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Bonbo was born in the most unusual of circumstances: on the back of a llama. 5
His mother Petry had been tending the llamas when Bonbo had decided to come along, a decision that was later attributed to his estrange behaviour, so she had screamed for help. A religious preacher, who had happened to be strolling by had come in time for the delivery, and in his old-fashioned tradition, he had sat Petry on top of the llama. It had been custom tradition decades ago, a sign of luck, but now people frowned at the very thought. Bonbo had been a healthy baby, over a stone in weight but different. Unlike all the other Groblers of Redhall, and to the surprise of his mother, he had pink eyes instead of the common brown beads. His hair was a golden-white color, not quiet beautiful but a rarity and his skin was as pale as coldstone. Yes, Bonbo was the first albino Grobler in Redhall. 6
The Groblers are a quiet race of little people. Even the tallest are less than four feet in height. They have stocky builds and are generally portly, with little chubby hands and feet. Redhall is their only known residence, a small town nestled cozily between three towering mountains. It is a comfortable town, with little wooden houses, their roofs painted a bright red (a color the Groblers think is a blessing of happiness) and their gardens cluttered with various ingenious pieces of their eccentric inventions. 7
All Groblers are naturally technician's of innate skill. They love to invent, whether the invention be useful or not does not matter, as long as it challenges their creativity. Despite their chubby hands, they work metal and leather and wool alike with the utmost care and fragility. So, when Bonbo was born his mother and father expected the boy to show the mechanical ingenuity that every Grobler was naturally expected of. 8
Except Bonbo had no such talent. 9
He hated metal. 10
He hated tools and needles. 11
He hated smithies and their burning hot coal.12
Yes, Bonbo was a queer Grobler as all he seemed to like were herbs. 13
Despite his parent's nagging about his choice, Bono turned a deaf ear to their scorns and kept caring for herbs. He built a little garden and filled it with the oddest and the strangest of plants: little black and blue flowers that closed their mouths around his pinkie, foreign vines that spread around the ground and entangled anyone that walked near them, farting vegetables, and odd-shaped little beans that sagged and became flaccid whenever he yelled at them, and became fat and firm when he sang. Bonbo was as happy as he could be. 14
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One day, a small caravan loaded with potted flowers came along. Bonbo was giddy with excitement. He loved foreign travellers - they brought the most dearest of flowers. 20
The merchant was a thin, frail-looking man with a glass-eye and a big, freckled nose. Parked in the middle of the Redhall Square, he peered at Bonbo as he came along, flushed with curiosity. 21
"You strike me as a lover of plants, little boy," said the man. 22
"Oh yes, I love plants!" said Bonbo.23
"Good, good!" said the merchant. "I have in here the most wonderful species you will ever lay your eyes upon, boy!" The merchant got up and with one heaving effort, pulled the cloth off of his wagon. Bonbo gasped. 24
Inside were the most colorful flowers he had ever seen. There were three of them, bell-shaped and drooping till they touched the ground. One side was slightly parted like an opening in a curtain. One was blue, the other yellow and the next one orange, all from the same plant, and all perfectly precious. 25
"I'll buy these!" said Bonbo, almost jumping up and down. "I'll buy these! Please, let me buy these!"26
"Hold on now, son," said the merchant. "I got these off a good bargain! Ten golden pieces!" 27
Bonbo's heart skipped a beat. His beefy face sagged. Ten golden pieces. That was all he had safe. 28
"I - that's too much!" Bonbo protested. 29
"Ten pieces, take them or leave them!" said the merchant. 30
"Six pieces," said Bonbo. 31
"Ten!" said the man. 32
"Seven pieces and a watercup flower!" said Bonbo triumphantly. 33
"Ten pieces, boy!" said the merchant. 34
"Eight pieces or nothing!" said Bonbo. 35
"Hm - let's get this, my last offer - eight pieces and a farting vegetable! I know you have them, boy! I can smell them off you!" said the man greedily. 36
Bonbo sealed the deal and quickly fetched a potted farting vegetable. The green bulb noisily protested as it exchanged hands. Bonbo bid the merchant a fine day and returned to his garden, happily carrying the white pot with the brilliant flowers. They were quite large, each as large as his fist. 37
Once safe inside his garden, he shut the fence and shovelled a little bit of ground away. Then he carefully loosened the edges of the dirt in the pot and transfered it to the ground. He thought the flowers giggled a little. He heard a noise that sounded certainly like a sneeze. 38
"Oh, aren't you amazing little things!" said Bonbo. They really brightened up the whole place. He slapped at a snakevine as it tried to crawl up to his knee. It readily retreated back. Plants are so sensitive, thought Bonbo. 39
"Bonbo! Bonbo! Come in you useless boy!" Petry poked her head through the little window, brandishing the wooden gravy-laden spoon like a sword. Bonbo sighed and went inside. 40
"Always with the filthy dirt! Go! Go wash your hands, it's time for supper!" said Petry. 41
Bonbo huffed and went up to the bathroom feeling sad for himself. Nobody understood him.42
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That night, Bonbo looked outside his window at the stars above. The sky looked bejeweled with sparkling stones. Bonbo often thought the stars winked at him. His eyes drifted to his garden and he blanched. The three flowers that he put in tonight were aglow, as though tiny lights had been lit inside of them. Strange, he thought. He had never even heard of glowing flowers. This called for an immediate investigation!47
Bonbo quietly got up of bed and slipped out of the house, tip-toeing past his parent's bedroom. Once he came out into the garden, he peered closely at the flowers. They were certainly aglow. He could see a tiny ball of light inside each. Bonbo leaned in, his nose almost touching the flower, the wonderful smell wafting in the air. 48
He sneezed. He heard a tiny shriek and suddenly the lights went out. Everything darkened. 49
"Huh," said Bonbo. Curious, he gently lifted one of the flowers and looked inside. Something tiny, something odd pounced onto his nose and bit him. He cried out and let go of the plant. What in heavens! 50
Frustrated, he picked at up, now at arms length. Inside, he could make out a tiny, shadowy figure. It peered at him with small eyes. 51
"Hello," said Bonbo, poking the figure lightly. It gave a small snarl. 52
"I won't hurt you," whispered Bonbo. "Come out, it's okay!" 53
Warily, the figure came closer till it was at the mouth of the flower. It was a tiny boy, or it seemed like a tiny boy. A young face peered at him. On his back were a pair of silver, translucent wings. It wore blue clothes and blue, pointy shoes. 54
"Who are you?" said the little boy, almost timidly. It's voice was sweet and high-pitched. 55
"Bonbo, they call me Bonbo," said Bonbo. "Who are you?"56
"I'm Luey," said the little boy. 57
"But what are you? And what are you doing in my flower?"58
"I'm a fairy and this is not a flower!"59
"It's not!"60
"No. It's my room!"61
"Your room! That's prepost - uh - prepuste - pre - poreposterous!" said Bonbo. His mother often used that word to describe his love for plants. 62
"It's my room, I tell you! The other's are my sisters' rooms!" said Luey angrily. 63
Bonbo lifted the other flowers too. Sure enough, inside were two little fairies, similar to the first. One was dressed orange and the other yellow. They both looked beautiful but afraid, wings quivering slightly. Luey flew up to the them. 64
"He won't hurt us," said Luey. "Come out, it's okay! He says he won't hurt us!" 65
The two sisters came to the mouth of the flowers, hesitantly though. 66
"My name is Bonbo," said Bonbo smiling. 67
"You're a Man!" said the orange fairy. 68
"Oh no! I'm a Grobler!" said Bonbo. They must be illiterate, he thought. Everyone knew the difference between Men and Groblers. 69
"Good. The Men are evil!" said the yellow fairy. "Workers of the Queen!"70
"What men?" said Bonbo. 71
"The men that stole our houses!" said Luey. "They're taking us all to some place! The merchant man rescued us! He stole us, he did. Thought our rooms were flowers - like you!" 72
"Why are they taking you?" said Bonbo, utterly confused. 73
"To take our magic!" said the orange fairy. 74
"They will take our magic and give it to the Queen," said the yellow fairy. 75
"Then she will become very powerful," said Luey. 76
"But - but why?" said Bonbo. 77
They shook their tiny heads. "We don't know!"78
"Can't anyone stop them!" said Bonbo. 79
"The Wizard," said Luey. "The Wizard can stop of her!" 80
"Well, you have to tell him!" said Bonbo. 81
"We cannot go far from our houses," said the orange fairy. "We will lose our magic if we do ... but ... you ... you can help us!" 82
"Yes, you can come with us!" said Luey happily, and suddenly he burst to light. Shimmering powder enveloped his wings and he seemed to glow with an inner light.83
"I - I can't! I'm just Bonbo," said Bonbo. 84
"You have to, they will take away everything!" said the yellow fairy. 85
"Please come with us!" said Luey. 86
Bonbo caved in. "Fine! I will go with you! But I will have to ask my Mother!"87
"No!" said the orange fairy. "She will never let you go!" 88
"What can I do?" said Bonbo. 89
"Leave her a note!" said Luey. 90
"Yes, that might work," said Bonbo. 91
Bonbo hurriedly went inside, his head bumbling with thoughts. Fairies inside his flowers. Was he finally going insane? He took a little roll of parchment and fetched one of his father's own custom inventions - a metalic straw stuck with a quill that was filled with ink. It was very useful. He wrote down:92
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Dear Momma and Papa,94
I have gone with the fairies to the Wizard. The Witch is taking their magic. I must go with them since they cannot leave their flowers. I will be back by supper. 95
Love,
Bonbo. 96
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There, even they won't miss the point, thought Bonbo. He fetched a little bag and put in some cheeze, ham, bread and a mouth-watering pie. He took some water just to be sure. Then, he went ouside where the fairies were flying around, chatting excitedly. In the distance their voices sounded like tiny buzzing.98
"Can we go now?" asked Luey as he landed on Bonbo's shoulder. 99
"Yes, we can go!" said Bonbo. 100
"Good, we have a long journey ahead of us!" said the yellow fairy. Theu zoomed around his head as they made their way to the outskirts of Redhall. The town was empty at night, dark and gloomy. Everyone was sleeping soundly. 101
I just hope I'm not late for supper, thought Bonbo. 102
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Bronze trophy winner
Honorable mention
Adding your comment:
The character Bonbo is very intriguing and I'd like to learn more about his unusual personality compared to the other Groblers.
that's great! My attention was held throughout the entire piece. 
