The Pot of Naughty Henry

Summer days are a playful time for every child in the house of Mrs. Charles. Children run through the wet garden and then haste to the garage and come to the backdoor and make dirt around the kitchen. Manny and Brando made a really mess around their grandmother’s house.

“Manny! Brando!” a loud noise coming from the second floor was howling the whole house.

“Time for another bicycle ride Brando”, Manny grinned. They rush through the backdoor and grab each handle bars and start to rush down the street.

 “What do we do next? I am sure she will scold us again and locked us to the warehouse”, Brando appealed.

 “You’re so scared Brando. We can still find our way out of it”, said Manny.

 “I trust you, but she’s sick with us. Maybe we’ll stop this things on”, Brando.

 “You know I just wanted to have some fun this summer, and found the fun in this stuffs”, Manny.

 “I should find my own fun Manny, I don’t want you doings and I don’t find any fun of it”, Brando stopped the bike and take a turn to go back home.

 “Hey wait! I’ll stop it Brando. Wait for me”.

Mrs. Charles is still mopping the mess they made around the kitchen. It made her irritate for a moment and now she thinks for another punishment for them. They were as naughty as wild cats fighting around. “I should place this thing here”, Mrs. Martha make a smile around his lips.

It was dark when the two wild cats arrive. “We’re home!”, Manny shouted.

“Dinner’s ready!”, Mrs. Martha called the children in a sweet voice. The two naughty child stares at each other as they felt the change from their Grandma.

“You’ll not scold us, are you?”, ask Brando.

“Of course not, why do I scold you? Taste this steak. I made it for you two. I know you’re tired of playing this day”, Mrs. Martha seems to be hiding her anger to them. She knew this will be the last thing when she moved it from her room.

“What’s that thing above that shelf Manny?”, Brando simply ask him in a low voice.

“I don’t know. Maybe some of her stuffs here”, Manny replied.

“That is the pot of naughty Henry. A once naughty boy that always wants to play things around, beat the other children and made every people in this place his victim from his naughtiness. The naughtiest boy ever had in this place”, Mrs. Martha interrupts.

“Another story telling eh?”, Manny tries to cover his ears.

“Grandma’s telling your story Manny”, Brando laughs.

“And when a beggar crossed this place, he beat him with some clay. He didn’t wonder the things gonna happen next. The beggar got angry and told naughty Henry, ‘You will soon end up of what you’re throwing on me’.  Henry just kept on throwing on clays to the beggar until it went away in this place. But when the beggar crossed this place, there comes a heavy rain. It rained harder and harder that day. And when the rain ends, they found Henry’s bike in the middle of the road, full of clays but he’s not around”, she continued.

“Did they found him after?”, Brando ask but his voice is cold.

“They didn’t found him anymore. No one see Henry since. They believe that the beggar cursed him for his doings and he was melted by the heavy rain and turned himself into clay. Then they gathered the clay in his bike and put it in a pot”, she explained.

“They say that if the pot of naughty Henry breaks, his soul will take revenge and take another naughty child inside a pot”, Mrs. Martha told with a tone in her voice.

“I’m not scared from those folktales and I’m not a naughty boy Grandma”, said Manny. A lightning flashed just as he said those words.

“Looks like there will be a heavy rain tonight. Finished your plate and prepare to wash the dishes”, Mrs. Martha told the two boys. “And don’t sleep on your rooms. I locked them and you two will be sleeping here for this night. No more replies. No more appeals. That is your punishment”, she added.

The boys draw their own sad faces, and turn to their plates. It was a heavy rain that night. Mrs. Martha already finished eating and preparing herself to sleep. “Don’t try to unlock you rooms. You’ll waste your time. I prepared you a blanket and some pillows. Sweet dreams boys”, Mrs. Martha grinned.

The two boys just finished washing the dishes when a lightning strike not far from their house. The lights went off the house and turned to be a hunted place. They scream so loud and run through there blankets. They race to the dining room but Brando accidentally pushed the cabinet where the pot of naughty Henry lies.

“Plaaaaaaaank!”, a sound of a broken pot.

“What was that Brando?”, Manny stopped and looked back at Brando. “Something fell off the shelf Manny, I didn’t intend to but I can’t see anything here. It’s too dark. Help me!”, Brando response. “Ok. I’m walking on you. Don’t move”, said Manny.

It was so dark that time and he didn’t see where that pot lies. Mrs. Martha had a lot of cabinets in her dining room so you won’t definitely see anything as they are blocking the lights from the windows.

Manny track him down from the dark. He stopped when he felt something under his feet. It was clay, wet clay. “What did you do? What is this? I’ll tell Grandma for this!”, said Manny with a tone in his voice. “I’m just following you Manny, I’m sorry please don’t tell Grandma”, Brando explained. Manny grabbed something from his pocket and scratch it from his watch. The fire on the match lightens the two of them and the broken pot on the floor.

Manny was shocked from what he saw. Brando screamed and the light from the match disappeared. They were all screaming down the floor. They run through the dark and take their blankets on the table and make a cover to themselves.

“Did you see that?”, Manny ask Brando with fear. “It’s the pot of naughty Henry right? It’s an accident Manny, it was so dark there”, Brando explained. Another lightning flashed from behind and they screamed again.

“Maybe we must stay here for this night and wait for the sun to shine”, said Brando.

“I’m not staying here if that pot is still open. We don’t know if Henry will take us to his pot and sealed us forever”, Manny seemed to be scared.

“Don’t tell me you believe those folks from Grandma”, Brando started to laugh. He believes that it was just a folk. He uncovers himself from the blanket and pretends to be a brave hero for Manny. “I’m gonna knock down that Henry for you Manny”, he added and laughed.

He was just half his way on the broken pot when a flash of thunder lights up the dining room. There he saw some silhouette, a boy with the same height. It is naughty Henry covered with wet clays. Brando stood in shock and tries to move back to Manny but it looks like the terror paralyzed his feet and neck.

“Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!”, the brave hero shouts. Manny reveals himself from the blanket and turn his self to Brando. “What was that you saw?”, Manny asked. Brando couldn’t tell any words but he tries to point out to the dining room.

Another flash of lightning lightened the room. Naughty Henry was three meters far from the boys. “It’s Naughty Henry Manny. It’s him”, said Brando. Manny shocked from what he saw. He grabbed Brando’s arm and run back under their blankets.

“I don’t want to believe those folks from Grandma but that thing out there makes all my hair stood up. Brando what do we do now? I don’t want to be jailed in that stupid jar. I’m not a bad boy. I’m not a naughty boy Brando” Manny pleased.

“I don’t know what to do Manny, maybe we should ask Grandma for a help. She may know how to get rid of this mud-monster right their”, Brando explained. Another lightning flushed and they saw naughty Henry’s figure just standing in front of them. The two boys screamed to death. They were running all around the kitchen.

The heavy rain went calm and a laughter volume up and covers the whole kitchen. It was Mrs. Charles wearing his Halloween costume, a mud monster. She fitted the character of naughty Henry as she is just a small old woman just like a young boy. He wears off her mask and switched on the lights to lighten the kitchen. The two boys stopped from screaming and looked at Mrs. Charles.

“You boys shouldn’t have believed those old stories of mine. It was just hoax. There is no pot of naughty Henry here in this place. Go back to sleep and tomorrow you’ll be cleaning your mess here. There will be no child’s play around. Naughty Henry is watching you”, Mrs. Martha laughs.

Mrs. Martha went up to her room and the two boys were really pissed about what happened. “I’m gonna make it a hard stuff on her this time”, Manny drove angry. “Don’t do that Manny. The worst we made those stuffs the worst she may scold us. Don’t you think of it Manny? I’m tired of doing these things. I want to enjoy my summer”, said Brando.

“If you don’t want to stand with me I’ll do it alone. Now and alone”, he stood up from the comforter and walks through the stares up. The rain continues to raze.

“I’m gonna show you what’s the meaning of naughty”, Manny stood up in her Grandma’s room door. He slowly opens the door and look at the bed where the old woman is sleeping. He grabbed some pot from the shelf and points it to the old woman. He wants to pour all clays on the pot into the bed. He wants to make a real mud monster, a real naughty Henry.

“This is called naughtiness!”, Manny raise the pot but someone stopped his arms.

He looked back to see who stopped him and he screamed.

“Raaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrhahahahahahahahahaha”, a roar from naughty Henry just turned into a laughter when Manny dropped the pot and run with a haste down the stairs screaming.

Brando take off the mask and silently laughed.