Yaba
Here is a story, but one not to be taken lightly, as the accounts should be a lesson, to not dare dance with the devil…
As it should be, it was a dark and gloomy day in Little Russia, and today the children spent the day in Iakov’s house. Today, however, they were accompanied by a new friend, Yaba, a girl from a rural place from somewhere far from their little village, who had arrived with quite some mystery. She was very polite, straightforward, and prettier than all the other school girls the boys had seen. They had taken a liking to her because of this, and now she was invited to play with them. The boys were playing football, board games and wrestling all at once, but the girl was not satisfied.
“This is boring, let’s play something else.” She said as dryly as could be, but all the boys rushed in with ideas to please her.
“Want to ride me like a horse?” said Dimitri.
“No, come play chess with me instead.” said Alexei.
“Come Yaba, let’s play tag outside!” said Iakov.
But the girl already knew what she wanted to do, and a smile slowly crept from her lips, as she said, “Let’s play Ouija instead.”, in a very innocent sounding voice.
The room which was usually always filled with laughs and shouts and anything but silence, was now as quiet as an abandoned ship. The children’s mothers had always warned them about playing with the spirits, for their were many demons in the area that had lived there for God knows how long, but now it seems that they needed to impress Yaba.
“Sure, I’ve always wanted to play anyway.” said Dimitri.
“Of course.” said Alexei.
“Maybe we shouldn’t.” said Iakov.
But it was was too late, the other boys had already fetched the game hidden in the attic, for all these years they had known its whereabouts but never once touched it. And now, although they all knew of the terrors they might face, they chose to please the girl in all her wishes, as if she had a spell over them.
The boys formed a semicircle, with Yaba at the center of it. She began to speak, but in a tongue the boys had never heard before. Iakov knew he had to leave or put a stop to this, but he risked facing humiliation from the rest of the group and would not dare look like a fool in front of his secret crush. The girl was speaking louder and faster, louder and faster, and then all of a sudden a gust of wind broke through, and it was pitch black. Cries of terror were heard from every direction, those of the boys and those that were unknown. The boys were struck to the bone and could not move, and soon all you could hear was Yaba’s laugh, which slowly began to turn more hoarse and aged. And it was then that they knew, an old starving looking woman stood where Yaba was standing, it was the Baba Yaga. Her long and grotesque nose sniffed the air with satisfaction, as if she had just smelled the most delicious thing in her life, as her tongue moved from side to side on her lips. Vladislav, one of the younger boys, lunged for the door and opened it, only to end up stepping into nothingness and falling to his death.
“AGHHHH! All of you do not move! Do you not know who I am? Or where you are?! You are in my hut now, far away from your homes, and you cannot escape since we are on chicken legs!” Shouted the Baba Yaga proudly, as if her scheme had turned out brilliantly, and so far, it had. The boys could not run, as the little hut was standing on two long chicken legs. The hut itself was a foul place, unclean to the point where you had to watch where you stepped and a stench that made you gag.
“Now, who wants to take a bath? I don’t care, you and you get over here now!” she said as she pointed at Dimitri and Alexei. A bath did not sound so bad, they thought, so they went to where they were told accordingly. “Tonight, I will finally feast, oh how long it has been.” And with that she threw Dimitri and Alexei into a boiling cauldron with ease and put a lid on it. She started laughing again, and an evilness sparked in her eye, as if she were on a high that she had not felt for a long time. “You two, prepare an actual hot bath for me!” She yelled at two of the other boys, and that left her all alone with Iakov. “You, my little cherub, I will have as an appetizer!” Iakov knew he was doomed, and could listen to his mom telling him again and again to never summon the spirits, or to trust strangers who seem too good to be true. It kept on repeating in his mind, over and over again, and that is when he remembered his mother telling him something of great importance! If ever faced with a Baba Yaga, ask her for a job and she must give it!
“Oh Baba Yaga! Please give me a job! Any job!” Iakov desperately yelled.
“Enough of that!” twitched Baba Yaga.
“Oh Baba Yaga! Please let me work for you! I will do anything!” he tried again.
“Stop it!” Baba Yaga said again.
“Oh Baba Yaga! I am a good worker, I promise!” implored Iakov.
“OH FINE!” said Baba Yaga disappointedly. “But if you mess up, I’ll eat you up!”
That night she feasted on the stew of Dimitri and Alexei, but the other boys were safe. The tasks Iakov had to do were arduous and long, but it kept him alive as she ate one boy a day, until was finally left with just Iakov. He did not know how much longer he would last for, because he was exhausted and was barely fed. After a week of being alone with just her, she went away flying on her mortar with her pestle to guide her, leaving Iakov alone.
A few days passed before Baba Yaga returned, and Iakov was starved and could not move.
“Who might you be? Where is my wretched sister?!” shouted the Baba Yaga. Iakov was too worn out and tired to play her mind games, so said nothing and awaited his doom.
“You poor soul, promise your allegiance to me and serve me for 10 years and you will live another day, with a bed and two meals a day, I can guarantee you.” said the Baba Yaga.
Iakov was confused, for she had not been this humble to him before, and nodded with approval. He rose up with a newly found energy, and the Baba Yaga climbed him like a horse and rode away into the distance, never once returning to that horrible place.
…
10 years passed, Iakov was healthy and strong, and forever grateful to this kinder Baba Yaga, who was the polar opposite of her sister. He was so thankful that he decided to stay with Baba Yaga forever as she had grown on him. He did not know another life at this point, and Baba Yaga was glad to keep him around, she even let him call her Baya.