MALAYSIA
When the Full Moon Rises
Stage 2
Story by Kyee Ong
Edit by the CLA Editing Team
Illustrated by Farren Febiola Darmawi
Prologue
Kampung Bulan is a mysterious village. People living there go outside only during the day, and never at night. Everyone in Bulan village is scared when the full moon rises. Some who questioned this mystery have never been seen again. But one man found the answer.
Chapter 1
Ariff was driving when he found his car was broken. He got confused. Then, another car came and stopped in front of him. From the car, a young man and a beautiful woman got off and approached Ariff.
“Is everything okay?” a young man asked Ariff.
Ariff answered that he wanted to go to Kampung Bulan, but his car was broken. The woman kindly asked Ariff to go to Kampung Bulan together.
“Thank you for your help, I’m Ariff from Kuala Lumpur.” Ariff introduced himself.
“My name is Kamal. This is my sister, Zahra. We’re villagers of Kampung Bulan. Why are you traveling to our village?” Kamal asked.
“I’m a reporter. I’ve come here to investigate the mystery of this village.” Ariff answered.
“A reporter? If you want to get out of here alive, don’t try to do anything stupid.” Kamal said.
― They arrived at the village.
Chapter 2
The next day, Ariff walked through the village.
“Hey, mister! How about some satay?
I have some delicious nasi lemak as well!” the uncle grilling chicken called out to him.
“Thank you. I heard that people are terrified to go out at night, but there are many people during the day.” Ariff said.
“What are you talking about?” the uncle answered.
Ariff wanted to know about the village, so he asked about the recent event. “I heard that there was an incident, a man who went to the forest never came back.”
The man panicked and said with a small voice, “We don’t talk about that here. Or she’ll come for you.”
“She? What do you mean by ‘she’?” Ariff asked.
“The Pontianak.” the man whispered.
“Pontianak?! A monster coming out on the full moon?! Are you serious?”
“Shh! Believe whatever you want but it’s what it is.”
“If it is true then where can I find her?”
“No! You just don’t go looking for it!”
“Don’t worry, I guarantee that if you tell me, I will surely reveal the mystery.”
“Alright, fine. Most of the events happened near the mansion on top of the hill.”
“Who lives there?”
“No one.”
The moment they talked about the event, a cold wind blew. There was a full moon in the sky.
“Gotta go! You better hurry home too!” a man said seriously.
“Wait! Where are you going?”
When Ariff looked around, there was only him.
Chapter 3
Late at night, Ariff walked to the old mansion on top of the hill. When he approached the house, there was Zahra.
“It is dangerous to go out at this time.” Ariff said.
Zahra was surprised and replied, “Oh, It’s you.”
“What are you doing?” asked Ariff.
“I’m just watching the moon.” She answered with a warm smile.
“The night of a full moon is dangerous, isn’t it?”
“It is just a rumor. I’ve been here on a lot of nights and it is totally safe.”
“So you come here often?” asked Ariff.
“This was my grandmother’s house. When we were children, my brother and I often came here and played around.”
“That sounds lovely. That uncle lied to me! How could there be a Pontianak in this place!”
Zahra’s smile immediately faded.
“What’s wrong?” Ariff asked as he noticed her sadness.
“Please don’t believe what the villagers are saying. They fear the unknown. All because of that incident.” Zahra sadly said.
“What incident?”
“It was 20 years ago. My grandmother was a witch. I lived here with my brother and my grandmother. However, villagers were afraid of her because she was a witch. And one day, some of the villagers came to our house and arrested her. She never did bad things, but they didn’t believe it. They suddenly grabbed her keris. She became angry and she cast a curse on the entire village. She said that the village would suffer for 20 years, and after 20 years, a monster will come to the village and destroy the village.” Zahra was crying.
“A curse?” asked Ariff.
“Yes, the monster will come and destroy everything on the day of the upcoming festival.”
“Is there anything that could be done to help stop the curse?”
“In order to stop it, we need to have a keris, but I don’t know where it is now.”
Suddenly, Kamal appeared.
“Zahra, I’m done…Ariff? What are you doing?” he said.
Ariff replied, “I just met your sister when I walked around.”
“I see, but you really shouldn’t be out here at this time. Zahra, it’s too late, so let's go home together.”
Zahra and Kamal went home.
*******
The next day, Ariff found Kamal in the village. He was talking with a villager. Ariff hid away from them and listened to their talk.
“Everything is ready,” said the villager.
“How about the sacrifice?” Kamal said.
“Caught and ready.”
“All right, then I will go.”
Ariff was speechless.
Chapter 4
The festival day came. Bomoh, who was the village’s shaman, was surrounded by a lot of people.
“With the power of this coconut make your fields rich for the following years! I bless you!” Bomoh shouted.
“Can you remove the curse?” After the people left, Ariff asked Bomoh.
“Human sacrifice is needed to remove the curse.” Bomoh answered.
“Human sacrifice?” Ariff said.
“Human sacrifice is not a very nice thing to do. But it is necessary.”
“If only we had Zahra family’s keris…”
“A keris?”
“It is Zahra's grandmother's dagger. If we have the keris, we might be able to remove the curse.”
When Ariff mentioned the keris, Bomoh started searching his bag. And he pulled out a dagger.
“A keris like this?” Bomoh questioned.
“Why do you have it?” Ariff asked.
“I got it from my grandfather."
“This is it! This is the keris that Zahra was looking for! We need to get this to them quickly!”
“We? You should go, but not with me.”
“But you’re a shaman! You know how to stop the curse, right?”
“I’m not a shaman. The villagers will pay me if I have coconuts.”
“Well, well, look who’s been lying their whole life. If you don’t come with me, I’ll tell everyone your secret.” Ariff threatened Bomoh.
Chapter 5
It was the night of the festival.
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Ariff and Bomoh broke into the mansion on the hill. Then they could hear someone crying from the house.
When they entered the house, the satay uncle was there. He was caught by someone. Just then sounds of footsteps approached the area. Ariff and Bomoh quickly hid. Kamal and Zahra came into the room.
“Tonight is when we finally remove the curse. By sacrificing the villager, we can remove the curse.” Kamal said.
Kamal took out a dagger and held it above the satay uncle.
“O spirit, with this sacrifice, please forgive my family!” Kamal shouted.
Ariff jumped out and stopped Kamal.
“Ariff? What are you doing!?” Kamal asked.
“You don’t have to do this. We have what you need.” Ariff answered.
He gave the keris to Kamal. Kamal and Zahra were surprised.
“Where did you get that?” Kamal asked.
“Bomoh had it all along! We don’t need to kill anyone anymore!” Ariff said.
“No! We still need it! We are running out of time before the full moon rises!” said Kamal in a panic.
He held the keris above the satay uncle.
“No!” Ariff shouted.
Ariff knocked Kamal to the ground and Bomoh took the keris from Kamal.
“What are you doing, Ariff!? Do you want the whole village to suffer!?” said Kamal.
“No! there must be other ways that don’t involve killing people!” Ariff explained.
“Let me go! I must finish this before the full moon rises!”
Suddenly, Zahra’s face and eyes turned white, and she passed out.
Chapter 6
“Zahra! Are you okay?” Ariff asked.
“It’s coming. The monster. Please go back to your village.” Zahra answered.
“What do you mean?”
“When the full moon rises, I will become a monster. My grandmother put the curse on me 20 years ago. I will become Pontianak, and I will take revenge on those people who hurt us.”
“Ariff, let's save Zahra. Before she becomes Pontianak, let’s remove the curse!” said Kamal.
However, Ariff let the satay uncle go.
“What are you doing!? Don’t you care about Zahra or this village at all?” Kamal yelled.
“There has to be a way to save both of them. Let’s figure out a way together!” answered Ariff.
The full moon rose. Zahra’s cheeks turned pale and cold.
Her eyes turned white and became Pontianak.
Pontianak started to move and defeated Kamal and Bomoh. Ariff saw it and stabbed Pontianak with the keris.
Then Zahra fell. The room fell silent, but Zahra was still alive. It went well. The keris brought her back!
“Ariff? What…happened…?” Zahra asked.
Zahra noticed his brother was laying on the ground.
“Are you okay!?” Zahra panicked.
Kamal woke up from the cries of his sister.
“Thank you for saving the village!” said Kamal.
“It was just pure luck that the keris worked.” Ariff answered.
“It doesn’t matter now! The 20-year-old curse is now gone! God bless Bulan Village!” Bomoh exclaimed cheerfully.
THE END