Neal noticed my trepidation and brought his gigantic hand with an outstretched finger the size of a tree trunk towards me, no doubt to comfort me. Instinctively I recoiled from the immense digit, which could end my life in an instant. My godfather spoke:
-COME ON, COME ON, PETEY, DON'T WORRY. EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALL RIGHT.
His booming voice hurt my ears and I let him know it by covering them with my hands. He caught my gesture and lowered his tone. It didn't escape my notice the use of the pet name he used with me when I was a kid, which depressed me even more. "I was so much bigger when I was a kid than I am now," I thought bitterly.
-Get me out of this cage! -I asked my godfather. He didn't hear me, naturally. My voice was now as small and weak as myself. He put his big ear towards me and I asked him again, this time shouting at the top of my lungs, the same thing. He shook his head.
-As soon as we get home -he said, and started the car. I resigned myself and sat down on the floor of the cage. For the first time I noticed what I was wearing, which was obviously not my clothes. They had become as gigantic to me as everything around me. I had been put on a cloth, a kind of short tunic, held in place by a rough rubber band in the middle. That was my only wardrobe: no underwear or footwear of any kind. I also took a close look at the cage I was in. It was the typical one used for pets, especially birds. Without a lock, the door opened and closed with a small latch that released a spring. That latch was completely out of my reach and I think that, even if I had reached it, I would not have been able to open it. I was not strong enough. I was completely at Neal's mercy.
The car ride to my godfather's house was short and Neal did not speak. Finally we arrived and, after parking the car, my godfather's giant hand grabbed the cage by its top handle and pulled me out of the vehicle. As it opened, I remembered how a little less than two days before I had crossed the threshold of that door as a normal human being. Now an almighty giant literally held my life and destiny in his hands.
Neal went straight to the kitchen and left the cage on the table.
-I guess you're hungry. I'll make something to eat -before he turned away, I made a pleading gesture that he understood. His big paw released the latch on the cage and the door opened. Trembling I went out to the kitchen table and waited for Neal to prepare the food. He didn't linger long, simply made a sandwich and sat down at the table to eat it. Before that he cut a few small pieces and put them on the table in front of me.