Leyon

VIII

Shame, hatred, grief, and disappointment, in myself. I've been feeling those since I ran away.

"I am strong!"

"I am brave!"

"I am the best!"

"I can do things on my own!"

Those words keep popping in my mind over and over again as I wander in the forest.

It was dark. There are a lot of different noises surrounding me and within. I feel numb and empty. I really wanted to end this day. I hope the tree I'm leaning on will turn into a nice and fluffy bed.

I don't know how long I've been here, maybe half an hour or exactly an hour, perhaps hours. I lost my sense of time. My eyes are now getting used to the dark and the moonlight is helping me to see more clearly. I love nature and how the world works even though I don't know much about it, and I have no interest to know.

I take a deep breath. I thought I am a Bakunawa, a wind dragon looking at the air coming out from my mouth every time I exhale, and it vanishes slowly.

"What a bad day, a very, very bad day," I said, again and again with a musical tone, relieving myself, trying to compose a song.

My eyes are heavy, my lips are dried, my throat stings every time I exhale and swallow, my limbs are numbing and tingling, my tummy is roaring like a thirsty beast. I closed my eyes, ignoring all the pain, hoping for a new day, a wonderful one.

At dusk, in the corner of my eyes, I saw the girl who warned me. She's sitting alone on the decayed bench in the middle of the grassy field. She's looking at me, straight face. She was surrounded by the darkness of the land and at her back is the dim sunbeam despite that, I saw her very well as if there was a light, perhaps she's the light itself.

She said, "I warned you. Kids like you should go home now."

Her black, yellow, orange, red hair flips as she stands; her hair is reflecting the color of the sky and the land, it was like a mirror. She pointed her finger at me and said, "You ignore what I said and this is the result of it. Don't worry, I am kind enough to help you this time."

I wanted to speak but I cannot. I woke up with a heavy breath. I gulped.

The light is touching me gently as I stare at the bright circle in the middle of the night sky, there are few clouds surrounding the moon halo and twinkling stars scattered in heaven.

I grin and said, "I am very sure that when I get back home my mother will smack me!"

I stood up and looked up again in the sky to say goodbye to the gentle moon. I am a little bit okay now. I think I slept twice today.

"Huh? What's that?" I said looking closely at the moon. There was a black-thingy of something at the center of the bright circle. I focus my eyes; stare at it, analyzing it, the more I look at it the more I become curious because it's getting bigger and bigger as it moves towards me. It was a silhouette of a bat, I thought.

"I hope I have my bow and arrow to catch that and cook it for my supper. Time to go home, I will just ready myself to brace the impact of my mother's slipper."

I slowly walk away from the tree with my hands placed on my tummy. I felt like there was a knife stabbing my belly a million times in a double speed and a metal chain on my neck dragging a hundred tons of metal.

A giggle of a woman echoed in the forest, it was tiny and sharp. It is somehow irritating me.

I stopped and looked around to find where the voice was coming from. I cannot see anyone besides the trees, the logs, the flowers, the plants, and the fireflies floating and shining, just nature itself.

The irritating laugh is getting closer and closer. I looked up then saw the shadow of a bat again flying directly at me, it was bigger than the last time I saw it. I stood up straight and focused my vision on the shadow and put my left hand into my forehead then stared at it closely. I thought it was just a jackpot for the hunters but I was wrong.