Back to the witch's street

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 Knightin 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 knight 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 knight obsequiously complimented the host.

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

"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 knight, 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 Knightrose 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 knight 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 knight 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 knight 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 knight.

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

The journey of the Knightwent on trouble-free. After a couple of hours of trekking, he finally arrived at the east gate of Okala and embarked on a canoe whose captain was extremely friendly to him. The experienced sailor gave the hungry traveler two wild mangoes from the locality that the latter licked savagely to the extent that a few drops of the yellow juice of the fruit were about to stain his white boubou.

"Sir, please take this handky and quickly clean your chin up," the captain of the boat said to Babida the Knight as he handed the latter the handkerchief.

"Thank you, captain!" replied the traveler as he hastened to collect the cleaner and apply it on his now yellow chin.

The two men then continued the voyage and not even one time the river lashed out a wave. Even the crocodiles were docile to them. The reptiles seemed to be paying them tribute and never neared the canoe. Ultimately they reached the coast just as the sun was about to set and the knight disembarked. He thanked the captain of the canoe and without wasting time he rushed to the west gate of Okunde.

Upon his arrival, the guardians of the empire's doors were celebrating the birth of a baby of one of them and lightly checked his identity. They let him pass the checkpoint and continued their party.

The knight entered the village of Okunde and after a few meters away from the west gate, he searched the pocket of his white gown to grasp the magical empty white paper. He brought it out and neared it to his face. To his great astonishment, the image of the young maiden reappeared.

This time around she had on her the popular traditional wax-made women's dress, the Kaba, and was wandering across the streets. She walked past Mobu Street, Sanka Street, and Madiba Street to the grand statue of the reigning roman Emperor, his Majesty Batang V, the fifth ruler of the Batang dynasty.

Babida the knight had not recognized the streets the young maiden he had fallen in love with, was passing by but his attention was caught when the Miss went past the Emperor's statue. It was one of the most famous monuments in the whole empire and it was situated nowhere else but in the center of Ekule, the capital city.

"What? So she lives in Ekule." exclaimed the logger, stunned.

"I must go back to the imperial city right away." He told himself while hasting.

He walked in the direction of Okunde's south gate and from there he penetrated Ekule through its northern door. As he was moving forward he noticed a wooden house on the left side of the way. It was a chalet. It seemed to him colloquial. He felt like he had seen it already but could not remember where. And then…

"Oh, wait a minute! The magical blank white paper!" He shouted as he was recovering his memory.

"Yes, that's the house I saw in the image. That's surely the young maiden's hideout." The knight uttered undoubtedly.

He started to stretch his neck, then his feet in an attempt to peep inside the house but it was hermetically locked. There was no opening. He paused for a moment to think about his next move. While doing so, he placed his hands on each of his waists, lowered his head slightly, and glazed the sand on the floor.

Then, for no specific reason, he turned to look in his back and could not believe his eyes. Another house but entirely identical to the previous one. A twin house. The only difference was that the window was open and he could spot from a distance the moving shadows inside.

Like a frog, the knight leaped over the tiny fence in front of him, and like a snail, he crawled quietly to the opened window. Yet, he was not tall enough to spy through comfortably. So he took a brick that was laid on the floor and placed it against the house plank wall, then climbed on top of it.

Unfortunately, his weight was too overwhelming for the poor brick which failed to resist and dislocated.

BAMM!!! The sound of the noise he made when he landed hard on his back.

"You again?" shouted an angry voice.