THE BOY WHO COULDN’T SAY NO

There was once a little boy who wanted to please everyone.

You would find him always nodding,

Always smiling,

And always saying “Yes.”

“Dodong, does my Sarong go well with my blouse?” asked their colorful neighbor Nana Pacing, whose footsteps were always coupled with the jangle of bells on her ankles.

And the little boy would smile, nod and say yes.

(Even if the psychedelic skirt and the neon green blouse hurt the eyes.)

“Ading, can you please watch the Dinengdeng? I’ll be back in 5 minutes,” asked their border, Ayat, who never cooked without adding a small cup of pungent Bagoong.

 Of course, the little boy would smile, nod and say yes.

(Even if she forgot about it and the little boy ended up cooking the vegetable stew himself.)

“Boy, here’s your food. Make sure you eat everything I put there, ok?” said his aunt who followed him around all the time. 

Still, the little boy smiled his smile, nodded his nod and said yes.

(Even if he hated pancit canton—instant noodles tastes much better!)

Because of the little boy’s agreeable nature, he was always liked and loved.

One day, on the way to school, he stumbled over a grimy little cat carrying a small red flag in its mouth.

“Oh, I’m sorry little kitten,” he blurted out.

To his surprise, the cat put down the flag and answered back, “I will only accept your apology if you agree to carry this flag for me and pitch it on the softest cloud in the sky before 9 o’clock in the morning. That way, I will know which bed I will sleep on tonight.”

The little boy, no doubt, smiled his smile, nodded his nod and said yes.

(Even if he thought he might be late for school, even though he was suspended in disbelief and even if what the gritty cat was asking for was totally absurd!)

The little boy, once again, headed for school thinking hard how he would manage to do the grubby cat’s errand before the morning bell. Just then, he felt a tug on his shirt. He looked around but saw no one except a small red balloon tied to a tree exploding with yellow blooms. 

“Little one, can you remove this thing? My hand aches already and it’s ruining some of my jewelry,” the tree spoke.

The little boy stared hard at the tree, scratched his head, nodded a nod and said yes.

(Even if he could not figure out how the tree is talking and why he chose to answer at all and even if he believed he’s running late for school already!)

As soon as the boy untied the string from the branch, he felt a strong tug upwards. His feet were slowly rising until they’re completely off the ground!  A strong wind blew his way and up he went with the red balloon. The little boy looked down at the tree getting smaller and

smaller, the houses nearby transformed into miniature dollhouses his little sister played with. Oh, what a sight! But he’s surely going to be late for school now, the little boy thought.

An airplane whizzed through a cloud. The boy remembered the errand he promised to make for the little cat. He was at level with fluffy clouds in every shape imaginable. He touched the huge one that looked like their pet rabbit. It was squashy but wet. He reached for the one shaped like a woven duyan they have at home. It was spongy but too thin for a bed. He stroked the small cloud that looks like a fish. It was smooth and soft. This will do, the little boy muttered to himself as he let go of the balloon, landed on the fish cloud and planted the flag in the middle of the white puff.

Of course, now he’s really late for class! He squinted down and looked for his school among the many roofs below him. He wondered how he would be able to get down.

An enormous eagle flew by. “Little boy, do you have some food with you?” The little boy smiled, nodded and offered his merienda. (Even if his baon for the day was his all-time favorite: sweet potatoes cooked in brown sugar).

After the eagle finished off his baon, he asked the boy if it wanted a ride. The little boy grinned, nodded eagerly and climbed on the back of the eagle.

The eagle spread its massive wings and dived into the air! The little boy held on to the great eagle’s feathers as they whooshed back to the ground. In a little while, they landed on the school playground just as the bell rang.

The little boy shouted his thanks to the giant eagle as he sprinted off to class. He froze in the air when a shrill voice came from the ground he was about to step on. He looked down and noticed some ants in a neat file going underground. A small red ant on top of a mound asked in a high-pitched voice, “Would you like to see my home?”

The little boy who couldn’t say no looked at his school only ten steps away, looked back at the red ant and nodded hesitantly. As soon as he said yes, the world above the ground disappeared!

Amazingly, he fitted quite comfortably into the little ant holes. Right under the moist soil softened by the morning drizzle, the boy zoomed downwards with the ant. They passed sixteen pink earthworms eating and pooping their way in and out of the soil. They made way through a forest of plump and lanky roots. They went by a skeleton of long-buried dog until PLOP! They landed on what appears to be the main road of a little town of busy warrior ants. The street was flanked on both sides by rows and rows of red, juicy watermelons cut in triangular crescents. There must be hundreds of them! Inside these hundreds of watermelons are thousands of ants pushing the watermelon pits out of the red, juicy watermelon flesh. So this is where ants live, the little boy thought, in watermelon apartments!

The small red ant tugged at him, guiding him to one of the watermelon dwellings. It excitedly clambered up the fourth floor and proudly showed its home. The little boy bowed and with one eye, peeked at the dainty apartment unit. The ant invited him in for some watermelon juice.

 The little boy who couldn’t say no, thanked the ant, praised its home, but slowly shook his head. “It is nice of you to invite me but I have to go to school now,” the little boy said. “Not without taking a picture!” the ant replied. The little boy smiled his smile and nodded yes.

With the flash of a camera, the little boy found himself standing in front of his school building again. He looked around and started for his classroom. On the hallway, he met a tiny ragged cat carrying a small orange flag. He patted its scruffy little head, smiled, shook his head and said “Maybe next time.”