A to Z Challenge: E – Ebu Gogo

Greetings mortal! I had such a long day, cleaning all my bones and polishing them. Speaking of length, I’m sure you have heard of little people. The kind who plot in Westeros or fight evil hordes in Middle-Earth. However, today I’m going to tell you a story of a more primitive variety of them…

Little Kembang had run deep inside the forest.

In the thrill of the game, he had wandered far away from his brothers and sisters. He found himself in a part of the forest he did not recognize. Kembang was a brave ten year old, but he knew that wasn’t going to keep wild animals from eating him up. He called out to his siblings, but he got no response. As he continued wandering, he felt something prick his neck, a dart. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

When Kembang awoke, he found himself sitting next to a fire inside a cave. Lying beside the fire were various vegetables, roots and spices. Around him sat little hairy people who vaguely resembled humans. They stood as tall as Kembang but seemed like adults of their kind. One of them prodded Kembang lightly with his stick and pointed towards the fire.

“Tell how cook.”

Kembang blinked.

The hairy creature snarled at the little boy, baring his sharp yellow teeth.

“Teach cook food.”

Kembang realized what was happening. These creatures were Ebu Gogo, whose stories had been narrated by the elders of his village. In those stories, children always escaped by tricking the creatures. Kembang decided to do the same. He picked up a fruit of the chilly plant, ready to toss it into the fire. This fruit released a strong essence that could incapacitate the uninitiated. Luckily, it was a delicacy in Kembang’s village and he had grown up feasting on it.

Just as the little boy was about to toss the fruit into the flames, his hand was stopped by an Ebu Gogo. Just as the stories had been passed on to Kembang by his elders, so had the stories been told to the Ebu Gogo by their ancestors. They now knew how to spot a trickster, and they knew how to deal with one.

Little Kembang was never found again…

(Word Count: 319)

Like I always say, never underestimate someone because they are short. I do wonder what they did with the little boy. What do you think?

Until next time then, mortals…