[August Short Story Contest Winner] The Witch Doctor’s Blessing by Isaac Kal
Thank you to everyone who submitted work for the May Short Story Contest. The winning entry is:
The Witch Doctor’s Blessing
Isaac’s entry was in response to the writing prompt: A Short Story Inspired by Your Favorite Song.
Born in 1958 , married and has 4 daughters. Isaac is an international businessman who lives in Toronto, Canada.
Isaac used to work for the Israeli Prime Minister office for over 20 years. Today, Isaac is running a business development company based in Toronto. Isaac holds a Bachelor of International Relationships. He is active in sports and likes to jog and go sailing. In response to the repeated requests from his readers, he is currently writing and planning to publish his third book.
Please Enjoy
The Witch Doctor’s Blessing
It was five o’clock in the evening. The phone ringing distracted me from the pile of papers that I was immersed in reading. On the line was a Lebanese princess who had invited me to an unexpected meeting with the ambassador of one of the African countries. About an hour later, I was headed toward the ambassador’s house. She lived with her two eldest sons in an upscale suburban villa. The guard at the gate was aware of my arrival and approved my entrance. I was welcomed by the Lebanese princess and the ambassador, a big woman in her fifties. We exchanged mutual greetings and pleasantries and soon moved on to business matters. The ambassador mentioned that she had heard about me and about the projects that I was involved in and noted that she was interested in bringing me to her country for the sake of a new national project. Once I was briefed on the details of the project, I consented to go to her country. We agreed that I would leave within a few days after a meeting with the President was arranged. Before we parted, the ambassador told me that she was a religious woman and requested that I join her and her son for a special prayer for the success of the project. I found myself joining hands in a circle with the Lebanese princess, the ambassador, and her son. Very quickly, the ambassador entered into some kind of spiritual ecstasy and began making sounds in an unfamiliar language, her son echoing her. The meeting was set for two days’ time. When I started to take care of the travel arrangements, it became clear that the only option to reach the meeting with the president on time required a layover in another country. The problem was that I would have to be issued a visa for the layover, and in my experience, this process could take several days. I decided to gamble and buy the ticket, and immediately headed to the embassy of that country. In the consular department, I met with the visa clerk. He told me that it was a much longer process and would take several weeks. The reason being that I did not live in the country in which I would like to receive the visa. I looked at my companion’s face, smiled at him, and said, “I have an important meeting with the president of the country in your area. And the only way to get to this meeting on time is via a layover. I will be back here in three hours, and I expect the visa to be ready. Do we understand each other?”
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The clerk tried to say that it was clearly an impossible task. I looked into his eyes for the second time and asked, “Do we understand each other?” He smiled, saying that he would do his best. When I returned after three hours, the visa was ready. I had to pay a service fee, but I got what I wanted. Two days later, I met the president. Together we reviewed the project in question; I got the green light for primary care and went on my way. In the evening, I was invited with the Lebanese princess to the ambassador’s village. The distance of the journey was about an hour and a half from the big city. Upon arriving in the village, I noticed a huge bonfire that was lit close to a local church. Dozens of people in traditional dresses were standing around the fire. The women, I was surprised to see, were topless. As we got out of my car, naked women clustered around us, a kind of local dance troupe parading towards us. They led us to the bonfire area, where we met the ambassador. She was also topless. I was slightly embarrassed, but I regained my composure quickly. The ambassador took my hand and led me to the tribe elders. While walking, she explained to me that we would undergo a special prayer ceremony before dinner in order to receive the blessing of the witch doctor for the project’s success. As we were walking, my shirt was removed, and I was dressed in a long brown robe with a matching hat on my head. All of a sudden, I was facing the witch doctor, a formidable figure, not pleasant in appearance. He grabbed my hand and that of the ambassador and marched with us to the centre of the gathering. He recited a long speech in an unintelligible language during which he smeared something black on my forehead and through it drew a triangle and on the ambassador’s cheek a circle. The crowd roared in ecstasy, and the local dance troupe broke into turbulent dancing. At the climax of the ceremony, I was forced to drink an unidentified liquid along with the ambassador as a talisman against the evil eye. I must confess that I was afraid to taste the drink but I was afraid that my refusal would offend my hosts. After a few minutes, bizarre hallucinations started to visit me, and I was swept away after them. What happened there exactly? I don’t remember. But when I woke up, leaning over me, was a white penguin. It seems the drink gave me a strong spiritual experience. Once I was sober, I found myself in the structure of a missionary where I was taken the previous night after I lost consciousness. The penguin, it turned out was a French nun who took care of me. She explained that I had drunk a beverage prepared from the pogba plant containing entheogen, a hallucinogenic substance. Apparently, due to hypersensitivity to the material, I collapsed and lost consciousness.
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How low could I stoop to get this project? At the end of the day, I recovered and returned to the capital city. A few months later we were compelled to cancel the project due to lack of profitability. Like running, a project like that also demanded looking beyond the horizon as well as long-term planning.
Isaac KalBorn in 1958, he is married and has 4 daughters. Isaac is an international businessman who lives in Toronto Canada.Isaac used to work over 20 years for the Israeli Prime Minister office.In the midst of the Covid-19 closure, the author had plenty of time to go through the photos and documents of his family.He…
As a thank you for registering for our email list, you’ll receive free printable reading journal templates and a bonus 100 book reading list! Members of the email list also receive an exclusive discount code for my Etsy store: MapleStreetStudioHRS.
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