The Enchanted Forest of Mangga

9. Stepping stones of Lotus Lake...

The sun hasn't reached all the way to the highest top of the sky yet, but at this time, the boys were getting hungry after witnessing Kaloy's big brunch. Bea's stomach also grumbled, but her hands and nails focused on the red spot behind her neck.

The children had made it out of the tall grass. Good grief. Bea had already planned on avoiding the tall grass when they had to return home. They will have to find a different route. It was great seeing the forest and the narrow dirt path again. A little further away, the children could see the stepping stones of Lotus Lake just like what the fairy had said.

"Can we eat now, please Ate?" Sez said. He patted his belly.

"Yeah, I'm hungry too. I want to eat hotdog again," Ali said.

"No. I don't want to eat near the tall grass. Let's walk until we reach the lake. We can eat there," Bea said.

"Aaww," the boys said together.

Ali took another look behind Bea's neck. "You know, Ate. I saw Yaya Rosa do this once."

Bea raised her eyebrows. "What did she do?"

Ali demonstrated a hand in front of him and with a forceful push from his throat spit on his hand.

"Gross, Ali!" Bea cried horrified.

Ignoring his sister's disbelief, he told her, "Turn around, Ate."

"No!" Bea refused. "Don't you dare put your spit on me!"

"Stand still, Ate!" Ali tried to chase his sister. Bea circled around Sez and Kaloy. Danaya laughed on top of Ali's head, enjoying the scene in front of her. "I swear I saw Yaya Rosa do this!"

No! Stop it!"

Kaloy jumped in to stop Ali's attempt to heal his sister. He shuddered the thought of having someone's spit on his leathery skin too. These human children. Ali wiped his leftover spit on his shorts, muttering that his sister will soon regret it. Bea was already ahead of them down the narrow dirt path with Sez trailing behind chanting repeatedly that he was hungry. Kaloy leapt beside him.

When they reached the stepping stones of Lotus Lake, the scene was breathtaking. Nothing much like the tall grass of doom. The lake was glittery and sparkling. Dragonflies danced around the lotus floating on the lake. Not far from where the children stood were flat-raised stones that they could cross to the other side. At the other side, the children saw a colorful and lush garden of unusual flowers. Bea dropped her backpack and sat on the ground.

"Now, can we eat?" Sez asked excitedly, but he beat Bea's answer as he was already rummaging through her backpack of goodies.

Sez and Ali unfolded their leftover hotdogs and scrambled eggs. There were no spoons and forks so they ate with their hands. Bea managed to eat her share too. Kaloy's mouth began to water as he watched the children eat their human food so Sez offered a bit of his hotdog which the frog greedily swallowed. Ali also shared a bit with Danaya, who was still perched relaxedly on top of his head. Danaya enjoyed licking her fingers.

After quietly finishing their food, the boys and the frog started to have a burping competition while Danaya and Bea stood up and walked to look at the blooming lotuses. As Bea observed the murky lake, the water looked shallow while it was covered with many lily pads and pink and purple lotuses.

"A lotus flower has some healing powers that can stop the itching," Danaya began. "We have to look for a lotus that is already open and hasn't been touched by the dragonflies yet. The dragonflies liked the taste of the nectar inside the lotus that it becomes empty before the afternoon."

Danaya was small and light enough that she could walk on top of the lily pads while Bea stepped on the flat-raised stepping stones. Danaya was right. Most of the lotus flowers were already nectar-empty because of the dragonflies. Bea was kneeling down and leaning over the stone as she glanced on each lotus.

"Empty, empty, empty," she chanted as she checked each one of them.

"Found anything?" Danaya called over.

Bea shook her head. "Nope." She checked on her brothers and the frog who were now laughing loudly. "Hey! Help us out here, you dorks!"

Ali stretched his mouth and stuck out his tongue. Sez also stretched his mouth and stuck out his tongue.

"Why, you little brats," Bea hissed.

She didn't realize that she was well over the edge of the stone when her hand slipped.

"Oof!" Bea glanced at Dayanara who was running after her and the brothers gasped as they watched their older sister drop into the water with a loud splash.

Bea had thought the water was shallow, but it was not. Although she and her brothers already knew how to swim, it was no big deal. The water was cold to the touch as she floated in the water and held her breath. She pumped her legs and flapped her arms. She was moving, but somehow, she was still sinking. Why was she sinking? She looked through the water, but it was murky to see her surroundings. She looked down at her legs, and realized that something had attached itself around her ankles.

Bea tried to scream but only a large air bubble escaped her mouth.

899 words

6925 total

April 4, 2021