The witch's house

When he finally woke up, Mamadour found himself in a dark and cold room. The walls were covered in shadows, and the silence was overwhelming. Panic engulfed him as he realized he had fallen into a trap. He tried to move, but soon realized he was tied to a chair and understood that he needed to stay calm if he wanted to get out of this situation. He took a deep breath to steady himself and tried to remember how he had ended up there and who his captors were. He recalled how he had deviated from his usual route and had to stop when the delivery van's engine started smoking. After lifting the hood of the car and seeing that he couldn't fix the breakdown, he began to walk along the river path that appeared before him, trying to find a shortcut to get closer to the village in search of a mechanic. He remembered the nearby house with its door ajar. The friendly-looking woman who smiled warmly at him invited him in to use the phone…

“Would you like some coffee while you wait?” she asked with a smile that felt familiar when she offered him coffee. Despite the dust and cobwebs, and her aged furniture, the interior of the house was cozy. He recalled the pleasant aroma coming from the kitchen as he waited to make his call. Mamadour nodded, thinking there was nothing wrong with enjoying a hot drink before making his call. The woman quickly moved to the kitchen and returned with a steaming cup. He took a sip and noticed that the taste was strange, but didn’t think much of it. Then he began to feel dizzy. The friendly face of the woman blurred in his mind, and soon everything became hazy. Before he knew it, darkness enveloped him, and he lost consciousness.

When Valeria woke up, her mother took her to the basement room where Mamadour was tied up in a chair.

“Who is this?” Valeria asked in surprise upon finding an unknown man bound in a chair in the basement.

“I have no idea,” replied the witch with a wicked smile, “but it seems like he's found a comfortable place to rest.”

“He's as dark as the color of walnut roots,” Valeria said to her mother.

“What if we kidnap him?” suggested the witch playfully.

Valeria laughed at the absurd idea but soon got caught up in her mother's madness.

“Let’s do it!” she exclaimed. “We could have him living here with us for company!”

So when Mamadour woke up confused and disoriented, he found himself surrounded by two women with mischievous smiles.

“Good morning!” said Valeria. “Welcome to your new home! We’ve kidnapped you.”

Seeing the spark in their eyes and feeling their contagious energy, Mamadour decided to go along with them instead of opposing them.

That night, the witch entered the basement room where they had moved Mamadour, eager to satisfy her carnal appetite. With an ancient spell, she transformed into the image of the woman Mamadour had left behind in his hometown—a figure that had inhabited his dreams and memories for years. She was beautiful, sweet, and full of life; she was the same woman he longed for so much.

She approached him silently and whispered softly, wrapping him in a deep pleasurable sleep. When Mamadour opened his eyes, feeling caresses on his body, he found himself in a dreamlike world where anything was possible. There stood Mariama: the woman of his dreams, smiling tenderly at him.

Unaware that it was an illusion created by someone else, he felt an overwhelming wave of happiness upon seeing her again while being embraced by the witch.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” she said softly like wind whispering through poplars.

Mamador's heart raced as he responded to her caresses, experiencing moments of intimacy he never imagined he'd feel again. In this dream world everything seemed perfect; laughter echoed like music and every touch reminded him of Mariama's distant love.

But as time passed in this dreamlike state, Mamadour began noticing small details that didn’t fit: subtle gestures that didn’t belong to the woman he remembered.

“This is our moment,” whispered the witch into his ear.

Mamadour felt a mix of confusion and desire; he wanted to believe that he was truly with the woman he loved so much. However, something inside him told him that he needed to wake up and not let himself be completely lost in this illusion.

With monumental effort, he managed to open his eyes just as he emptied himself inside the witch—ending with a scream of terror before fainting.

The next day Valeria and her mother were engrossed in an animated conversation in the kitchen.

“Where is Mamadour?” Valeria asked worriedly.

Both looked toward the backyard and saw that the basement window was open. They ran down to find that Mamadour had woken up; seeing that he could escape, jumped out through the window outside of the house.

“It can’t be! He escaped!” Valeria exclaimed nervously laughing.

Mother and daughter rushed outside and saw Mamadour running away.

“Mamadour! Don’t go!” Valeria shouted.

Mamadour looked back at them with a mix of surprise and disbelief.

“Mamadour! Don’t go! I want you for myself!”

But in his mind, he thought: “Do they want me to stay? Sure! And I can also stay here baking cookies!”

Without thinking twice about it, he took off running towards the river road.

“See you never!”—he shouted as he distanced himself from them.

The sound of water flowing from the whispering river sounded like an escape melody in his head as he began forgetting everything that had happened:

“Come on Mamadour! Faster! Don’t let them catch you!”

And so it was how the witch gave her daughter Valeria company so she could live alongside her in their basement world by the whispering river—even when it came time for them both to leave this world behind.

MVF