SUNDAL BOLONG CHAPTER 14

Hamzah and Imam Samad had just arrived. Quickly, both of them raced to where Majdi was lying down. As soon as they reached the bedroom they saw Majdi was squeezing his stomach, ignoring the disgusting scene of his bursting belly.

Zainab was already unconscious at the corner of the room. Hamzah ignored her because at that time Majdi's life was in a dangerous state. Hamzah was afraid if it would be too late to save Majdi. Slowly, Hamzah paced towards Majdi and his pace was trailed by Haji Samad from behind.

Hamzah looked at Haji Samad to ask for his help. Haji Samad understood and he nodded as a sign. Without wasting time, Haji Samad recited some of the religious versus and hoped that whatever evil spirits which haunted and disturbed Majdi would escape and let Majdi free. However, his effort seemed to be useless. Nothing happened even though Haji Samad had recited the holy versus for five minutes without stopping.

Now, Majdi's hands had entered into his own stomach and he reached for its contents. Everything from his stomach came out and blood bathed all over the bed. Majdi pulled the cords from his stomach and took it to his mouth. He ate them with a big appetite, as if it was very delicious.

Hamzah and Haji Samad tried to stop Majdi from eating his own cord. But Majdi's energy was amazingly strong and he pushed both of them to the wall as if he was blowing off a piece of feather. He continued eating until a few minutes more. Hamzah and Haji Samad vomited because they couldn't stand the disgusting and frightening sight, but they couldn't do more than that.

Slowly, Majdi who was still eating his own cords became weak and finally he closed his eyes. Majdi was dead, at last.

Zainab who woke up by her own. As soon as she opened her eyes, the only thing which caught her attention was her dead husband. Majdi's body was full of blood, and so was the bed. Hamzah and Imam Samad who were still in puzzlement took a piece of large cloth and covered the body. Then all of them waited for the others to come.

SUNDAL BOLONG CHAPTER 13

Zainab waited nervously beside Majdi, her sick husband. If she followed her heart, she would have run away from there. The horrifying grimace which Majdi gave him made Zainab tremble in fear. She felt as if almost sure that Majdi's body had been entered by another entity from the unknown. His rotating eyes, fierce and full of demand when he glared at Zainab. What he wanted, Zainab didn't know and she didn't dare to ask because she feared Majdi would ask for things she couldn't possibly give.

Majdi kept glaring madly at Zainab. Trying to declare peace, Zainab stepped forward slowly and calculatively towards Majdi. She saw what was squirming on her husband's skin. The giant maggots had roamed almost everywhere on his body.

"My dear husband, if you can hear me please blink your eyes twice. You have to be strong. Father is on the way to seek help. He's calling Imam Samad to come over. Please, darling. You have to hang on. Don't let the evil spirit control you. You have God and He will always help you. Please, blink twice if you understand," pleaded Zainab almost to the verge of tears. She pitied her husband and at the same time very scared of what she was seeing. Never in her life before something as strange and frightening like that happened to her nor her family.

Majdi didn't shift his glare towards Zainab. Nor did he blink twice to show he understood. Zainab became more trembled when he saw Majdi's eyes turning into burning red, and slowly little tiny drops of red liquid resembling of blood trickled down from those pair of eyes. Now concern and worry began to replace her fear. Majdi's condition alarmed a somewhat dangerous signal to Zainab. She began thinking whether Majdi would be able to survive with his condition at that time. And she began thinking of death, and what would happen if her husband died.

Suddenly there was a sound from the wall nearby. Zainab turned around. There, on the wall of the bedroom Zainab saw a green grasshopper landing his feet and was swaying its wings. At first sight, Zainab knew she was in deep trouble. She instantly recognized the grasshopper because it had a pair of red eyes.

Zainab had seen the grasshopper with her own eyes at Daud's house on his funeral day. An emergency thought appeared into her head, telling her to protect her husband. Her instinct told her the grasshopper was there to attack her husband.

Before she managed to think about what to do, the green grasshopper flew straight towards Majdi and bit him on his eyes. Majdi who was already weak couldn't do anything but scream and cried in pain. Then the grasshopper attacked for the second time, and bit his stomach.

Zainab ran protectively towards her husband, ignoring her own fear and safety. She didn't care if the grasshopper bit her. She blocked her husband's body from the grasshopper, but it was too late. Two bites had already been done.

Seeming satisfied, the grasshopper flew out from the house and was gone almost instantly. Leaving Majdi with extreme suffering and pain. Majdi groaned and cried and he held on to his stomach. The pain was too great that he wasn't aware he was pressing too hard on his stomach. Within a minute, his stomach had swollen and it became like a balloon filled with gas. Majdi continued pressing on his stomach until it burst. Instantly, blood spilled out from his stomach and bathed his bed.

Zainab screamed out loud. She didn't know what to do. Panic attacked her and she met a dead end. Her mind was jammed and she saw nothing upfront.

Zainab fainted and fell to the floor due to the extreme fear and pressure. Majdi was left alone, crying for mercy and hoping for an end to his suffering.