Prologue (6)

As for Babida, he had exited Ekule through its north gate with the Witch's street in Okala village as his final destination.

He passed through the same arteries he had crossed during his last journey in the locality, then spotted the Sorceress' street. He went in and the same things that happened the first time he set foot occurred again: sudden darkness, a heavy thunder, a ball of light, then the levitating Witch playing a virtual piano.

However this time, there was a big difference. He was expected. So the Witch appeared in her playful mood.

"Black tea or palm wine, Mr. Hercules?" She joked.

"Haha, your Oracle has a lot of humor, I behold. Rather red wine, please! But at a later time." Babida returned the favor.

"What do you hold in your hand? Is that an anklet, a pearl anklet, in fact, a woman's pearl anklet?" She asked the courteous lumberjack who had the jewel in his extended right hand.

"Nothing goes unnoticed to your Oracle. Your Oracle sees everything, hears everything, and knows everything." The logger obsequiously complimented the Witch.

"Hmmm, a lumberjack with refined manners and who knows how to speak to an Oracle, that's not common." The Witch said to him deeply flattered.

"Therefore I will grant your wish and exempt you to pay the ten imperial Bantagi I had demanded." The Sorceress decided while putting her right hand in her black gown.

She took out a short stick which she mystically lit and used to form a circle of light. She moved her hand a little bit back to get momentum and threw with force the circle of light in the atmosphere before she disappeared.

Then like at Babida's previous visit, normal life reasserted itself. The sun shone again. Birds whistled in the sky. Okala's inhabitants invaded the streets once more, children were having fun, and merchants and buyers dealt.

The lumberjack rose and while he was doing so, he noticed a blank white paper on the floor. He pinched it and neared it to his face. Then the image of the eighteen-year-old maiden he had been looking for became bolder and bolder. But this time she was not wearing the pink silk robe. She had put a casual home outfit on and was in a house, moving candidly.

Unexpectedly, to the great dismay of the logger, the image gradually blurred till the young miss could no longer be watched.

Half-disappointed and half-thrilled, Babida ranged the mysterious blank white sheet in the pocket of his white Boubou. Then he hiked back to Ekule village without knowing the whereabouts of the young woman, except that she lived in a house. But where exactly? In which village? Ekule or Okala or maybe Okunde in the east?

"Hmmm...Okunde, I almost forgot that one." The lumberjack addressed himself while he was on his way back to Ekule.

"The Witch did not give me the name of the village where the young maiden lives. She simply left a magical empty white paper. I could see the pretty face of the young woman through it when I approached it close to my eyes. Unfortunately, now I can no longer." He confessed sadly.

"Wait a minute!" He said, talking to himself.

"What if instead of going back to Ekule, I stop first by Okunde? I can simply reorient my path to Okala's east gate. From there, I board a canoe and navigate till Okunde's north gate." Babida reconsidered.

"Yes, that's a very good idea!" He responded to his query and immediately implemented his new plan.