The Enchanted Forest of Mangga

8. Kaloy, the super frog fly catcher to the rescue...

The buzzing.

Never did the children realize how horrifying it sounded like until now trapped in the tall grass with no shelter in sight.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Danaya snapped her fingers. "If they bite you, you'll have itchy boils that will last for a long time. It's very hideous if you ask me. One time, I knew a creature that--"

"And you just remembered to tell us now?!" Bea said, throwing her hands in the air.

The buzzing was getting closer. And deadlier.

"We have to run!" Sez said, passing his older siblings.

"What are you waiting for?" Kaloy called out. "Run!"

They did.

It was a scary feeling. The children couldn't see the mosquitos but they could hear them getting closer and closer. But for some odd reason, the buzzing surrounded them and they kept running. How long did they have to run through the tall grass? They couldn't see above the tall grass. They could only see the blue sky and what was in front of them: more tall grass.

"Are we there yet?" Bea shouted.

Sez yelled in frustration. "I don't know where I'm going!"

"Just keep running forward!" Danaya said.

Bea took large leaps to meet Sez and held him back.

"What are you doing, Ate?" Sez asked, surprised to see his older sister beside him so fast.

"Sh, get down. All of you."

The brothers crouched down. The buzzing continued for a few seconds then stopped. The children slowly gazed above them, and there they were. An army of mosquitos hovered above their heads ready to launch their attack.

"Brace yourself!" Ali said.

Before the children could run again, Kaloy hopped out of Sez's pail and croaked so loud it almost cracked Danaya's eardrum. Kaloy licked his lips. His dark eyes grew greedy. Just perfect timing, he didn't eat breakfast so now was a good time to have a very tasty brunch time.

"Get behind me!" Kaloy said as he lashed out his long tongue to the army of mosquitos.

Sez and Ali cheered Kaloy, but Danaya and Bea covered their eyes, peeking through their open fingers in disgust.

Kaloy swiped his sticky, long tape like a scotch tape left and right catching the tiny boogers and swallowing them in big gulps. Kaloy croaked happily. Some of the mosquitos managed to escape. After eating a hefty meal, Kaloy burped in satisfaction.

"Yay!" Ali and Sez cheered and slapped high-fives. "You saved us!"

Kaloy turned around to the girls and grinned. He even winked at Danaya, who responded with sticking out her tongue then gave a thumbs up. Bea was about to give two thumbs up, but quickly slapped the back of her neck. She scratched wildly.

"Ah! It's burning!" Bea cried out.

Ali immediately examined the back of Bea's neck. "Uh-oh, Ate. You got a big bite."

Bea couldn't stop scratching.

"Stop scratching. It's gonna get worse," Danaya said.

"I caaan't~" Bea whined. Just why was she the only one who got bitten?

Kaloy felt terrible. He thought he had gotten all of them. "I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough," he said.

But Bea didn't hear because she was too busy digging her nails into her back.

Danaya tapped her finger to her chin. "Let's get out of here first. If we reach the stepping stones of Lotus Lake, we can find something to relieve the itch."

And off they went to their next destination. 

564 words

6026 total

April 4, 2021