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this rumor was in fact true, I had to
meet him and beg for his help.
    Obviously, meeting Papa Legba and getting
his help was a big deal. However, like all spirits, he was known to
be pretty tricky and picky and I didn’t have any candy, rum, or
cigars on me; aside from your very soul, those were his favorite
offerings.
    “ Hello!” I cried out again
in vain.
    The music continued to play but I heard no
voice reply to my greeting. Given the fact that I was empty-handed
I wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t even willing to acknowledge my
presence. I thought back to all my study sessions and tried to
think of something, anything, that would help me with this spirit.
After a few minutes of racking my very confused brain I remembered
a chant that was supposed to appeal to him:
     
     
     
    Papa Legba, please help
your children at the gateway
    Papa Legba, open the
door
    Your children
await
    Open the door Papa
Legba
    So that I may
pass
    When I return, I will thank
the loa.
     
    The music
stopped ,
along with the humming of the swamp animals. Not a single leaf
rustled nor did a single cricket chirp. It seemed as if the entire
world had died, with the exception of me. Above, the moon slowly
changed color from a bright yellow into a rich shade of blood red.
Against the pitch black sky it was a sight so striking that I had
to stop and momentarily admire its radiance. The moon and sky told
me Papa Legba had to be near. Red and black were his signature
colors. But where was he? Was he spying on me and deciding if I was
good enough to help? That thought made me a little paranoid and
promoted me to stand up straight. I really needed to work on my
posture.
    “ Hello? Papa Legba? Are
you there?”
    My question was met with silence and I
felt myself becoming increasingly nervous as it hit me that I was
attempting to meet the rock star of the spirit world. According to
legend, Papa Legba was the messenger of destiny; after all, he had
been the one who had tuned the legendary Tommy Johnson’s guitar and
had steered him towards fame and fortune. Johnson had openly
admitted that it had been Legba who had helped him out. Clearly I
wasn’t destined to be a rock star given my tragic singing skills,
but where would my destiny lead me, and who was Papa Legba going to
introduce me to? But most importantly, how would this crazy ride
help me help Lucus and Louis?
    I gripped the metal gate and tried to peer
beyond it, but to my disappointment I only saw a pool of black
emptiness which seemed so vast and never-ending that I was sure I
would never see the light of day again.
    Since I didn’t have any other options
I backed away from the gate and tried the chant once
more.
     
     
    Papa Legba, open the
door
    Your children
await
    Open the door Papa
Legba
    So that I may
pass
    When I return, I will thank
the loa.
     
     
    “ Please,” I added for good
measure, as I stared at the gate rather impatiently.
    Still. Nothing.
    To my relief, after a few moments, the
guitar started to play again and the low, gravelly voice started to
sing. Cigar smoke seeped through the gate and into the keyhole. The
lock rattled and shook violently until it finally popped open. I
watched in fascination as the gate slowly swung wide for me.
Cautiously, I took a step towards the gate, closed my eyes, and
without hesitation followed the music.
     

     
     
     
     
     

Chapter Six
    At the Crossroads
     
     
    I wasn’t exactly thrilled with where the
music had taken me. When my eyes opened I found myself standing in
the middle of a shabby bar with rotting walls, a half-collapsed
ceiling and a floor so filthy I swore I was about to contract some
kind of rare life-threatening infection. The smell of stale cigar
smoke, cheap rum sprinkled with a dash of vomit, and body odor was
so disgusting that I had to hold my breath. Puffs of cigar smoke,
conversation and blues music lingered in the air, giving the place
an oddly lively quality despite its obvious poverty.
    There were no tables;