Gods and Little People

The little boy smiled, it was strawberry, his favourite, and there was enough to last for a couple of weeks before it all melted away under the harsh days sun.

"Hello there, how you are?" asked the friendly shopkeeper, as he took his jacket off from around his shoulders. He too had just returned from the church.

"Hello, sir," replied granddad, in the politest way he could. Everyone in Ohcra was polite; there wasn’t a soul who wasn’t. Apart from the beast.

"What can I do you for?" asked the shopkeeper.

"Two helpings of strawberry ice cream, please," asked granddad.

"Good choice. It just dropped in this morning, nice and cold it is," explained the smiling shopkeeper, as he handed the little boy and his elder a portion of ice cream. "Please, two gold coins."

Granddad handed the shopkeeper three. "Thank-you for the nice service."

If you weren’t nice in Ohcra you were asked to leave, that’s what the mayor of the village had said as the only rule the residents had to follow.

"All I ask," said the large, bubbly, bearded man, "Is that no one harms anyone in any way, not verbal, not physical, not psychological." And his last words while being dragged away by the beast were "Do not forget." He assumed that if there was enough love in the village, then it would drive the beast away, but so far, during the twenty years that his rule had been active, it had not succeeded in destroying the beast.

"Lets go for a walk," suggested granddad, as the little boy tucked hungrily into his icy treat.

"Ok," replied the little boy, the first word he had uttered in a while.

The sun was bright and there wasn’t a trace of wind to be found. It was the nicest of days in Ohcra, and it seemed like nothing would dare disturb the tranquillity.

Although the heavy panting of a familiar creature was not far away, accompanied by the thud of heavy footsteps. Granddad peered skyward, and instantly grabbed for his next of kin. They both dropped their ice cream on the floor, and it made a quiet slap as it hit the loose dirt. His eyes filled with a deep terror, one he had never seen before.

It was the beast.

Granddad had never seen the gruesome face of the beast before, only its rear end as it carried its victims away. This was truly horrifying for him.

"Stay calm," he ordered his grandson, "stay still."

The beast barked loudly.

"Is he close?" asked the little boy.

Granddad could feel the hot sticky breath on his face as he stared worriedly into the eyes of the beast. Its tangled hair was thick and bristly, and its four huge feet pounded the ground as it edged nearer.

Another terrific bark, and the little boy knew he was moments from being taken away to join his mother and father in the pit of the creature’s stomach.

Granddad did the only thing he knew to avoid catastrophe.

He prayed. He prayed for god to save him and his grandson. He prayed that the terrifying beast would leave and never return.

The beast began lapping at the fallen ice creams, and yelped a cry of accomplishment.

"Here," came the booming voice of god, rattling the houses back in the village. "Come here, boy."

The beast suddenly became alert, its ears pricking up and sensing the sound as if it was behind.

And then god appeared. He was tall, stretching for miles into the sky, just like Granddad had told the little boy when he was a really little boy. His face seemed old and worn, a brown beard hiding his chin and lips.