’s arm to get his attention.
He looked at her in confusion, “Yes, that does feel better…”
Aeve smiled and ran around to his other chain, demanding the same thing. Once again, it melted by her command.
The ogre took both his hands and looked at them through his messy hair.
‘I never thought I’d see the day when I would once again feel what it’s like to move… Just who is the little girl? Is she… a gift from destiny?’ He pondered.
The girl in question stood beside him, obviously waiting on him to say something.
“Papa?” She called him.
He looked at her, this time with a small smile on his face.
“I am not your papa,” he gently patted her head, “but thank you, Aeve.”
Aeve giggled, “Papa!”
Ruuku Writes 