CHAPTER 16 - THE DECISION
"She would have grown to appreciate you, sir. Perhaps if you had granted her more time in which to train," the Haitian suggested.
"How long should I wait?"
Joseph thought this over. "I am not sure, sir, but a couple of hours seems insufficient in the case of foreign women." He thought of all the foreign women he'd ever met and they all seemed to have one trait in common. "Independent, sir! They are independent and aggressive. Much like a man. They would appear to need much more training, sir, than any of our local women."
Ramon stared at him in wonder. Had his companion truly pinpointed the problem? Joseph nodded wisely. Ramon jumped up, excitedly voicing plans to obtain another foreign woman. They would train her together, he proposed, pointing out that Joseph's wisdom would offset his own, more impatient nature. Joseph listened to Ramon's plans, but made no response. He knew Ramon's unrequited passions would lead to their downfall, but he could not argue with such a powerful Bocor.
Before retiring, Ramon decided to take parts of his latest victim for use in future magical rites. Joseph felt fortunate that his master preferred to perform this deed himself. The tall Haitian watched Ramon work by flickering candlelight, the little man's shadow dancing on the hut wall like an evil spirit.
Joseph finally fell into an exhausted sleep only to be awakened by his companion.
"It will soon be light. Take her out. Bury her deep, where no one will find her," Ramon commanded. Joseph nodded wearily, but allowed sleep to reclaim him, and dreamed of his daughter.
When he awoke, it was daylight. The odor of flesh rotting in the tropical heat was thick in his nostrils. He got up stiffly, attributing this discomfort to napping on the ground after the soft bed at Las Naranjas. Ramon snored peacefully on the other mat.
Joseph looked at the altar. Amanda's head and hands had been retained, amongst other parts. The unwanted portions had been thrown to one side and, apparently, this was what Ramon wanted him to remove. Joseph rolled the remains up in the bloodstained mat and exited the hut. By the time he returned, Ramon was up and dressed. The little man had built a fire to boil water for his morning coffee and was nibbling on a biscuit.
He flushed with excitement as Joseph entered the hut. "We will return immediately to the hotel and decide which foreign woman deserves to be trained." He offered Joseph a biscuit. The tall man took the biscuit and listened in pained silence while Ramon plotted their next adventure.
When Ramon paused, Joseph remarked, "Great magical power must be tempered with wisdom." Ramon frowned, remembering this was something Julia had often said. Joseph gathered his courage and continued, "I mean no disrespect, sir, but if we are to take a woman a day, always from the same place, in a week's time even a blind man will be able to follow our trail." Joseph stared into the fire and spoke in a strange voice, remembering other times.
"When I was a child, in Haiti, there were times when many people were imprisoned, tortured, and put to death. When the accusations began, no one was safe."
Ramon started with impatience. "What has this have to do with foreign women?" He poured his friend some coffee.
Joseph continued in a trembling voice, "A powerful Bocor, a dangerous, jealous man, lied to convince outsiders that my religion was made up of savages who worshipped evil through sex and blood sacrifice. This Bocor encouraged non-practitioners of Vaudun to find the houmfors, sir, the hidden places. He sent these outsiders to destroy these sacred places and kill all other magicians."
Ramon frowned at the possibility of crowds invading his own hut, dragging him out, and slaughtering him. He shuddered and Joseph continued the tale.
"He did this because the other magic users were each becoming politically important in his or her own right. This was not to be tolerated and so the destroyers came to my village. We had just celebrated my tenth birthday."
"Surely, they were not opposed to animal sacrifice. Even foreigners kill animals to eat!" exclaimed Ramon. "I see no difference."
"Well, foreigners do not kill the animals with their own hands. It seems they have others do this for them. Also, they always eat the animals afterwards. And the killing is not necessarily a religious matter."
"I see no difference!" Ramon snapped in annoyance.
"Apparently, it makes a great difference to outsiders," Joseph insisted, "especially when this liar told them we were a nation that made religious sacrifice of children." At this, Ramon pressed his lips tightly together and made no reply.
"They came, sir," Joseph continued, "those of other religious sects, swarming over us. They imprisoned or killed every practitioner of magic they could find. Hougan, Mambo, Hounsi, and Bocor. Both male and female were taken. Those who practiced white magic and those who practiced black magic. And when they took the magicians, the worshippers were not spared.
"That is how I lost my parents," Joseph said in a low voice. He paused just long enough to blink back the flood that threatened to overflow and course down his cheeks. "I was with my father, my mother, and some of our relatives, taking part in a ceremony when the attack came. My father tried to reason with them, to tell them this was a sacred place, but a man with a gun shot him in the chest.
My father stood there for a moment, blood spreading around the wound, then he fell, dying at my feet. My mother screamed and would have thrown herself over him, but they caught her and dragged her out."
Ramon leaned forward, hanging on every word
"The invaders rounded everyone up and forced us outside," Joseph continued. "They grabbed me, too, but I was undersized and skinny then. You would not think it to look at me now, sir," he smiled wryly. "Somehow, I twisted free," Joseph said hanging his head. "I am ashamed to say I ran into the woods. Ran to save myself, without a thought to my parents.
After a bit, I doubled back and peeked through the foliage to see what was happening. My mother was on the ground. Those men were beating her with clubs and she was bleeding. Just covered with her own blood. After awhile, she stopped moving." Joseph reached out and refilled their cups before continuing.
"By then, the houmfor had been set ablaze. I was so terrified that tears were running down my face. I would have run again, but my legs felt weak. So I remained crouched down, hiding, until everything was over. At some point, I fell asleep. When I woke, it was night. The fires were nearly out, the embers still smoldering. With my parents dead, I would have sought relatives to care for me. But my nearest relatives, the ones I would have counted on, had been taken with the rest."
Ramon sipped his coffee slowly, waiting for Joseph to continue.
"I wandered about the countryside, hiding from danger, snatching food where I could find it. My best clothes quickly turned to tatters. Finally, I came upon a cane field. The owner caught me taking food and would have beaten me, but the workers intervened. 'The boy is hungry,' they said. 'Make him work for food.' And so," Joseph shrugged, "that is how I came to work in the cane field."
"So what!" Ramon snapped. "You had a job then. Things worked out for you in the end."
Joseph shook his head vigorously. "Oh, not so, sir! Once one becomes a cane worker, it is not possible to earn enough money to live. Or earn enough money to leave. I tell you, cane workers are trapped."
On this, Joseph was adamant. "Everyday, I prayed something would happen, that someone would come and take me from my life in the cane field. For a long time nothing happened. And, in the years that followed, I grew tall and powerful." His friend nodded in agreement.
"And I was an excellent worker, so the owner liked me. The girls liked me, too," and he grinned with remembering. "There was one girl. A fine girl, sir! Most promising, with large, round breasts and long, strong legs. She wanted me badly, sir."
"A most promising woman who fulfilled her promise." Ramon sighed and his eyes became dreamy.
"We were together many times, sir, and then, to my surprise, she said my baby grew inside her."
Ramon threw back his head and laughed. "I'm not surprised," t
he little man chortled. "If we hadn't had to rid ourselves of the girl at the hotel, she certainly would have grown fat with our children." He clapped his friend on the back. "We have certainly proven ourselves men, Joseph!" He sipped at his coffee. "So, you married the promising girl?"
"Yes, sir," confided Joseph, "and as it turned out, she was not pregnant. But I kept at it, to prove myself a man, and, in a short time, my baby did grow inside her." He grinned, pleased with the result of his effort.
"When you prayed, Joseph, what did you ask for? I mean, the exact words if you can remember them."
Joseph nodded. "Oh, yes, sir, I said the same prayer every day. I asked to be taken out of the cane field. To have a soft bed, a real one with many pillows. To have all the money I would need, good food, fine drink, and many fine women." He grinned broadly. "My prayer was answered."
Ramon scowled. "So was mine, but I forgot to ask for the women. And you asked for many women. Not a special woman."
Joseph stared at Ramon. "I see," he said. There was a long pause during which neither man spoke. Then Joseph came to the point of his story.
"We may still pursue our dreams, sir. We may still take our opportunities, but in such a way that none will feel compelled to hunt us."
Ramon considered the wisdom of these words. "Joseph, you are a wise friend! To avoid these hunters, how then shall we proceed?"
"First, sir, I would suggest a woman who would not have the will to resist you or run away. Such a woman would remain here, existing only to take the edge from your passion. In this way, you might acquire the necessary patience to seek out and train an occasional foreign woman."
"Si! Si!" Ramon shouted. "And where shall I find such a willing woman?"
Joseph rose to his full height. "We will return to Haiti, sir."
"But we just came from there!" Ramon protested.
"That is where we will find the willing woman, sir. I know men there who will prepare such a woman for us."
"Then we shall leave immediately!" Ramon agreed. "Perhaps I should dig up the book again. Perhaps it would be needed."
Joseph shook his head and gestured to Hammond's wallet.
"No, sir," he insisted, "we will need only money to appease these men." And so, Ramon agreed to leave without delay, questioning Joseph as to how long they'd be gone. "As long as it takes to accomplish, sir," was the reply.
Impatiently, Ramon pressed for a better answer. Joseph had begun slicing meat for sandwiches and paused with the knife in his hand. "First, we must go to these men. We must talk to them and agree on a price. Then they must choose the woman. And we must approve their choice. Then they must prepare her. And they will not be hurried."
While Ramon set about preparing portions of Amanda's remains for future rituals, Joseph finished slicing the meat and began layering it onto the bread.
"All this takes time, sir, but time well spent. This woman will do what you ask, as often as you ask. She will never tire of you and she will never tell your secrets." Joseph wrapped the sandwiches in a cloth, placing them in a basket, adding an avocado, and several mangos, papayas, and bananas. Then he set about packing garments for the trip.
Ramon sighed, cursed his own impatience, and decided to trust this matter to his friend's wisdom. "Si," he finally agreed, "our excursion must take as long as it takes."
Ramon and Joseph replenished the offerings to the orishas. As soon as this ritual was completed, Joseph packed the car and Ramon closed up the hut. Then the two men set off for Haiti.