Giant Boyfriend: Horvath 2 (complete)

Horvath helps me down from the bed. His large hand is big enough that I can sit in it, and I hold his wrist while he lowers me to the floor. Looking up, everything is so much more than me, so much bigger. I barely come up to Horvath’s knee, and knowing he could squish me at any moment makes me hold my breath in fear. 

Horvath takes me outside, letting me see what the Dwelling place really is. It’s an underground cavern, illuminated by fungus that glows in the dark, a luminous mix of blue, green, and purple. I take in a breath, tasting earth on my tongue as I stand beside Horvath’s leg.

“It’s massive,” I whisper under my breath. I cup my hand around my mouth. “It’s like a whole other world.” I take a step forward, coming to the steps at the end of the landing. “But it’s all underneath us.”

“It used to be much bigger, and gave access to the ground above,” Horvath murmurs. He must have very good hearing to have picked up my voice. After all, he must be well over ten feet taller than me. “Before the forest was planted, that is.”

“The forest?” I crane my neck back so I can look up at him. He has a scowl on his face and his arms are crossed tightly. “I thought...” I decide it is probably best I keep my mouth shut. If the trees were planted, then that means the legends we’d been told all our lives are false.

“It’s a long story, Opal.” Horvath sits down beside me. “And it is no longer a story worth worrying about.”

“Are you down here alone?” I ask sheepishly. “Or are there others around?”

He shakes his head. “Not for miles,” he grumbles. “Those of us left are set in ways we cannot abandon.” He inhales deeply, letting out a sigh that shrinks his shoulders. “It is a hard thing to leave home, especially when there is nowhere to return to.”

I look down, shifting slightly. I have nothing to say. I don’t know how to talk to him.

“What about you, Opal?” Horvath turns towards me. “Do you have a family up there?” He points towards the ceiling. “A husband? Several kids?”

I shake my head. “I still live at home with my family. I have three younger brothers.” I glance upwards. “That’s who I was with, when I fell. They probably think I’m dead.” A tightness grows in my chest, pulling at strings that slowly suffocate me. I sit down as I press my hands to my breast. “Oh god,” I wheeze. “They think I’m dead! They all think that I’m...” I cup my hands around my face as tears start to drown my lashes. “This is terrible!”

Horvath puts his palm around my back, and in a strange way, it feels comforting. “I am so sorry. I only wish there was something I could do. All I can do is keep you alive until the thaw occurs.”

“No, you don’t understand!” I sob. “They’re going to blame themselves because they made me come out here! They tried to teach me a lesson, but I just...” I sniffle, crying into the palms of my hands. “It’s not their fault!”

“You can still tell them that,” Horvath says gently. “It will just take time, that’s all.”

I rub my eyes and look up at him. “So there’s no other way?”

He shakes his head. “I’m sorry.”

More tears roll down my cheeks. “Can I be alone for a moment?”

“Of course.” Horvath rises and steps back towards the door. “I’ll be right in here if you need anything.” He keeps the door open as he walks back inside.

I lay down for a long time with my knees pulled into my chest. I wipe away my tears, sniffling pitifully. I slip off the first step, and find I am able to get to the bottom step on my own. But once at the bottom, I realize I might not be able to get back up. I look towards the open door, then walk away. I follow a path worn into the dirt, coming across tilled earth. The soft ground stretches out, and I can see it is a garden filled with mushrooms. I walk a little further, through thick, fluffy patches of moss that roll like hills, and come to a river that cuts through the rock and falls into a basin. I stand there for a while, watching the river bubble and flow.

I’m turning to head back to the house when I see something in the distance. Illuminated by purple light, I almost think it’s a woman. I squint hard, peering through the dim light. Yes, there is a woman standing there, still as can be. I quietly approach the still figure, but once I get close enough, I see it’s just a statue carved from the roots of a tree. She looks so lifelike, I can see how I was fooled from a distance.

I look back to the house, and see Horvath has stepped onto the porch and is looking around. He scratches the top of his head as he gazes back and forth. He spots me - he must have good eyesight too - and he waves.

“There you are, Opal. What are you doing down there?” He kneels down and helps me back up the stairs.

“I needed to stretch my legs.” I step back onto the porch and smooth out my skirt. “There’s so much around here.”

“Just be careful. It may seem peaceful now, but there are things out there that could hurt a little thing like you.” He pats the top of my head gently. “Are you hungry? I just finished whittling a bowl for you so you can have some stew.”

I follow him inside and he picks me up again, setting me down on top of his table. His whittling tools are laid out, wood chips are scattered everywhere, and to one side is the bowl he has finished for me. It’s quite large, much bigger than the soup bowls my mother has, but I suppose it would be hard for him to make anything more petite. 

“You’re very good,” I offer the compliment earnestly. “Is it a hobby?”

“Woodworking was my trade when I was a young man.” Horvath takes the bowl from me and moves towards his stove. “I used to make all sorts of things for folks. Toys, heirlooms, wedding beds, you name it.”

“Wedding beds?” I ask softly. “What on earth is that?”

“You know!” he chortles. “Beds for the wedding. You have a bed made to propose to your bride.” He hands the bowl to me, but it’s so heavy with soup, I nearly drop it.

“You propose with beds?” I ask as I wipe the soup from the front of my dress.

Horvath chuckles. “If it’s a good marriage, it’s where you’ll be spending a lot of time! You need a good bed to last through the years. Why, I remember when…”

He breaks off as I am tasting the mushroom soup on my fingertips. “Horvath?” I ask softly. “What’s wrong?”

Horvath sits down at the table. “Nothing for you to worry about.” He hands me a wooden spoon, although it’s a bit too big for my mouth. “What about you humans? How do you go about getting married?”

“In my village, you go out to find an opal, and you get it set in family silver.” I sip from the spoon, awkwardly placing it near my mouth. “That way, if you should die, your partner can sell the opal to live off of.”

Horvath shudders. “What a grim way to look at marriage! You’re just waiting for your partner to die.”

I lick the rich broth from my lips. “A bed does sound more romantic,” I murmur. “But a marriage shouldn’t be based off of what goes on there.”

Horvath scoffs. “You ain’t married, Opal, so you have no idea. A good marriage will end up in bed, whether it’s at the end of a long day and all you want is to hold each other, or you want to share an intimacy that makes you numb from the waist down.” He smirks. “Once you figure that out, a bed makes much more sense than a bauble.”

I set my spoon into the bowl. “Did you ever give a bed to anyone?”

Horvath goes quiet. “Once,” he murmurs. He eats a few spoonfuls of soup in silence. “Too long ago.”

I look back down at my bowl. “I’m sorry. It must be a sore subject.”

“Quite all right, Opal, do not worry.” Horvath nods at me. “Want any more food, then?”

I hold up my bowl to him. “I think this is more than enough. Thank you.”

“I’ll get you a place ready to sleep later.” He sets the bowl aside. “Since you’ll be here for a while, I’ll start on making you somewhere you can be comfortable and private. Sound good to you?”

“Yes, thank you,” I say with a bright smile. “You’re very kind.”

“I told you, it’s been a while since I had company. I’m happy to have it.” He refills his bowl then sits back at the table.

For the time being, he makes a tent for me under the table. It’s warm there and guarded by the legs, and he tacks up cloths that hang down to make walls. He stuffs the inside with a pillow and blanket, creating what might be the coziest nest in the world. “Not much, but it should be all right for the night,” Hovarth says as he kneels by the table. “If you need anything, I rarely sleep heavily, so you can wake me with a peep.”

“I won’t be a bother, I promise. And this is just fine for me. No need to go out of your way for anything else.” I sit in the blanket, but end up toppling backwards with my legs in the air.

Horvarth chuckles and helps me to sit back upright. “Easy, there. That is why you need a proper place to sleep. Not to worry, I can make a dollhouse easily.”

“I used to want to live in a dollhouse when I was small.” I laugh, then look down at my hands. “I had my mother’s old dollhouse that her grandfather built for her. I wanted to live in it so badly, especially after Benji was born. Three loud, screaming, earth-shattering boys around all at once.” I frown. “I never got a moment’s peace, and now I would give anything to hear them yelling through the house again.”

Horvath pats the top of my head. “You’ll hear it again. Do not fret. You won’t have to miss it for very long.” He rises back up. “Sleep well, Opal. I’ll see you when you wake.”

“How will you know it’s dawn down here?” I ask.

His soft chortle sounds like distant waves crashing. “Like I said, when you wake.”

I sigh and lay back in the makeshift bed, sinking into the plush, warm comfort of my nest. I take off my dress, laying it to the side before I snuggle into the blanket. It feels so soft and warm, it doesn’t take long for me to drift to sleep.

When I wake, it is a bit disorienting. I can smell the fire and hear it crackling behind me. Everything around me felt so huge, I could have sworn I was still in a dream. I sit up from the bedclothes, struggling to remove myself from them, and step out to find myself in Horvath’s kitchen.

I let out a long, slow breath. “Okay, so not a dream.” The front door is open as I walk further out. Stepping onto the porch, I see Horvath working in his mushroom garden. He’s harvesting small batches, gathering them up into a basket on his hip. I can hear him singing, in a low, soft voice that travels along my skin and thrums in my ears. His voice is beautiful, singing in a language I do not understand, and it seems to come from his chest rather than his throat.

Horvath looks up, spots me on the porch and waves. “Welcome to waking, Opal!” he says with a jovial smile. “Give me time - I’ll have breakfast ready.”

“Take your time.”Then I gasp, realizing I am still only in my slip. I rush back inside, hurriedly dressing before Horvath comes through the door.

“I think there are some doll’s clothes around here somewhere,” Horvath grunts, tossing the mushrooms into a basin. “Let me look around to find you something clean.”

“I can wash this. Don’t worry about it,” I try to argue.

Horvath shakes his head. “You’ll be here for a time. You’ll need something else to wear, or else that will be falling apart.”

I follow him to another room. Inside is a grand bed with four posts, each carved to look like a braided vine. The room is dusty, but clean, the air inside stale and unmoved. He goes to one side and opens a chest of drawers that he starts searching through.

“Who lived here?” 

Horvath closes the drawer. “It was my bedroom.” He gives me a handful of dresses which fill my arms. 

“Was?” I look at the bed, remembering what he told me yesterday. “Oh,” I say softly. “I see. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize.” Horvath waves me from the room and closes the door. “It’s just... I prefer memories these days.”

I look at the dresses I’m holding. Each one is delicately made, hand stitched, probably from old scraps. I can tell they are hand-dyed as well, and an earthy scent still clings to them. “These are very nice, thank you. I’ll wear them with pride.”

Horvath chuckles. “I’ll go make breakfast. You enjoy your new bounty.”

After breakfast, Horvath begins working on building me a little house. He tends to his garden and prepares meals for us. It is strange having no sense of time, but it doesn’t seem to bother Horvath at all. He eats when he is hungry, sleeps when he is tired, works when he is able, and plays when it matters. 

I continue to sleep in the tent under the table, snug and warm despite the worry I feel for my family. 

“Is there anything I can do to help?” I ask Horvath one day. “If I’m going to live here, I feel I must at least attempt to do something.”

“Well...” Horvath mulls it over. “I’d hate for you to get hurt.”

“I’m not a doll, no matter how much I may look like one,” I grin up at him. “I can do chores just fine! I used to enjoy mopping the floors back home.”

“Mighty big job for you. Might take you days,” Horvath teases.

“Anything. You’ve been so kind to me, I feel as though I owe you!” I come up to him and take his hand.

Horvath sighs. “To be honest, little Opal...” He places the pad of his thumb in my palm. “Having you around has been enough for me. It may not seem like much to you, being around a big family all the time, but I have had no one since...” He looks at me, stony eyes rimmed with wetness.

“There’s a woman carved into roots outside.” I grip my hands around his finger. “That was your wife, wasn’t it?”

Horvath sniffles. “I carved it,” he wipes at his eyes, “so I could have something to hug after she was gone.”

A hiccup reaches my throat as warm tears fill my eyes.

“It was a sickness,” he says. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a handkerchief. “When the forest was planted, it was...” He shakes his head and narrows his eyes. “It was a great suffering.”

“I don’t want to sound rude or anything, but all my life I was told giants lived in the trees, or the giants were the trees.” I keep hold of his finger. “My brothers said that the trees were sleeping giants, and if you cut one, it would bleed.” I avoid his gaze as he wipes away the tears. “But that’s not true, is it?”

“The trees were planted by humans,” Horvath huffs. He blows his nose then tucks the handkerchief away. “They were threatened by us.” He looks down at my hand touching him. “It’s been so long, the memories are faded. I just remember when the trees were planted. They grew so fast, and the roots blocked our way out. We were trapped down here, and it became apparent that the trees were taking much more than our freedom from us.”

“That’s awful,” I whisper. “Horvath, that’s… I don’t have a word for how terrible that is.” I squeeze his finger. “I’m so sorry.”

He reaches up and smoothes the tip of his finger on my cheek. “Now, now, I’ve shed enough tears for what happened. You can be sad, but do not cry for me.”

I sniffle and nod my head. “So the dresses you gave me, the room… they belonged to your wife.”

“Aye, they did. I’ve not been able to bring myself into that room for so long,” he whispers. “I’ve had nary a soul visit me in ages. I can’t even tell you how long it’s been. It’s the same for the others who remain down here. We cannot leave the ghosts. That’s all we have now.” A smile breaks through his sorrowful expression. “But like I said, having you here has been a real treat, even if you are unhappy.”

“It’s not all awful,” I murmur. “I’ve been enjoying myself more and more.”

Horvath chuckles. “That’s good. It makes me happy that I can play a good host. And that reminds me.” He picks me up, carrying me in his palm, and takes me into his old bedroom, the one he no longer uses. Sitting in the middle of the floor there is a dollhouse that is my size. The house comes up to the middle of Horvath’s thigh.

“I haven’t finished all the furniture, but you can at least have a place to keep your things and have some privacy.” He sets me down before the door.

I look around the room, shocked he would set me here. “Is this all right?” I ask softly. “I mean, doesn’t this room...”

“I am not using it, and it was made to house someone beautiful anyway. Better you here than nobody.” He grins at me and wags his finger at the door. “Go on, open it.”

The doorknob works when I turn it, and I open it up the house. It reminds me very much of my dollhouse back home. There are four rooms, each one identical save for  the placement of the windows. 

I walk back outside and smile up at Horvath. “I love it! Thank you so much!” I hug his leg tightly.

Horvath jolts, and he titters nervously. “Ah, yes, well...” He clears his throat. “I was happy to do it.”

Bit by bit, Horvath builds me furniture to fit the house, like chairs, a rack for my clothes and a table if I decide to eat by myself. I never do, though. I enjoy eating with Horvath at the table with my oversized spoon and bowl.

I try to help around the house when I can, but sometimes the work is a little out of my reach, both literally and figuratively. I try to help in the garden with weeding, which seems to work best. There are some weeds that are too small, and Horvath misses them, although cultivating mushrooms isn’t as difficult as growing regular vegetation. 

One evening, I come out of my house because I can’t sleep and step into the still quiet of the empty bedroom. I wonder how much time Horvath and his wife spent here. He’s not spoken about her since that night, so it must be painful for him to bring her up. I wonder if my family has that same pain, thinking I am dead. 

I leave the room, heading down the hallway. The door is open. As I go outside, I hear Horvath singing again. The low sound comes from the side of the house, rather than the garden. I slip from the porch and peer around the corner to find Horvath standing by the carving of his wife, singing the song that vibrates in his chest. I step aside, wondering if I should leave, when I hear him sniffle. His song chokes off, despite his best efforts to keep singing.

I can’t bear it, so I come up beside him and place my hands on his leg. He raises his head to look at me, then scoops me up so I can sit on his knee. “What are you doing out here, Opal?” he sniffles. “There’s a chill in the air tonight. That must mean the thaw is coming.”

I should be excited, but in a way, it’s a bit of a shock. “I didn’t realize so much time had passed. It feels like I’ve only been here for a moment.” I look back at the carving of his wife. It still looks so lifelike, so perfect. I can tell she was a beauty.

“What was her name?” I ask in a whisper. 

“Ivett.” His answer is breathless and bittersweet. “She’s the one who started the garden. She always did better than me at it.”

I turn my head up towards him. “Do you sing to her often?” 

“Not as often as I should. But the night felt special.” A slight smile appears on his lips. “I wanted to talk to her.”

I gaze at the statue of Ivett. “Would she mind if I continued to visit you here?”

“Why would you ever want to do that?” Horvath laughs.

“I have a house here.” I smile back at him, inching closer. “And I like the company I keep.” I reach out and place my hand on his. “I found a way in. Maybe I could find a way to make it into a permanent entrance.”

Horvath places his hand around my back. “You don’t have to do that, Opal.”

“My mother owns the plot where I fell in, and it’ll be mine someday,” I say staunchly. “And I can’t bear to leave you alone down here.” I stand up on his thigh and look at him to face him. “I just need to know that it’s okay.”

Horvath smiles, keeping his hand around me so I don’t fall. “You don’t even have a bed yet.”

I lean forward, placing a soft kiss on his cheek. Horvath’s voice rumbles in his chest, and his hand presses me closer. 

“Will you make me one?” I ask shyly.

Horvath presses a kiss to my cheek, then gently strokes my hair. “I have you one made already.” His voice cracks. “I’ve just been scared.”

I reach up, placing my hands on either side of his face. “It’s alright.” I kiss the tip of his nose. 

Horvath holds me, cradling me against his chest. I rest there, leaving my cheek on his chest as he starts to sing again. In the spring, I will go home, but I will return without fail. I found my thunderegg.