The Pretts, Part One.

Once upon a time, there was a village of small clay people called Pretts. This village was nestled in a garden filled with every fruit and vegetable imaginable, so the Pretts only had to gather their food. They harvested, cooked, and played.

The younger Pretts all looked similar: round eyes, smiles, and very simple features. The older ones were not the same. Their faces were misshapen; their arms and legs were squished. They limped around the village and lived in fear of the rain.

The Pretts knew it rained when the Giant came around. The Giant also lived in the garden, but no one knew much about him. To the Pretts, he was terrifying. Some speculated that he made them, but all the Pretts were too afraid to stick around when he walked by. His shoe laces were the width of their arms, and his footprints were large enough for ten Pretts to lay inside.

When the Pretts heard his footsteps, they would sprint inside. Those caught outdoors were never the same. As huge drops pelted down from the sky, the Pretts crouched under leaves and stems and fruits and vegetables. Being clay people, the Pretts had to stay dry to keep their form. A single raindrop would forever alter a Pretts' life.

The Giant always stretched out his hand to the small clay people after the rain, but they hid from this massive man who brought such destruction to their lives.

So, after the rain, the Pretts would attempt to patch themselves back together. Sometimes, the dry Pretts would emerge from their homes and help re-sculpt their friends. Sometimes, the dampened Pretts tried to fix themselves. All caught in the rain became rough, crooked, and awkward. And, because of the damage to their legs, they walked slower, which made them more likely to get caught in the next rain.

Some Pretts were so disfigured that they barely looked like they did at first. Josellia was one of them. One of her legs was much longer than the other, and her right arm was attached upside-down. Her ears sprouted out of her neck, and one eye sunk in. And, every time she was caught in the rain she became even uglier. She hated the Giant and dreamed about the rain each night. She stopped laughed and playing, and she refused to go outside.