GROWING TROUBLE

Grandfather was a Rumboogie. He drank morning noon and night. When Joel was drunk he was great fun to be around. He would tell stories about Jumbie and Old Haigue. He would also be over generous with his money. Next day he would have no memory of who he gave what. His grandchildren loved him.

Whenever he told one of his stories the children would laugh and never take him seriously. They knew he was regularly drunk and thought he had made up all the tales he related to them. They were wrong. One night he told them a story that for the first time scared them.
Joel was heading home after 12 a.m. He was so drunk that his shirt was out of his pants and unbuttoned. He looked a sight. He staggered, stumbled and fell as he negotiated his way home. He had been drinking since six and was forced to stop at 12.15 when the barman refused to sell him any more rum. Angrily he stumbled from the rum shop.
The moon showed itself in brief patches. It was cloudy and the thick clouds did a good job of hide and seek with the moonlight. Whenever the moon burst from behind a cloud, shadows sprang to life and you needed little imagination to begin to see things.
Laughing and talking to himself Joel made uncertain progress. As he ventured along he heard a noise and saw some kind of movement. Curiosity got the better of him. Shakily he headed for the next side of the road. There in the deep shadows stood a young boy. Joel had to really focus his intoxicated brain and eyes.
“Wa…Wat yu doing hey so late boy?”
“I live up so.”
“Ok lea we go lang. I gon drap yu home.”
With that kind gesture Joel bought himself a truck load of trouble.
The boy walked beside Joel silent and observant. After a short distance things changed drastically. As soon as the moon drifted from behind the clouds and its light filled the night, the boy beside Joel began to grow at an astonishing rate. Each step he took caused him to progress in two major directions; forward and upward. By the time they had covered 20 metres the child had become a towering monster. Luckily the monster was not too interested in the drunk. He had more important matters on his mind.
Liquor had dulled Joel’s senses. He had lost count of how many drinks he had consumed. What he was certain of was that it was causing him to see things. He looked around for the boy but found what looked like the trunk of a coconut tree there instead. Even though the boy had vanished, Joel was more intrigued by the fact that the tree beside him had appeared out of nowhere and was moving forward at a steady pace.
This needed serious investigation. The drunken man looked up at the tree and instantly regretted it. As he tilted his head back the world began to wobble and tip over. He tried to steady himself and looked for a second time. No leaves, no branches. Joel was now convinced that not only was he seeing things but he had gone crazy. There at the top of the tree were two hands and a head. There was one terrifying fact about the head. It belonged to the little boy.
Shaking his head to try and clear it, Joel squinted at the strange sight. It was still there. The large head was tilted backwards as the creature maintained an unflinching gaze at the moon. Staring upwards for the drunken man caused problems with balance and clear vision. Joel started to fall backwards but steadied himself by grabbing onto the trunk of the tree. No wait a minute! It was not a tree it was a leg.
When that thought sunk in through the rum, shock followed closely. It was the latter that caused him to hastily release the leg and fall flat on his back. Just in time.
SPLAT!!
A hand as large as a coconut branch crashed into the side of the leg that he had just released. If he had been unfortunate enough to still be holding it, he would have discovered what it is like to be a mosquito on the receiving end of a swat.
Lying on his back on the road and staring up at the creature did two things. It cleared Joel’s mind a bit and it gave his memory access to files about Moongazer. His survival instinct kicked in and he decided it was time to get out of there. That proved to be harder than he expected. He tried this way then that way. Each way he turned he was greeted by a large foot. There seemed no escape for him. Soon he began to accept the fact that he was trapped. Was this it? Would he die here on the road tonight?” Then his fortune changed.
A large cloud completely obscured the moon. As suddenly as he had appeared he disappeared. The boy was back at his side, but not for long. Joel understood what he was dealing with. He knew whenever the moonlight returned the monster would be back. Taking advantage of the welcomed darkness he decided it would be prudent to be home before the moon appeared again. And he was.
Speed and purpose were not lacking as Joel raced home. The rum became the fuel for his speed. The only issue about his narrow escape was the pitter, patter of little running feet behind him all the way home.

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