‘Zola…Zola. It’s me, Tom.’
Not wanting to startle the old woman Cooper called out as he led the others into the derelict hut. He noticed she hadn’t moved from where he’d left her. Not an inch. Not a foot. Not a yard. And from where he was standing, it looked to him as if she hadn’t even moved her head.
He spoke warmly. The kind of warmth he knew he should’ve given Maddie. He pushed that thought away. ‘Hey, Zola. Hey, how ya doing?’
She looked tired and anxious but she nodded.
‘These are my friends. The ones I was telling you about. Remember they were down in the village with me earlier.’
Zola held her hand up, which displayed large purple veins pushing up from beneath her thinning black skin. She gave Maddie and Rosedale a small wave along with a small smile.
Cooper gave a quick glance to Rosedale before sitting down next to Zola. His patience was at an all-time low, almost as low as his supply of medication. So he was glad Maddie was taking the lead.
‘You told Tom you knew Emmanuel. We’re trying to find him. It’s really important we do.’
‘Emmanuel isn’t here.’
‘Where is he? Do you know?’
Zola was hesitant, which made Maddie want to blast another question at her. She didn’t. Just waited. Then waited some more.
‘No, I don’t, but I do know they say he walks amongst the dead. Though I feel he’s still close. He was a good man. They say he was possessed by the Kindoki, but I don’t know.’
‘Who says, Zola?’
‘Papa Bemba.’
Maddie didn’t know if she sounded surprised or pleased but she glanced at Rosedale. ‘You know him?’
‘Of course. Everyone knows him.’
‘And what did he say? What exactly happened with Emmanuel?’
‘There was a deliverance. Here.’ Zola gestured with her hand. ‘But he fought it,’ she added.
‘The witchcraft?’ Maddie said.
‘No, he fought what Papa Bemba was saying for a long time, he refused to believe he was possessed. But eventually they went to find him.’
Cooper had agreed to keep silent, but he was curious. ‘Okay, so you’re saying Emmanuel didn’t want to be delivered, but you’re saying there are some people who actually agree to it? They volunteer themselves?’
Zola looked at him as if stupid. ‘Mais oui…! Of course! No-one wants the spirit of the malevolent to live inside them. They ask for help. They ask to be delivered. And Papa Bemba helps.’
Maddie asked. ‘And is that what Papa Bemba is? A healer?’
‘Yes.’
‘And would you say he was a good man, Zola?’
Zola’s answer was reflective, as if she’d never asked herself the question before.
‘Yes, he’s a good man…He’s helped a lot of people. He has also rid the community of witchcraft.’
‘How? How, Zola?’
Zola looked at Maddie intently. ‘By killing the Kindoki spirit in them… But it was too late for my grandson.’
Carefully, Maddie said, ‘But why? Why was it too late for him?’
Her words sounded affronted. ‘He came to warn us before, but I didn’t believe my grandson was possessed and so refused Papa Bemba’s help. My grandson behaved so normally. But that’s how it is with the possessed, they’ll say and act as if they have no evil in them, but often that’s the Kindoki talking, trying to trick you.’
Cooper contemplated what Zola had said. It sounded like a hell of a catch-22. Admit you were a witch and you’d be delivered. Say you weren’t, you’d be delivered anyway.
‘When Bemba came to warn you, was your grandson ill?’ Maddie asked.
‘No, but Papa Bemba can see the spirit of the possessed before the sighted can. His darkness gives him the power of healing.’
‘I’m sorry to go over this, Zola, but I just want to get this straight. Papa Bemba knew the so-called evil spirits were in your grandson before he was ill?’
‘Oui.’
‘Then when he actually gets ill, Papa Bemba says he’ll heal him.’
Zola sounded slighted irritated by Maddie’s questions. ‘Yes.’
‘But then when it comes down to it, he doesn’t manage to save him because…’
Zola sighed, clearly disappointed by the lack of understanding. ‘Because it was too late. We’d angered the good spirits by not believing Papa Bemba when he came to warn us, and as a consequence, forces of evil began to grow inside and take over my grandson completely. It meant when I begged Papa Bemba to help us the Kindoki was too strong and therefore Bemba wasn’t able to rid my grandson of them. It was evil which killed him.’
‘And so this Bemba guy,’ said Rosedale, also abandoning the plan of Maddie leading the questioning. ‘He did all this for nothing? He does it just because he likes to go around healing? Caring about the community?’
Zola’s eyes flashed furiously. ‘No, for an exchange.’
Cooper touched Zola’s hand, drawing her attention to him. And remembering what Maddie had explained about the different kind of ceremonies, he said, ‘Where you give the spirits something in exchange for them doing something for you?’
‘Yes.’
‘But in this case it’s Bemba who’s reaping the reward,’ said Rosedale. ‘It’s him you and other people are giving stuff to.’
Anger passed across Zola’s face and travelled into her voice. ‘No! Papa Bemba is the channel of the spirits. He’s their vehicle. It is not for him. It is for them.’
Even Maddie, who understood and had been very much a part of the culture at one time, dug deep not to show her cynicism. ‘So even though Bemba didn’t cure your grandson from the Kindoki, there was still an exchange? You still paid him with something?’
‘Of course.’
Already knowing she probably wasn’t going to like what she was about to hear, Maddie had to ask. ‘And what was the exchange? What did you give Papa Bemba, Zola?’
‘My land. I gave him my land.’
‘Your land?’
‘Yes of course the evil was strong and therefore needed a just exchange… Children are often the hardest.’
Maddie stiffened with a scorn and a coldness in her eyes that Cooper rarely saw.
‘What do you mean, hardest?’
‘Hardest to rid of the sorcery. The evil takes over very quickly and they don’t realize what’s happening to them. So it is for the parents, grandparents and the community to make sure they’re delivered.’
Knowing the answer but needing somehow to hear it, Maddie said, ‘And if they refuse, come on Zola, tell me what you do?’
Picking up on her hostility, Rosedale tried to calm her. ‘Maddie.’
‘Oh no, I’m curious to hear what Zola has to say. Come on. Dîtes-moi.’
Zola stared Maddie straight in the eyes and spoke matter-of-factly. ‘Hold them. Tie them down, or if the spirits really fight, you must beat them. Anything to stop the devil running away.’
‘Jesus. They’re children, Zola!’
‘No. Not once they’ve been possessed. Only when they become free of the Kindoki do they become themselves again.’
‘And is that what you did to your grandson? Is it? Did you tie him down, Zola?’
Rosedale raised his voice. ‘What the hell are you doing, Maddie?’
With her eyes shining angrily, Maddie said, ‘I just wanna know what she did to her own grandchild.’
Rosedale grabbed her arm. Shook it slightly. ‘What is wrong with you?’
‘Me? Nothing’s wrong with me, Rosedale. And it seems clear there’s nothing wrong with Zola because she doesn’t think it’s wrong, do you?’
The old lady, with just as much as fire in her belly as Maddie seemed to have, pointed her finger. ‘Wrong? How can it be wrong to help rid them of bad spirits? To vomit up the devil and let them be free of the evil.’
‘And what about them being frightened? Terrified? What about that, hey?’
‘Their fear comes from the evil spirit inside. It knows it’s going to be destroyed by the deliverance.’
‘Non vous vous trompez! You’re wrong! You’re wrong. It’s not the spirits, Zola, it’s them. People like your grandson who are terrified. Being beaten. Starved. Thrown out onto the street because somebody needs somebody to blame. Children are dying because of this.’
‘Maddie, enough!’
Angrily Zola said, ‘If you die they’ll exchange your life so you can be freed from the evil within, allowing you to be revered in death and walk once again amongst the good. It’s the only way to atone for the harm your sorcery has done in this life.’
As Rosedale pulled her outside, Maddie shouted. ‘Can you hear yourself Zola? These are children we’re talking about. Children. Tu devrais avoir honte…! Tu m’entends? Tu devrais avoir honte!’