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Houngan thought about what the old woman said and an idea struck his mind; an opportunity had just presented itself before him, and he had to grab it with both hands. He bought the things he had come to the town to buy and hung around till nightfall. Finally, night came and Houngan cautiously quickly went back to where he had earlier seen the creature; to his delight, the creature was still there. Looking around briefly to see if anyone was around and, satisfied that he was alone, he grabbed the creature and stuffed him in a big bag he was holding; the bag contained the things he had bought. Having successfully obtained the creature, Houngan immediately began his long journey back home. While in transit, he thought about the best way to carry out his plans without anyone discovering his secret. In the end, he decided there was no need to rush, he would be very careful and meticulous.
When Houngan got back home, he went straight to the barn at the back of his house to drop the creature there, hidden from everyone including his wife; he couldn't risk telling her what he had found as he wasn't sure what her reaction would be, which was why he needed to hide it. The barn was always deserted so he was sure the creature would be safe there. Taking out the creature from his bag, Houngan stared at him intently and finally spoke to him.
"I'm going to call you Voodoo. I am your master, you hear that? I own you; you owe me your life, and you'll spend the rest of that life serving me."
Voodoo appeared disoriented, Houngan wasn't sure he understood any of what he just said.
"I guess I'd better feed you and get you healthy first."
Houngan fed Voodoo the leftover food he has with him. He then locked him up in the barn before heading into his house. His wife was standing by the door, holding their baby in her arm.
"What was it you went to drop in your shed this time? A tool?"
"Huh, yeah. Just something that I don't need anymore. It's useless. That's unimportant by the way, come."
Houngan dragged his wife to sit in front of him. He needed to tell her the lie he had concocted.
"Ok, so this might sound a bit unbelievable, but just hear me out."
Houngan's wife was anxious and scared at the same time
''What is it? You know I don't like suspense in any form. Just say it already."
''Right. As I journeyed back home from where I went to buy my goods, I saw an aged man walking by the roadside. I stopped and gave him a ride and, as a way of thanking me, he said he was going to give me what he cherished the most. Then he reached for my head and he said words that sounded like a spell. Afterward, he told me that his powers had been given to me and that the powers would turn my fortune – our fortunes – around for good."
"What kind of powers?"
"I don't know, and that's exactly what I asked him, too. But he said it will slowly start to manifest, and when it does, I will understand the extent of the powers then."
"That's it?"
Houngan's wife was disappointed, but she tried not to show it.
"I guess you have to wait and see what kind of powers develop then."
Houngan spent months with Voodoo, trying to figure out the extent of his powers and what he was capable of, but he made sure to be very discreet about it. Eventually, Voodoo started to show signs of his power; Houngan would disguise him or hide him in a bag and take him into town, trying to get him to use his powers on random people to perfect his abilities.
More than three years went by before Houngan was fairly certain of the extent of what Voodoo could do, as well as how to control Voodoo's powers, so he decided that it was time to actualize his plans.
Houngan told his wife that he had mastered the ability given to him and, to demonstrate, he brought his wife into the barn, having already hidden Voodoo on the roof of the barn. His wife was skeptical but decided to humor him, and she went into the barn with him. With the help of Voodoo working his mojo from the roof, Houngan commanded his wife to sweep the barn – something she had sworn never to do because, no matter how much she tried to tidy and organize the barn, Houngan always messed up the place.
With his experiment successful and his wife convinced, Houngan told his wife that having lived in that town for so long without any power or supernatural ability, it was only best if they moved to another location to start a new life where they would be known as powerful.
"Think of how many people will come for help, and how I'll charge them for my services. We'll be rich in no time."
Houngan's wife needed no convincing; he had her at "rich" and he knew it. They made arrangements and left their town that week. And so Houngan and his family embarked on the journey to the east in search of a new home where Houngan could portray himself as a powerful wizard, thanks to the Voodoo's powers. After days of sojourn, they finally arrived at a town known as Rakeville where they settled. With the money earned from selling all their properties back in their old town, Houngan was able to pay for a house where he settled with his family. He was tactical in his selection of a house, as he bought one that had a basement right beneath the living room, but he concealed the basement and hid it from his wife- the basement would be Voodoo's home. Before bringing his family, he placed Voodoo in the basement and gave him some toys and a note of warning.
"You must never make a sound from here, no one must know this basement exists, or that you're down here, least of all my wife and kid. Your job is to listen from this basement and use your powers according to my directions. Remember, that is the only purpose for which I created you, and if you fail me, I will erase you from existence."
Voodoo said no word but only nodded in approval.