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After staying for over a week in the ancestral village of Ishola (Hekske’s lover) on the misty slopes of the Ruwenzori Mountains, the witches kissed goodbye to their friendly hosts and continued their flight southwards, following their inner compass. Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) flew over a wide variety of breathtaking landscapes, like the Okavango delta and the thundering Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya).
While following the Limpopo River, they saw a breathtaking sunset unfold in the west… it was high time to land and find a safe place to spend the night. The witches saw no humans which meant the place was safe. They landed at the foot of a majestic tree, but didn’t have much time to savor the glorious sunset, as a few hungry lions were stealthily approaching them, observing the witches in their long white dresses from close quarter, preparing for a decisive lethal strike. But while looking at the witches, a feeling of tenderness took hold of the lionesses. Instead of attacking, they walked slowly into the direction of the girls, who started to talk with a soft voice to the queens of the jungle. This drew the attention of even more lions and soon they were all lying at the feet of the witches, and Falke played and frolicked with a bunch of lion cubs - who especially loved to play with the girl’s long blond hair (the hair of a young witch is of an indescribable softness). The leader of the pride welcomed the young witches and ordered the other animals to prepare a soft bed of grass for the exhausted girls. And soon the Flemish witches drifted into a blissful sleep in the middle of a circle of lions, whom had never ever experienced a similarly peaceful presence in the plains.
After a deep, blissful sleep, the witches woke up just before sunrise. Falke quickly realized that the little fluffy thing she was holding tenderly in her arms, was actually a lion cub and when looking around, she saw a lioness watching the two of them with endearment … clearly the cub’s mom. Slowly it dawned to the girl that she had been sleeping in the middle of a circle of lions … easily the best possible protection in the African plains. Despite being far away from her home forest in North-Western Europe, the little witches felt absolutely at ease. They looked around and saw all these wonderful animals roaming on the plains : zebras, antelopes, giraffes and even a herd of elephants in the distance.
A bateleur eagle had spotted the witches and touched down in front of their feet. The girls understood that the bird wanted to take them somewhere and they kissed goodbye to their friends of the lion pride. The eagle flew straight to a nearby forest, and touched down in a clearing where a group of women were waiting for them. These were local witches, but they looked very different from European witches. They were all wearing colorful long clothes. The witches themselves had all kinds of skin colors, ranging from black, brown to white. When Falke said something in Flemish to Hekske, the local witches smiled and started to talk to them in the local Afrikaans language. Hekske and Falke couldn’t believe their ears … this language sounded just like Flemish, but with a more expressive intonation and some funny expressions. They never expected that witches from this part of the world would speak the same language as them. After the welcome hug, the African witches gave an energetic welcome dance, which they would soon teach to their European guests. This place had such a beautiful energy …
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Photo credits : Theodore Mattas
- Genre
- A Fluffy Night