An Encounter With Tata Duende

It was a late evening playing outside on the farm waiting for dusk to come in. I was just a nine year old boy entertaining myself playing marbles on a patch of dirt I had found on the land. By this time I had played with my brothers and now playing by myself as I was obsessed with the nature of the game. All of a sudden a strange little kid appeared in front of me and asked if he could play. I looked around and was shocked that I could not see him approaching as I was stationed in an open area on the farm. I didn't linger on the issue and accepted the kid's request as I proceeded to lay out the rules of my game. He did not have any marbles of his own so I was disappointed that I would not be able to play for keeps. Nevertheless, I shared mine with him and the games commenced.

After the 1st game he said that my hands were odd but he liked that about me. I began to say that I was born with an extra pinky finger on both hands and would get it removed when I'm older. His face cringed he said that I must not do that and he wish he could have my hands. I then looked at his hands and realized that he had no thumbs. I said nothing as we proceeded into the next game. I then noticed that he was playing with his middle and index finger only. At the end of the game I congratulated him for such a good game despite not having thumbs. He said that he would do anything for thumbs as he grabbed my hand and yanked it away from me I pulled my hand away and immediately a bell rang.

Dusk has finally settled and the light of the day was almost gone. From afar I could hear the ringing of the bell and my name being called which meant that it was time to head inside for supper and call it a night. I looked at the kid and said that I need to go and would see him around. As the bell rung I swiftly scooped up my marbles and by the time I looked up, the kid was gone. This was strange as a chill ran through my body I rushed towards the house as I was hungry from smelling that nice home cooked meal being prepared long before dusk had set.

Sitting at the table my mom started a conversation saying how she came about cooking our meal we had before us. My dad mentioned that for some reason when he went to the barn, all the horses hair was braided. It looked stylish but unnatural all the same. Feeling that I didn't want to be left out I told my story about the kid with no thumbs. My parents stopped in their tracks and looked and me dumbfounded. Why didn't you get his name? Weren't you scared that he appeard and dissapear right before your eyes? That was no kid they said. That was the Tata Duende. They explained that he comes for bad or vulnerable kids and either steals them away, rips out their thumbs or both. I was shocked and scared that I had played so long with him without realizing that I could have been in danger.

That night I went to bed with my marbles. Thinking of where I could play without being spotted by this creature. I only saw him with no thumbs and not his true nature as he is not entirely human. I proceeded to play my marbles on my bed until my brother got annoyed and insisted I stopped as he was trying to sleep on the top bunk. I put my marbles away and went to bed. That night I awoke to marbles hitting each other as if someone was playing in the house. The noise got louder and no one had waken up. Eventually the sound migrated under my bed. I was now scared to death I did not know what to do. I yelled you my mom and she responded calling my name. I sprung out of bed and ran to the dining room where there was no one to be found. I heard my name again but this time it was from outside. I peeked out to see a short figure with a large straw hat sitting on one of our rocking chairs playing his guitar. I heard my name again and realized it came from him. He managed to call me mimicking my mom's voice. I immediately ran to my room to hide under my covers. Before I reached my bed I saw the figure from outside standing in front of a window in my room which lead to the porch he was recently sitting on.

I saw his large hat, no face and he had no thumbs. I immediately knew it was the kid I had seen earlier that day. His knees and toes were facing away from me even though his upper body was facing me. I screamed as he approached me and placed his hands on my mouth. I struggled as he threw me over his back and the last thing I remember is seeing my brother's face as the creature took me through the window. He placed a blind fold over my eyes and a cloth over my mouth as soon as he escaped the window and placed me back on his shoulders. I could hear him shuffling through the grass as he spoke to himself saying where is it? I then heard a neigh from a horse and realized what he was looking for. Despite being really small the creature was strong for his size. He took me off his shoulder tied my hands and threw me on the horse with ease as he rode off into the wilderness.

We rode for at least an hour in one direction before we stopped. He took me down the from the horse, took off my blind fold and mouth covering. I looked around to see nothing but pasture all around me. I started running with my hands still tied as Duende chased after me. It took him a while to catch me. If only I would have had a head start. He eventually caught me and dragged me back to the original spot where the horse had dropped us off. He called me Alferd and said that he got my name from when my mom had called me in for supper. He proceeded to explain that there would be no where to run and no one can hear if I screamed for help. I looked at the horse and realized that the horse's hair and tail were braided. Similar to what my dad had explained at dinner. I then saw him approach a cave and remove a large boulder that was blocking the entrance. He came to get me and dragged me by my hand restraints as he locked me inside.

It was dark and I was all alone. I did not know what to think and was scared that he was going to cut my thumbs off or going to kill me as well. After a few hours he came back and entered the cave saying that I wont miss my thumbs as I'll still be remaining with 5 on each hand when he is done. He went on to say that he won't keep me as a pet because I ran away. Instead, he's going to make a delicacy out of me when he gets his thumbs. All of a sudden i heard a deep moaning as if someone was crying for a loss. I heard the Duende mumble La LLarona. He furiously said he'd be right back and exited the cave leaving a small crack of light exposed. As I peeked through the crack I could not believe what I was seeing. I saw the both of them standing close to the horse arguing about what to do with me. She was a tall figure with a long dress and long black hair draped over her face. He demanded that my thumbs are his and she mentioned that he had promised her a child. He said that she could not have this child because I was bad and would run away. Instead he would make a nice meal for the 2 of them. La LLarona started to weep again.

Hearing the both of them arguing like husband and wife, I knew that my options of surviving were slim. As I panicked I was able to use the edge of the boulder to cut my restraints. With all the strength I had left I gripped the bottom of the boulder and began to pull as I needed a little more opening to squeeze my body through to escape. The rock bearly moved but moved just enough to make my escape. I squeezed through and realized that I hadn't been noticed as I exited. Looking out for the couple I could see that they were deep into their argument so I made haste and ran in the direction the horse had brought me from. From afar I could hear Duende cursing out La LLarona and saw him walking back to the boulder as she yelled at him sarcastically saying that his food was running away.

I could faintly hear them shouting since I had the head start I needed to make a victorious escape. I saw him jump on the horse as I ran out of the pasture into the forest. I immediately found a tree and climbed up because I know I would not be able to outrun the horse. About two or three minuets on the tree I heard him pass by on the horse. I now struggled with the question on when I should come down as he rode in the direction of where I lived. I decided to come down and be careful about getting home. The forest eventually ended and a pasture was visible again. I climbed another tree and waited for him to come back as I was not gonna get caught in the open like that. He eventually passed by and I ran in the opposite direction towards home. As night fell I climbed another tree to rest for the night and began my journey again to reach home.

One morning my mom came outside the house as she was an early bird; she came across me sitting on the stairs in the front of the house. Surprised she screamed "Alfred! What happened? It's been 5 days. We've thought the worst." Crying she took me in her arms looked at my hands and embraced me with a tight hug. I wanted to tell her everything in detail but was speechless. She realized that I would not speak and called a family doctor to check on me. That day I sat in the same chair I had seen Duende before he took me. My brother came over and said he was sorry he couldn't do anything. By the time he snapped out of the shock I was gone. He had immediately woke up my parents who started a search immediately and didn't believe that he had seen the Duende. I looked at him and smiled as I rocked myself in the chair. The doctor came over and examined me. He told my mom that I was in shock from the incident that occurred. My tongue was still in tack however he wouldn't be surprised If I ever spoke again.