Yelfa was not so easily put off. He arrived promptly at the hotel and came up with a very generous offer: Jerome was just to pay a small part now- whatever he could afford- and then, later, when Yelfa’s work had come to pass: when Clem had come to live with him in Nairobi, then only would Jerome pay. Yelfa had absolutely no doubt that his spell would be powerful enough. But Jerome looked even more uncomfortable…. So I explained tactfully to Yelfa that Jerome was very grateful for the offer, but that Toubabs in general don’t like the idea of animal sacrifices. It has to do with Christianity, I explained. Since Yelfa is a very religious person, and also very tolerant and understanding in his own way, this argument was understood and accepted.. We arrived at a compromise: Yelfa would produce a piece of calligraphy on a sheep parchment instead: a blessing in Arabic for Jerome and his girlfriend. Yelfa left to do the work. If Jerome had accepted Yelfa’s offer, and Yelfa’s spell had indeed worked, he would always have thought that Clem was in Nairobi because of the spell, not because of her love for him… When I told Keita this story he laughed and said Toubabos are too complicated! (Jerome has given me the go-ahead to publish this, just in case you were thinking I was being very indiscreet.)