SWAMPY TALES

  MAANE MEKA It happened one evening. I was returning from school, bypassing an old man's hut in the village. My path passed near his hut, overshadowed by long, tall grass. I heard a faint, hoarse voice following me through the grass. I stopped and stooped to see where the voice was coming from. I realised there lived a very old but cunning man who was not well looked after by his relatives. Reason? He is the number one suspected witch in the community. Sweet honey I fought and defied my fear of meeting him. I had heard terrifying stories about him bewitching people and conning unsuspecting adults and children. People believed he gave people charms for ailments and funny problems, such as failure to hook up with the desired girl. He was also known to have been a hilarious storyteller. I approached him, his walking stick in one hand and an empty hard-rind gourd in the other, by the tattered mat on which he sat helplessly in the remnants of his veranda. He asked who I was, and I