RAY Price was a well-respected man. Maybe more feared than respected. He was known to be someone who dabbled in the black arts. He helped many people out of sticky situations and he was always generous with what he owned. As his wealth and status increased slowly he decided to get something that would make him very rich. He travelled to a nearby country and got a `Bacoo’.

Now a Bacoo is an African jumbie. Short in stature, it possessed an oversized head, knotty and unkempt hair, ugly features and fearsome powers. It is usually found in a sealed bottle. The person who opens the bottle is saddled with the spirit. If fed well the owner or master can get it to do all sorts of things, some good, others evil.

Ray did not find his Bacoo. It was given to him after paying a large sum. He did not mind this because he had already anticipated all that he stood to gain from the creature.
Back at home things began to go his way. He kept his bargain with the Bacoo and fed it lots of milk, banana and nuts. In return, it made him very rich. He had more than enough money now. He decided to travel to the countryside to purchase a used car.

THE MIX UP
Ray sat on the bus with his crocus bag on the floor near to his feet. Seated next to him was an East Indian man with a crocus bag between his feet. Somewhere during the long journey, he lost focus. At every stop, people exited the bus. Eventually, the man sitting next to him did the same.

When Ray got off of the bus, he walked to the home of Harricharran, the man who was selling him the car. When they had agreed on a price, Ray reached into his bag and recoiled in shock. Instead of money, he found ground provision. He immediately understood what had taken place. The passenger next to him had inadvertently switched bags. He moved swiftly to resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, the lucky man was ecstatic. He had found half a million dollars in the bus. He sat and began planning how to spend it,
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Sudesh opened his door and saw the passenger he had sat next to on the ride home.
“Good afternoon friend. I think we got our bags mixed up.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mister. Get Out!” He snapped.
Ray reacted in anger as the man ordered him off of his property.
“Give me my money or you’ll be sorry,” Ray warned.
The man slammed the door in his face.

BAD LUCK FOLLOWS
By the very next day, things begin to go wrong for the ‘lucky’ fellow. Sudesh had kept his find a secret. Not even Rita knew about it. She was his wife of 13 years and they shared everything with each other; except this. She was first to reap misfortune.
She rose early that morning and began cooking. She had done this for years before marrying Sudesh and every day after. This morning, however, things did not go as planned. As she was about to pour boiling water into the tea mug a sudden jolt caused her to spill some of the scalding content onto her hand.

“Eeeeeaaaah!”
Her anguished scream resounded through the small wooden house and beyond. Sudesh jumped out of bed and raced to her defence. It took him more than an hour to calm her down and apply the necessary home remedy to her injuries. By that time the two children were awake. Saturday was their day for fun and frolic. No sooner had they opened their eyes that they began to play. This ended abruptly when both of them were hit by missiles.
Nine-year-old Sunita was hit on the back by a shoe. This threw her forward and down and saved her from what followed. A statue of Vishnu.

Smack!
Crash!
Dilip was 11and very tough. Nothing prepared him for the assault he was subjected to. From out of nowhere, he was given some lusty blows with a pointer broom. The broom was old and the pointer hardened. This caused pain and shock after every blow.
Pow!
Ply!
Wax!

With shrieks of terror, the two children sped out of their bedroom and headed for their parents. Their howling complaints and sore bodies made for a very confusing moment. By the time Sudesh had reduced their fear, it became apparent that something strange was amidst. Neither of the children could identify who or what attacked them.

Puzzled but not yet convinced Sudesh withdrew to his small workshop. There he could potter around building and breaking whatever he was trying to create. This process was like therapy for him and helped to calm his nerves and stimulate his thoughts. This work was well on the way when he felt a violent shove.
Unfortunately for him, he was about to drive home a nail into a piece of hardwood – greenheart. The push caused his aim to be diverted from the nail to his hand.
Crack!
“Ow Gaad!”
Sudesh bellowed in agony and dropped the hammer.
Again, things did not go well for him. The large hammer fell head first on his bare foot. His three toes and instep on the right foot lit up in a rhapsody of throbbing, searing and piercing pain. Sudesh was in a dilemma. His left hand was virtually out of commission and his right foot was heading in the same direction.

Rita ran to him and found him writhing in pain on the damp, mud floor. Stooping, she employed her one useful hand to placate her husband. After a while, he tried to get himself under control. He could not have a house of crying people. The kids were still in varied mourning modes and his wife was suffering silently.
Sudesh began to wonder if the money had brought him bad luck. He confided in Rita and felt instant shame at her reaction. She was livid.

“What!”
“B-b-but Rita love….”
“Don’t ‘Rita love’ me. You chased the man away knowing that you had his money!”
“He can’t prove that and the money could do a lot for this family.”
“Nonsense! We might be poor but we are not thieves!”

She turned and stormed out of the workshop muttering a few blistering remarks. With a sigh, he headed back to the house. He tried to speak to Rita but she would have none of it. Lunch was a silent affair, well most of it. Everyone ate in silence. Sudesh kept looking anxiously at his wife but she coldly ignored him. The kids knew that a storm was brewing and kept quiet.

Splat!
Sudesh was suddenly covered in dhall. He leapt backwards and fell over in a heap, rekindling his two wounds. They woke up with gusto. He lay there for a moment stunned. Then he was on his feet glaring at Rita.
“Why you throw dhall pon me?”
His wife sat wide-eyed and trembling as did the two children.
Splash!

Drink on Rita
Plop!
Plat!
Rice and aaloo choka on Dilip and Sunita. Then things got even wilder. Cups, plates, spoons, glasses, knives went haywire.
The small dining room became a war zone. All the utensils became lethal missiles. Sudesh ducked sharply to avoid a plate that was moving like a flying saucer. He was on his back again and in pain. Something else was afflicting him. Fear. This quickly became terror when he spied his family huddled under the small table screaming in terror. He crawled under and joined them They clung to him crying and screaming.

“Sudesh yo see wa crasses yo bring pon we?”
Rita’s voice was pleading and accusing at the same time.
“A sorry love! A gon give de man he money!”
As suddenly as the bombardment started it stopped. There was an awkward silence. Sudesh peeped cautiously around to ascertain that the coast was clear. It seemed to be.
Knock!
Knock!
“Mr Sudesh.”
It was the voice of the traveller.
“Mr Sudesh! Open up or things gon get worse.”

Sudesh scrambled from under the table and headed for the door on hands and knees, he was that much in shock. When he became aware of this he stood up on shaky legs and opened the door. The man stood there looking sternly at him.
“See what happens when yo don’t hear!”
Petrified out of his mind, he raced into his workshop and unearthed the well-concealed bag of money. Running back upstairs he handed it to Ray as if it was a poisonous serpent.
Looking around the ransacked house Ray felt sorry for him.
“Everybody ok?”
“N…n…no!”

“Sorry about that. I tried to warn you yesterday but you would not listen.”
“Just tek yo money and go, please. A sarry about everything.” Sudesh said tearfully.
“Let’s go Boysie.”
With that command, something moved inside the house. The moving sound headed for the door and past Sudesh who was shoved to the side by a violent force. He felt the hairs on his body stand up and goosebumps made their presence felt.

“Goodbye, Mr Sudesh”. The stranger walked away.
“Yo lucky yo give back de money!”
The voice was deep, guttural and evil.
Sudesh was on his back again – this time he had fainted.