Desa Kenanga's folklore

Holiday trip

'Damn it, I forgot to bring my flashlight,' Yuuki whined as he rummaged through his heavy bag pack. Kiyoko sighed loudly in response, while sitting at the front car seat. The driver, which was Alisa slightly chuckled.

 'Shibayama, why would you need a flashlight? We are literally going to visit a cozy village with ACTUAL people, we are not camping,' Lev asked in confusion. It was only going to be a short visit to Desa Kenanga. Apparently, there will be a festival in a few days, and they also have many traditional shops to visit, making the village town a tourist attraction. 

 As the four teenagers bickered away, Hitoka looked out of the car window, only to see a bunch of trees. They were only a mile away from their destination. She couldn't wait to get out of the car.

 After only seeing trees, Hitoka saw a waterfall across the river they're driving next to. She didn't think this trip was a nice idea, but she had nothing to do other than walking around her apartment preparing herself for college. This also applied to the other four. Alisa and Lev managed to contact some people for a field trip, and here they are.

 A few minutes after the loud bickering calmed down, they arrived at their desired destination. The desired destination was a parking lot. An empty parking lot. 

'Why is it empty? I thought it would be full,' Kiyoko asked, as she looked out of the window. "And it's the weekend," Lev shouted from behind. Hitoka, who was next to Lev rolled down the window and stuck her head outside. She looked around for a while, only to realize it's getting dark. She started getting a bit anxious.

  'It's getting dark, I think we need to hurry,' Hitoka suggested nervously.

 "See, this is why I wanted to bring a flashlight," Yuuki shouted after hearing what she had just said. 

After Alisa parked the car, the five got out of the car, loudly. Lev and Kiyoko were yawning and stretching their arms out while Hitoka was tying her hair. Of course, Yuuki was the only one looking around, shivering. He did not like the place at all. Alisa on the other hand, was at the trunk searching for items they might need.

 'Woah, why did you bring these? Were you planning on burning the village or something?' Lev exclaimed, forcing his head into Alisa's vision. 'Get your head out of the way, Lev!' She yelled back, pushing his head out of her way. 

  'I brought us flashlights!! Here, take one each,' Alisa cheered at the others as she held five flashlights in her hands. 

 'Here, someone take this one,' 

'I'll take this.'

 They started walking towards the bridge that led them to another bridge, which was longer and made of steel. Yuuki and Hitoka were trembling in fear, overthinking about what would happen if they took a wrong step. Kiyoko was the first to walk on the bridge, followed by Lev and Alisa. The last two were practically hugging each other walking on the bridge.

 'It went dark fast,' Lev mumbled, Alisa nodded in agreement. They were getting exhausted. By the time they arrived at the village, it was already dark, and they decided to rest at the old wooden houses that were originally made for tourists.

The houses already had sleeping mats folded, waiting to be used. But the mats were nearly there for over a century, so they had no choice but to use their sleeping bags. They should thank Yuuki for packing the sleeping bags.

Most of them were already sleepy when they prepared the sleeping bags. Alisa and Yuuki were the earliest to fall asleep among them.

Alisa was driving for five hours straight; she deserved a good night sleep. Yuuki was mentally exhausted, but he was only thinking about all the things he accidentally left behind. Poor him.

Hitoka, Lev and Kiyoko were still awake. They sat in a small circle, planning their activities for tomorrow. Their conversation was accompanied by a bright glowing candle Lev had lit up earlier.

'I heard the staffs hold cooking classes for the villagers and every Monday. Tomorrow is Monday. We can join them and learn how to make their famous vegetable porridge,' Lev suggested excitedly to the two girls.

'Where is it held? Kiyoko asked in confusion.

' Heard they have a two-story building filled with traditional grill and it's also a restaurant. They usually use it to grill meat, but they can be used for boiling water and making porridge too, as well as other food,' He explained in full detail to both Kiyoko and Hitoka.

'We should join them. The activity is going to last the whole day. The staffs might not be available at any shops, since all of them are going to be the hosts and guides for the class,' Lev suggested again as he writes something in his notebook with the help of the bright candle.

'Uh, I think there's a small traditional bathhouse near the entrance. We could go wash up there before the activity starts,' Hitoka added before yawning.

'Maybe we should. But for now, we should all go to sleep. Especially you, Hitoka,' Kiyoko advised. They all agreed and laid into their sleeping bags.

'Goodnight, everyone.'