Read Online Memoirs of a Porcupine by Alain Mabanckou - Free Book Online

stared, then gathered her wits to say, ‘Nkouyou Matété,
you did say Nkouyou Matété’, she asked, ‘you heard me, who is he then, he’s very strong, he’s hiding his face, but I can still make out his name, he’s surrounded by other men, they seem to be arguing, issuing death threats’, and Aunt Etaleli muttered sceptically, ‘it can’t possibly be him, he’s my husband after all, he’s the father of my late daughter, you mean to say it’s him, well, I mean, it’s not possible, he wouldn’t eat his own daughter, I tell you, surely’, ‘it was he who ate the girl , he’s in a club that meets in the village of Siaki by night, and every year one of their members sacrifices to the other initiates someone dear to them, this season it was your husband’s turn, and since his harmful double is a crocodile, your daughter met her death by water, drawn into the current by her father’s animal, now the last word is yours, either I call in the four witnesses and your brother, whom you accuse, or you choose silence and keep what I’ve told you to yourself’, without a moment’s hesitation, Aunt Etaleli said ‘I want you to do something to my husband, I want you to put a spell on him, I want him to die before I get back to Siaki, he’s a bastard, a scoundrel, a sorcerer’, Tembé-Essouka almost recovered his sight he was so angry, who do you take me for, eh, I have never put an evil spell on anyone, I simply observe, help those in difficulty, and for anything else, go and talk to the rogues and charlatans in your own village, I am not one of them, who do you take me for, eh’, ‘please, Tembé-Essouka, at least say nothing to the men waiting outside, I particularly don’t want my brother to find out, I accused him wrongly because of the people of Mossaka, they say he has a harmful double who’s a rat, so you can see why, surely, put yourself in my position,’ the sorcerer stood up, as far as he was concerned the meeting was over, and before showing Aunt Etaleli the door he said, ‘that’s
your problem, I will say nothing to anyone, Tembé-Essouka has done his job, don’t forget to shut the door behind you and to leave some cowries for the ancestors in the basket at the entrance’
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    the group left Lekana, the four witnesses all bombarding Aunt Etaleli with questions, she stayed silent as a clam, and since she still seemed angry with Papa Kibandi, who had a big smile of satisfaction on his face, he went off in the opposite direction, he walked for two hours and never once turned back, it was only much later that he expressed his joy, began singing songs, like a madman, what a comeback, and since his thoughts naturally strayed to the scene of the silver bracelet which had just proved his innocence, he burst out laughing, murmured something a little as though he were thanking someone, headed into the forest, looked about him, there was no one, not even a bird, and then he lifted up his long boubou around his waist, squatted down as if he was about to do his business, breathed out sharply, held his breath, pushed, pushed, pushed again, farted gently, a palm nut shot out of his anus, he grabbed it, inspected it, brought it to his nose, smiled and said ‘my dear Tembé-Essouka, you really are blind’, Papa Kibandi had good reason to laugh at the famous sorcerer, he had just become the first man ever to have caught out a sorcerer of Tembé-Essouka’s stature, but it was a mistake to cry victory too soon
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    Tembé-Essouka didn’t make mistakes, though, dear Baobab, we should have known that, and two months later, he turned up at Mossaka, and the people were sore amazed, fear crept into
their shacks, their animals took cover, the sorcerer had news for us, what could it be, and in any case, he was blind, how had he found his way through the bush, then they