Story Mile: Zaffaran Village

by Maysa Mohamed Awadh Mohamed Aljaberi

There once was a demon called Baba Daryah, who was so ugly that he always appeared from behind like a wolf. He was green like grass, his teeth were dirty and his bones stuck out.

Between evening and Fajar prayers, Baba Daryah would sneak onto boats to eat sailors. Years passed and oil was discovered, so the villagers stopped going fishing and finding pearls. Baba Daryah was angry because he couldn’t find food anymore. So he decided to eat the village girls.

Zaffaran was full of kind people, except for a man who was selfish and cruel. Everyone hated him. Abdullah was handsome with brown eyes and tan skin. No one loved him except Shamma but her family refused to let them marry.

One day, Shamma visited Fatima. Dusk fell and Fatima took Shamma home. As they walked, they heard footsteps behind them. Shamma and Fatima started running but something caught them. It was Baba Daryah. They screamed, but he covered their mouths and dragged them away. After a while, the families started searching.

Three days later, Abdullah was walking outside the village when he met an old man and asked him if he had seen the girls. The old man said “My son, you will never get what you want in life unless you become a better person.”

Abdullah continued until he reached a forest. Suddenly, something attacked him. It was Baba Daryah. “I’ll eat you like I did the Zaffaran girls,” he yelled. Abdullah tried to kill Baba Daryah but didn’t have any weapons. Abdullah remembered the old man’s advice.

He ran back to the village and apologized, saying, “I know that everyone hates me, but I promise to be a better person. Help me to kill Baba Daryah, and we can bring the girls back.” All the men went to the forest where they found Baba Daryah. He ran away and never came back. Abdullah found all the girls and reunited them with their families.

Shamma’s family saw that Abdullah was now a good person. They were married and lived happily ever after in peace.