By Hook or By Crook: A Tale of Adventure Surviving Child Abuse

We yelled for Joe and asked him again when the voodoo man would arrive. He assured us he would be there before lunch. We sat in the carport eyeing the road and waiting for the voodoo man. Our eyes suddenly focused on a figure walking toward the house.
     We looked at each other and yelled in unison. “Voodoo man!”
     Suzanne jumped to her feet and yelled for Joe. Joe came out and told us the man’s name was Samanguru. His tall, lean body was wrapped in a bright-colored cloth which tapered to his ankles, leaving his tire tread sandals exposed.
     With a half bow, he greeted us gracefully. “You call for a messenger of spirits. That be me. What you want?”
     Suzanne spoke first. “How do we know this stuff really works?”
     Joe hissed with disappointment. “Why you say that, Missy? You no trust me?”
     The voodoo man was confident. “If you see the spirit be in my body, will you believe?”
     “Yes, of course.”
     The voodoo man chanted in a foreign tongue as he closed his eyes. His body began to stiffen and move in a rocking motion. Suddenly a flash of fire ignited from his fingers. Suzanne and I grabbed each other and screamed, not guessing the flame was probably just flash paper. When he began dancing around with a completely different facial expression, we became instant believers.
     “Tell him to stop. We believe him,” we said. 
      Joe assured us he would come out of it in a few minutes. Then he laughed at us for doubting the power of voodoo.
     We watched in fear as the man started coming out of his trance. His body slowed to a standstill, and then he opened his eyes. “Do you believe the spirit was here?”
     Silenced by our fear, we nodded.
     Suzanne asked the man if she could talk to me in private. She put her arm around me and led me away from them.
     “I don’t know if we should mess around with this kind of power.” She wiped her brow. “It scares the hell out of me. I can just imagine what it’s doing to you. Did you pee your pants?”
     “Almost.” I sighed. “Ask him if the curse could backfire.”