Prologue (6)

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 around, there was a major change which was that his visit was expected by the enchantress. Consequently, the latter appeared to the woodsman 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 the lumberjack returned the favor.

"What do you hold in your hand? Is that a pearl anklet? Precisely a woman's pearl anklet?" The Witch asked the courteous visitor 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 host.

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

"Therefore I will grant your wish and exempt you from paying the ten imperial Bantagi I had demanded." The Sorceress decided while inserting 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 backward to gain momentum then threw with tremendous force the circle of light in the atmosphere before she disappeared.

And like at the previous visit of Babida the lumberjack, normal life reasserted itself. Hence, the sun shone again and birds were back whistling in the sky. As for Okala's inhabitants, they invaded the streets once more: the children ran foolishly across them while merchants and buyers dealt.

The woodsman rose and as he was standing, he noticed a blank white paper on the floor. He crouched, pinched the papyrus, and neared it to his face. Then the image of the eighteen-year-old maiden he had been looking for, became clearer and clearer. However this time around, the pretty Miss wasn't wearing the pink silk robe with the butterfly knot. She had instead put on a casual home outfit and was apparently inside a house, moving candidly.

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

Half-disappointed and half-thrilled, Babida the lumberjack ranged the mysterious blank white sheet in the pocket of his white Boubou. Thereafter he hiked back to the imperial city Ekule without still knowing the whereabouts of the young woman, except that she was in a house. However, he had no idea of the location.

"I wished the sheet of the Witch had revealed to me the home address of the beautiful maiden. I can't even tell whether the house is in the village of Ekule or that of Okala or maybe...wait a minute! That of Okunde in the north?" The logger questioned himself.

"Hmmm...Okunde, I almost forgot that one but...anyway, from my current position and given the important orders of wood I have received, I must give up my quest and return immediately to Ekule to resume my work," the enamored woodsman concluded sadly then began to head back to Ekule.

However, on the way to the imperial city, an idea popped up in his head: "Wait a minute!" He said, talking to himself.

"Why would I not stop one time by Okunde and settle this case once and for all? I can simply reorient my path to Okala's north gate. From there, I board a canoe and navigate till Okunde's west gate," thought Babida the lumberjack.

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