Juju

A restless night in the African bush unfolds as a trance‑inducing drumbeat summons a village into a frenzied procession. A witch doctor, cloaked in colored earth and ash, leads a terrified young woman toward an ominous ceremony, while torch‑bearing followers chant and caper beneath towering trees. From a distant veranda, an outsider watches the ritual with a mix of curiosity and unease, noting the uneasy coexistence of colonial authority and native mysticism.

The narrator, a weary traveler accompanying a plantation owner, senses that the drums echo deeper fears and ancient rites that defy easy explanation. As the procession disappears into the darkness, questions linger about the fate of the girl and the true purpose of the ritual, setting the stage for a confrontation between rational skepticism and the unknowable forces of juju.