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There was a young man. 

A man who moving from town to town.

Telling jokes randomly in public.

Then leaves without taking anything but asking a few sacks of weeds.

Someday, just after he moved into another town strange fever attacked him.

He barely could walks, but refused to stay still.

So that night he wandered about the town.

The town looked empty, shops and inns were closed.

But none of them seemed sleeping.

He wonder, "where are all the people?"

And after a while he made into some border road.

From the distant he spotted man with white hair, sitting on a bench under trembesi tree.

That man wearing a plain white mask with no hole for left eye, using his hair as its tie.

Under the moonlight he chattered something, verses with sad tone.

The young man approached him curiously.

" Trouble, trouble & misfortunes "

" I know a man who come out blinded, subdue everything violently, there is only loss "

" I know a man who try to gain trust so much from other, left betrayed "

" But dark leader never known to man, and everyone just can despised his shadow "

The old man cried, looking at young man.

" where did he leave?  "

Strangely he felt refreshed, his ill symptom was vanished.

Unsure, the young man meant to ask him.

But strangely his voice lost, not even a slightest hum.

Then the young man just noticed something.
Close, a faint echo of bongo & reeks of roasted meat.

Dim red glow dancing outside the border.

Spontaneously, he followed the sign.

Crossing sugarcane field, there was small mud stage between the crowd.

Mostly were clergy-like men with black hood.

The young man saw from distant, a play was starting.

 Puppetter woman with 3 puppets.

Tall-skinny man, fat-short man and hooded woman puppet.

Woman puppeter began the play.

" Tall man murmur : my sister is on the death bed, where could I find her heart? "
" Fat short man reply : you just don't know, but now east border is closed "

"I am going west, i bid you farewell, please keep her safe"
"Along the way tall man met many girls, luring them into a trap."
"He ripped their body, collect their heart as many as he can."
"Until one day there is no virgin anymore in the west, so he decided to going back home."
"In the middle of the way home he decided to rest"

 "Soundly asleep, suddenly wild boar breakthrough and eat the hearts he collect."

"Tall man managed to wound the boar, but the boar blinded him"
"Searching the rubble, there is left one heart left but severely damaged"
" Then he arrived, the woman is very pale"

" Tall man says : i want to open my heart, please give it to her"

"Fat man repply : ok"
" Then it ripped, but fat man cheats"

"He substitued it with damaged heart, making the girl unknown to him"
"In turn fat man keep her heart all along"
"Tall man dead, vanished into ghost"

"Fat man disappear, having his heart and leaves without trace"

The play ended, spectator applauded.
But young man was furious.

He run into the stage, brought a lit wooden torch.

His voice suddenly recovered.

"Then he shouted : you all just been tricked"
Then he reached something from his bag, lit all the weed he got with the torch.

Thick weed smoke clouded the stage.

Spectator going rage, disillusioned by smoke, they throw the young man feebles.
Young man head was bleeding.

Fell down, unconciously he murmured
"good long lasting eastern jokes."

From corner of his eye he saw something.
Wild boar just standing over there, it had no right eye.
It smirked, cynically toward him, it seemed pleased.

And that was disgusting jokes.

Categories: Short Tale