The Night Monster

y to honor the memory of our ancestors. I woke up that morning to take water in the well as usual, phew! To my surprise, the well was dry like an empty jar for almost eight months. I wa

ife. Reason why the village bears the name "Sifar". My father had cultivated more than twenty hectares of Mil last year, twenty hectares of rice. We could only give to the more than two handles of rice or millet to those who have nothing. I have a little brother Karim and a Houéfa sister. Karim tires by wanting to be mad. My mother, called FIFA, means "midwife" in FON. To find a solution to this curse which was beating its full in the village, my father,

t with the night monster. Today, the gods send me this message to you. The time is serious, the night monster

rvive this drought and we have already almos

the or the whole village goe

ken before Houffon's latest summons. I'm not yet a good man, but I've discreetly attended Reunion. I am 17 years old and I am the spokesperson for my cohort, an organization

s the offering requested by th

the Sages questi

rls who have never known a "virgin girls" man, not just

find a word to express their feelings. I fell from the tree that s

must add seven oxen, said Houffon, and the cer

ews. During our gathering, we voted as a goal: to save our sisters from this tragedy. But what will be the fate of the village if we prevent the ceremony for taking place? Houffon

nor never. Houéfa is a sister like no other. I remember that, since childhood, I was the only one among our parents at bedtime, tell her tales and lulled with the sweet melodies that my grandmo

g the herds, the other to find a hiding place. The attic of my grandfather, aband

oom and a living room. He was his reserve attic.

in beautiful sheets, even the parents have lost sleep. It is better to have a good sleep than a beautiful bed. The day

s of the houses saw the benchmark residents emerge late. Along the palisades in dry millet rods or bamboo slats, kids dressed in rags came out by protecting from the freezing wind. Our parents were still in their rooms. My cohort and I took advantage of this

of the disappearance of my sister, but because my mother kept screaming the loss of her only daughter. I felt guilty of this tragedy, and everything pushed me to admit the truth to my mother discreetly. But I couldn't do it, knowing our darons well: they are still bread with

e last time, and already tonight, they have been removed. Houffon! C

o the West. In each house was a crowd, but in mine, it was almost the whole village. In the courtyard of my concession stood up a huge mango and an orange tree. Under the mango tre

d to see more clearly, without measuring the consequences of our actions. This source, far from the village, was prohibited, and no one had ever set foot there, apart from Houffon. He had installed two large fetishes on each side of the path, impressive and frightening in the sight of all. We re

change words in the box. Fear was holding us, but we had to stay on our guard. Behind this box was a river. The water of this very clear river was the prohibited source. But on the other side, it was a huge forest. It was still only sixteen hours, but inside the secret source, it looked like it was already twenty-three hours. Total darkness reigned, which explained the presence of lamps made with papaya, buried branches and

for me to retreat. It looked like a magnet, whose North Pole was under Iroko, attracted me the South Pole. On the first sheet in front of me, I recognized the name of a died sage a few months ago: Yovo.

atient to see the darkness fall to get out of her hiding place and join the army of the wizards. The surroundings of the Champs de Sifar we

g news that we brought him. During the day, Houffon appeared in white, but after dark, he was in black: the night monster.

s false. This is how we described everything we had seen at the prohibited source. Suddenly, everything became dark. For some time, a strange noise had started to disturb the stunned

nd immediately rushed over the void. His burning breath raised high whirlwinds of dust, and his gusts ransacked everything in their path, beating on the trees whose whistling branches flogged the ai

of the girls, everyone was amazed, but everyone understood that the blow came from us.

go to the prohibited source, but I let you imagine the continuation. There was no more prohibited or houffon source.

al paradise on earth. It was then that we understood