Story Written by Emerson Marine (Alternate)
The Crying Giant by Tom Otterness
A giant cried today. He sat down, put his head in his hands, and cried. He cried for things he wished he'd done, but didn't do, words he said he didn't mean to say. He cried for fear, and cried for anger. He cried for all things lost, and sorely missed, for people who hurt, and people who cried themselves. A giant is a big creature, more than you, more than me. So his heart is bigger too. And this giant's colossal heart was filled with sadness, heavy and tired. And as this giant cried, for good things that went wrong, and wrong things that went right, for things forgotten, but still felt, for dreams that didn't come true, for rain when the sun wanted to shine, and tears when laughter wanted to be heard, for people with something to say, who went unnoticed, and a world that wanted to change, each tear that fell to the grassy ground made his eyes a little clearer, his heart a little lighter. Yet still he cried. And as this giant cried, the world around him began to change. The sun was brighter, the sky was bluer, the grass was greener, the air felt cleaner. People everywhere were smiling. Eyes twinkled, laughter sounded clear and loud. It seemed that as the giant cried, for things others wanted to cry about, but didn't, the world became a little better. But the giant, with his head in his hands, did not see what was happening around him. So still he cried. And how could a creature change the world so? There is a simple reason. Nothing's so big as a giant crying.
Author's Statement
Emerson Marine is a 12 year old who attends seventh grade at an Arts' School in Wilmington, Delaware, with Communication Arts as her major, and Vocal as her minor. She has been awarded 1st place in the DuPont Company's Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation art contest, and has participated in the University of Delaware's Festival of Words, winning 1st place in their writing competition. Emerson has also performed with OperaDelaware in The Enormous Egg, The Hobbit, and The Magic Flute. She is a volunteer at Hagley Museum, participating in their Creek Kids program. Emerson's favorite authors are J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, Alice Hoffman and Cornelia Funke. Her favorite movie is Harvey with Jimmy Stewart and she is a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock, Tim Burton and M. Night Shyamalan films. Her other interests include film, photography, piano, knitting, and swimming.