Tenuksia sat in the dimly lit living room of her gloomy house. The faint light illuminated only the altar before her. On the table, a black cloth was spread out, covered in strange symbols drawn with chalk powder. Several small pouches lay in the centre of the table, made of deep red fabric and tied with straw strings.
That night, Tenuksia began yet another ritual. She wanted to ensure that her neighbours bowed to her influence. With a lit black candle, she took a handful of black powder and blew it towards the small pouches while chanting an incantation:
"O shadow of the dark night,
Bring forth a power that will never fade.
Their hearts I bind with vengeance,
Bow to my will, O wretched ones."
Each pouch was filled with mystical ingredients—bone powder, snake skin fragments, and withered cempaka flowers soaked in enchanted water.
Once finished, Tenuksia took the pouches and slipped out of her house. The night sky was dark, illuminated only by a pale crescent moon. Carefully, she crept into her neighbour’s yards, discreetly placing a pouch in each one.
When she reached Marlina's house, she hesitated. The house seemed even quieter and darker than the others. Feeling slightly uneasy, she tucked the last pouch into the fence. However, she failed to notice a pair of sharp eyes watching her from the darkness.
Si Kelabu, Marlina's cat, had been observing from atop the fence. In an instant, the cat leapt down, its claws striking the pouch, scratching and biting it as if it were a toy. The foul smell from the pouch agitated Si Kelabu even more, and with a powerful kick, it sent the pouch flying out of Marlina’s yard, right into Tenuksia’s own garden, where it landed hidden among the large flower pots.
That morning, Marlina stepped outside to water her plants. Si Kelabu jumped onto her lap, purring softly while rubbing its head against her arm. Marlina smiled but couldn’t shake off a strange feeling of unease. She recalled the odd occurrences since moving to this neighbourhood.
After carefully checking, she found nothing suspicious in her yard. Nothing seemed out of place. She had no idea that Si Kelabu had unknowingly protected her.
Meanwhile, in Tenuksia’s home, things began to change. That morning, as she inspected her garden, she caught a whiff of a strange odor from between the flower pots. Assuming it was just some withered flowers, she ignored it. After all, she had a small gathering planned that evening to celebrate her neighbors’ "loyalty."
By evening, Tenuksia’s yard was filled with neighbours, all bearing expensive gifts, silver plates, golden ornaments, and jewellery. They all smiled warmly, but something was off. Their eyes were hollow, their smiles unnaturally wide, and their speech felt forced.
Tenuksia accepted the gifts with open arms, but one thing bothered her, Marlina never showed up with a valuable offering. Her sharp gaze flickered toward Marlina’s quiet house.
"Why didn’t she come?" Tenuksia muttered to herself, suspicion creeping in. But she chose to set it aside, basking in the attention from her other neighbors.
Inside Marlina’s home, Si Kelabu was restless. The cat prowled back and forth, pouncing at unseen shadows and occasionally letting out a low growl. Marlina, reading in the living room, glanced at her cat in confusion.
"What’s wrong with you, Kelabu?" she asked, trying to soothe it.
Si Kelabu suddenly jumped onto the table, knocking over a small flower pot, shattering it. Marlina gasped, getting up to clean the mess. That was when she saw it—a dark shadow flickering at the edge of her vision. A shiver ran down her spine as she turned toward the corner of the room. But there was nothing there.
"Did you see something?" Marlina murmured, half to herself, half to Si Kelabu. The cat merely narrowed its eyes, its tail flicking sharply.
That night, Marlina decided to lock all her doors and windows. She wasn’t going to take any chances, not after all the strange events. Si Kelabu slept by her feet, but all night long, Marlina could feel the cat shifting around as if keeping watch.
Back at Tenuksia’s house, the stench in the garden grew stronger. The guests in her home began acting strangely, one woman suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter, while a man started banging his fists on the table until they bled.
Tenuksia was unsettled but tried to maintain control.
"Calm down, everything is fine," she assured them with a forced smile. But deep inside, she knew something was terribly wrong.
As the night wore on, her guests gradually left, looking dazed and confused as if in a trance. Tenuksia gazed at the gifts she had received with satisfaction, but her suspicions about Marlina still lingered.
"I need to find out why you didn’t come to my house with an offering," she whispered while extinguishing the black candle on her altar.
But she had failed to realize that her own spell had backfired, just like slapping a frog in a bucket, only for it to leap back into her own face.
The cursed pouch, hidden within her own garden, had started its work, drawing entities from another realm into her home. That night, Tenuksia could not sleep. Strange whispers filled the air, shadows flickered on the walls, and the foul smell became unbearable. Her head pounded from exhaustion and restlessness.
When she stepped outside to inspect the garden, she was met with a horrifying sight. Her flower pots were cracked, her plants withered, and in the middle of it all, the very pouch she had crafted lay ominously untouched.
Tenuksia’s breath hitched. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
"This… this can’t be happening…" she whispered, her face drained of color.
Then, soft laughter echoed around her laughter not of a human, but of something only she could recognize. Tenuksia took a step back, fear overtaking her.
Meanwhile, at Marlina’s house, Si Kelabu had finally calmed down. Marlina slept soundly that night, unaware that she had narrowly escaped the fate that had befallen her neighbours.
Si Kelabu sat by the window, its eyes glowing in the darkness as it stared toward Tenuksia’s house. As if it knew, the battle had only just begun.