CHAPTER 06

It was one o'clock in the morning. It was the time when we were in our natural world, the world invisible to humans.

On a large podium, we had gathered. Oga, as usual, was sitting on her throne. All gathered around her, each one had begun to give her an account of their day. While some of them confessed how they had pierced the pregnancy of some young pregnant women; others said how they had been the authors of a serious traffic accident where there had been quite a few deaths and cases of serious injuries. At the same time, some of them confessed that they had been in a big hospital to complicate the pregnancy of some women who were about to give birth. And when it was my turn, I told, like my predecessors, all the evil that I had done during the day.

Oga the queen was very proud of our reports. She told us how much she did not regret having us as missionaries. And we looked at each other and laughed.

One day, recognizing how one of my brothers was a great obstacle to my goals, I asked the queen to show me through the screen in which we usually see the world, the house of my brother Samuel. Without moving from her throne, she pointed to the screen with her index finger and after a few incantatory words, we all saw together through the screen the image of my brother's house in question.

That night, Samuel was already sleeping with his wife by his side. The woman had a big belly, which meant that the couple was expecting a child that would be born soon.

I stared at Oga and sighed:

- His majesty, that woman lying next to him, she is pregnant!

- Yes, it's true and we all see that!" she exclaimed, smiling.

- With this pregnant woman, I would like my brother to be safe from all the problems of this world.

- And how?" the chiefess asked me, surprised.

- We'll be watching her every step of the way until the day her God says it's time for her to give birth to this baby; and with our power, we'll take her life!

- You take it or I'll take it...

- No," I cut her off, "I'll take care of it, her majesty.

And since I was more than fantastic, everyone was happy; the queen and my comrades. And to encourage me in my audacity, all began to cheer me.

- And the newborn, what would be its fate? Oga asked me, amused.

- His majesty, in time, we will know what to do with the child. If we have to turn her into a lucky doll and sell her to the big merchants, we will. Or if we have to reduce her luck to zero, we'll do that too!

- I agree! I agree with this idea. Your so-called sister-in-law won't have a chance to survive after her baby is born.

- Thank you, Oga! Thank you very much," I exclaimed enthusiastically.

My actions and suggestions never cease to amaze my girlfriend, the one through whom I got to know this new world. Every time I was cheered, she had haggard eyes to look at me.

- Well," Oga said, "we have a visit from some of the great people of the human world. They will be coming to get a handful of our forces to go and be great in the human community.

- That's great!" we replied in chorus.

- And you, Sada, resumed Oga; the soul of the lady that you have locked in the bottle over there, immolate it to Satiago, our great fetish so that our guests in search of mystical powers can have satisfaction.

And under the order of the recommendation of Oga, Sada went to the enclosure where thousands of souls were gathered and took out the one ordered by the queen. He then went to the great fetish. The fetish in question was the rainbow. Its size was immeasurable and could not be compared to anything else.

It was the first time I had heard a common animal speak. This surprised me, but I kept my lips closed. The fetish was talking like humans are used to. In fact, hearing him speak did not surprise me because with the mystic anything was possible; but since this was my first experience, I had to drool with amazement.

Before our guests came, Oga had given us some instructions, which we obeyed. My friends and I were getting impatient for the arrival of our so-called guests.

Finally! We were all there when all of a sudden, the big personalities that Oga had just mentioned started to arrive. They were the big people. These people, it seems that it was the same time that had been set for them. These people, I don't have to tell you how many of them would be in various sects before you guessed it yourself.

There were more men than women. All of them were dressed in their Sunday best and had ties tied around their necks. Among our guests were civil servants from large companies; priests from large and medium-sized churches; hustlers and big businessmen. Also, lawyers, ministers, presidents from various backgrounds, marabouts and who else?

It was late. Certainly, back home, in our own world, it was the big day.

The demonstrations had begun. It was a big party. There had been various ceremonial sessions, ceremonies that I could not rightly explain. Afterwards, a big party. We had eaten to our heart's content. After the meal, we had drunk. The celebrations had been very beautiful.

That day, my eyes had seen many things; unspeakable things that I would rather keep silent about. Yes, very amazing things. Many things that I prefer to keep in secret so as not to provoke the wrath of great people who think they are saints and powerful people.

That day, talking about our city, I had seen incredible things. I saw little children as young as six or seven years old, who had been appointed chiefs. They had crowns on their heads. And when I asked what they had done to get to that point, Aline told me that they were ruthless children. These children were in fact heartless. In their bodies, instead of a heart, it was a rock. These children, lacking their crowns, gave instructions to those who did not have crowns.

Would it be reasonable for me to let myself be put down all the time by these toddlers who always found something to command me? No way! I had to get even and if I had to do anything, I had to do it.

If these children had managed to gain access to these beautiful places thanks to their talent for cruelty, wickedness and monstrosity, who am I not to do the same?

If these places that they had been admitted to came from their simple personal efforts, who am I not to do even better than them?

To get to the stage of those damn kids, I knew what I had to do: just put my monstrosity to the test and nothing more. I know the rules of the game; it's to be heartless, to be bloodthirsty.

These little devils were the ones who worked the most for Oga. No mission escaped them. Aline, on the other hand, had not won any crowns yet, according to her explanations, she was in the gallery even before the arrival of these kids.

In reality, Aline was a very sensitive girl who felt very sorry for her fellow human beings. Even at school, she didn't like to hurt anyone. And, instead of having one or more ranks on her shoulder like a military man, she was simple like someone who was new to the circle.

But I wanted those ranks with greed. So, in order to get on the list of stars like those toddler soldiers, I willingly signed up to be a missionary of the devil.