Excerpt on witchcraft

A Pentacle for Jebbeh The clay pentacle and the black-handled double-edged dagger showed up on Jebbeh’s doorstep that morning. Massa, the woman with the jewelled eyes, showed up that evening. The two appearances jolted her all the way through. Jebbeh, a petty trader, found the two items lying side-by-side as she opened the door to walk to the foothills. Her darker skin portrayed angelic beauty, even at age forty, and her full set of delicate lips matched her natural curly, jet-black hair that gave her an air of superiority. Her full-figure, partially hidden by a black flowing gown, hardly reflected her strength. Frightened and then slightly unconcerned, she walked past the two items. Not until she returned at sunset, when she saw the tip of the dagger stuck into the center of the five-pointed star pentacle, did she become concerned. She knew a pentacle and a dagger to be two of the most recognized symbols of witches and witchcraft. Jebbeh froze at the thought. She stood still, staring at the mysterious act of violence, and tried to contain the sudden strong feeling of fear that gripped her body. Then she remembered Massa, her next-door neighbour, whom she last saw three days ago. The image of her roughly cleaved features and the glistening jewelled extents of her outlandishly impelling eyes recurred with exploding force in her mind. Her stare never leaving the dagger in the pentacle, Jebbeh reached out a trembling hand, grasped the door handle, and quickly entered the house. The house itself was simply built with sticks, mud, and thatched roof. It stood apart from two other similarly-built houses. She tried to imagine who would have played such a spellbound trick on her. There was the quiet little man, her landlord. Then there was Massa. But she couldn’t see the little man doing something like this. And why would Massa do such a thing either?