Tales Of The Wisp ~AYU INDAH

THE HUNT

This time, I suddenly found myself deep in the middle of a kalasangan, a rainforest jungle. I won't even bother to explain how I got here.

I can only surmise that it must have been early afternoon outside this dense jungle, but the dazzling light could barely penetrate through its shaded canopy of billions of leaves.

Underneath, the light here was diffused, and the incubated atmosphere was steamy and wet.

It was loud!

Lurid with the sounds of birds and the incessant high-pitched humming of cicadas or crickets, like the ringing of a tinnitus ear!

I was surrounded by lush, ginormous foliage and ferns, some taller than me. I recognized the itchy gabi-gabi or taro leaves. Wow! It's the size of elephant ears or a large umbrella!

It made me feel tiny and uncertain, like Thumbelina or Alice after she ate the shrinking cake. I was more tremblingly terrified than curious, for instead of a whimsical wonderland, I was in the heart of this Jurassic jungle.

I couldn't help but spot the humongous centipedes that looked like they were pumped up with steroids.

And there were the vicious wasps buzzing around me like tiny helicopters; I had to constantly duck or dodge the venomous caterpillars that slithered across my path like they were going to crawl up my leg; creepy crawlers and odd bugs lurked around every corner.

A haven for giant spiders, poisonous insects, itchy chiggers, and slimy creatures, every square inch is alive with slithering, weird creatures that looked like they had crawled straight from the depths of my worst nightmare, and I may be their next meal.

Standing in the middle of this wasteland of tangled underbrush, my mind ran wild, and my skin crawled. It felt like my heart would burst out of my chest. I dare not move for fear of hurting myself by stepping on anything that might coil or sting back.

I looked down, and I could see my sandaled feet, soaked and muddied on the ground, thick with moss, bedraggled roots, and decaying plants.

Just then, I spotted a huge beige green boa constrictor coiled around a tree branch a few feet away from me! That's it!

I stumbled to find my way out, screaming in panic for Nai, but all that came out was a pathetic whimper.

Then, I heard rustling in the bushes. "What is that?" Looking about me.

"Ohhh, Nai, why am I here?" I demanded to know, my eyes darting around in fear.

But there was no answer-only the sound of something coming closer and closer...

Then I heard the shrill of chase. From afar, riotous, boisterous shouts and shrieks were coming my way.

I almost toppled over, unbalanced by a wild black tusked boar, a baboy-damo, squealing berserked past me.

Horrified, I started screaming!

In hot pursuit, I recognized Tokoh leading a band of warriors, their bodies hidden by vines and leaves, with spears, bows, arrows, and sundangs in hand, all running after it.

The hunters quickly surrounded the petrified pig. Tokoh, with glittering eyes thrilled for a kill, did the honor.

No! I yelled out to him for mercy, flailing my arms out in the air, attempting to stop him, but no one heard me. With a swift, forceful throw, Tokoh speared the sniveling pig, then hacked it to pieces, bathing his body with its blood.

"Ang yuta sagrado. The earth is sacred; sama sa tanan nga nagpuyo niini. and so is everything that lives in or upon it. It forbids mindless killing, destruction, or waste. When life must be taken to sustain ourselves, as in harvesting or hunting, atong buhaton kini, we must do it with gratitude and in a spirit of mindfulness." Nai's voice shook with anger and disapproval.

Like Ayu, I too regarded him with disdain. He was a cruel beast.