MALAYSIA
When the Full Moon Rises
Stage 1
Story by Kyee Ong
Edit by the CLA Editing Team
Illustrated by Farren Febiola Darmawi
Ariff was a reporter. He wanted to investigate a mysterious murder in a village, Kampung Bulan. On the way to the village, Ariff had car problems, and he met Kamal and Zahra.
They headed to Kampung Bulan together.
When they arrived at the village, Ariff met the satay uncle.
"I heard about an incident in Kampung Bulan.” said Ariff.
“Yes, there was a man who disappeared on the mountain. It is said that there is a Pontianak in the mountain,” the satay uncle replied.
Ariff went to the mountain. There was a house on top of the mountain, and at the house, he met Zahra. Ariff told Zahra about the rumor of a Pontianak.
“There is a 'curse' of a Pontianak on the village. The Pontianak comes when the full moon rises. Tomorrow, the Pontianak will come. There are only two ways to remove the curse. The first is by a human sacrifice. The second is to find my grandmother’s keris, but it was stolen." Zahra said.
“I want to find the keris Zahra continued.
“I will help you!” Ariff said.
The next day, Ariff met the village bomoh.
The bomoh was blessing the village with coconuts.
Ariff asked the bomoh, “Do you know about the curse of the Pontianak?”
“Yes, a villager must die in order to remove the curse," the bomoh said.
“But, I think there is a keris that can also remove the curse." Ariff replied.
Then the bomoh opened a bag and showed an old keris. It was the one! Ariff and the bomoh decided to go to see Zahra.
Late in the evening, they went to a house on top of the mountain. The satay uncle was there. He was caught by Zahra and Kamal! Kamal was about to sacrifice the satay uncle.
“Wait! we can remove the curse with the keris!” said Ariff to Kamal.
However, they didn’t know how to use the keris to remove the curse. When the full moon rose, Zahra became a Pontianak because of the curse.
Ariff defeated the Pontianak with the keris. The Pontianak turned back into Zahra, and she came back to life. The "curse" was gone. Finally, the villagers were safe.
Oh, and Ariff’s story made the front page of the newspaper.
THE END