E Bàkriako Shero / The Sheep's Head
E Bàkriako Shero
Yek dives pàshe e agoreste oktombriake, kusi bersha pàle, me pirava sàs korkori perdal e dombiende. Shilali i vrema, tha i magla beshela sàs sàrkai – astis dikhava numa kusi metre anglal mande. Cheiros cheireske e pàsh-ivendester, me haievava man kusi tugnerdi, tha kana perela pes odya, kamava te pirava korkori e dombiende vai e vesheste. O konyipen so me latava odoi sasterela miro zi.
Akasar, ova dives, lateliom tikni grupa rukha so astena sàs sàr korkore e mashkerutnipeneste yek zelene dombiake rigake. Komi sar te astava sàs adusta dur e rukhender, vareso mange fremto dikhlavelias: mire trite yàkhasa, mire màgikane dikhipenesa, dikhliom tamli tha bengali energia trustal e rukhende. Mander phuchliom soster, soske butevar e rukha se len lachi energia.
Kana resliom e rukha, dikhliom vareso darutno: yek bàkriako sheresko-kokalo beshela sàs yek kanriate e kàshtorende yek e rukhender, tha telal leste dikhliom kàlore-lole màkhlipena... shuko ràt?! Sigo sigo prindjardiom te komani kerela sàs odoi kàli magia. Lisdreliom – ne trashava i kàli magia soske me shom zurali Chovahàni tha astis rakhava man, numa jinava te astis kerela bàri dosh vaverenge.
Tala, so te kerava? Ne mola chichi te phukrava e shingalenge, nastis kerena chichi tha ne pachena kek adre e magiate. Tha bilacheder, shai komi te starena man soske kàli-mortiakani Romni shom tha rivava man tradiciakanes. Ne pachava adre e shingalende keker!
Beshliom tele e chàrate tha deliom man godi. So akaie divie jene provirena sàs le te kerena? Provirena sàs le te kharena bengien, vai te phirevena vudar vaver sumnaleske, vai so? Chi pharipen nai so provirena sàs te kerena, prindjardiom te mange trubul te achevava len angle te astis kerena misto te kerena bàri bibàxt.
Jindiom te ova rati avela o pherdo chun, tha trustal e agoreste e oktombriake, o Poxtan Mashker e Sumnalende avela bute bizuralo. Pachava sàs te ova rati ka provirena te agorena pengri bengali magia. Mar chivela sàs te avela o tamlipen, odya beshliom man tele pàle bàre barende pàshe e rukhende, tha kerdiom yek prosti magia kai te cheles garevava man avre e dikhipenester. Duito kotor magia rakhlias man e shilester. Acheliom...
Dui trin ori pàleder, e chunesa me dikhliom shtàr jenen, rivde kàle plashtiensa. Yek lender rikerela sàs yek kàle bàshnes, vaver rikerela sàs churi. "Devlale mire", mange xache me, "ka chinena les – kerena tachi nekromancia, meripeneski magia, sigo shai avela akaia bute bilachi!". Akana taches trashadi shomas – akaie jene tàrne ràkle nai, kon khelena magiasa, tache butiakre e bengalipeneske sàs le. Màngava sàs te andiom mansa kusi vaver Chovahànien kon astis źuterena man.
Akasar, sar miri phuri-dai lela sàs pes mange te phenela, "ame shem Chovahània tha kerasa i buti so latasa anglal amende". Sigo kerdiom kerika, rakhipen, tha khardiom tele e dukhen tha trin shtàr amare Devlen Devien, kai te źuterena man te marava man e bengalensa.
Komi te butereliom sigo, mire dushmane buterelie sigeder. Angle te agordiom miri magia, chindie sàs pengre bàshnes tha chingardie xev mashker e Sumnalende: dikhliom zuralo lolo dudo mashker e rukhende, sar e bàshnesko ràt thadela sàs perdal e bàkriake shereske-kokaleste tha opre e chàrate.
Droven me koshdiom tha bàre imaginaciasa. Akana-sigo dui e jenender – yek mursh, yek juvli, mange shunelavelias – zurales rovelie avre tha perdie tele ki phuv, racena e muiender. Sigo avelie le konye, mule, pengri jidi energia pidi jiko shukipen e bengalipenester so khardie opre.
Vaver juvli prastelias ko dudo, so nakhadias la bi chi godliater. O lolo dudo reslias e pàlune murshes, tha mange dikhlavelias te peskro shero bàravelias sar phukni pherdi ràtesa, o bàro mui pherdo lunge, morde, ràtvale dandensa. Chivdias pes te pirela muial mande, o mui buxles phiro.
Nastis prindjardiom te astis dikhela man vai na. Dikhela pes, akasavo bengo stardias sàs les, tradela sàs o trupo pàle te hàlias leskro zi. Komi te jinava te miri magia garevela man misto e manushender, ne jindiom te astis garevela man akasave bengale dukhester. Shomas sigo sigo te dava man godi!
Soske me shom Yàgaki-Chovahàni, e Yàgaki Zur miri kono zurali arma se, saviasa te perevava o bengalipen. Khardiom opre e Yàga e Devia e Phuviater sàr mire magikani zurasa, sàr mire ilesa, tha ucherdiom xacherindoi yàgaki-bula muial e starde mursheste. Kana mardias les, o bengo phurdelias avre bàre butipensa khanduno kàlo thuv tha zuralo dudo so koroderelias man yek cheireske. Perdiom tele ki chàr, opre mire dumeste, cheles kerdi, korodi, xacherde mortiasa tha rivipensa.
Pàle ova ratiate, sàrko var te dikhava komani dineli kon provirela te kerela kàli magia, ne mukava les te kerela misto: chivava leste mulikano koshipen angle te astis anela vareso bengalo vaver sumnalester – yekvar, mange adusta!!
The Sheep's Head
One day near the end of October, a few years ago, I was walking alone across the hills. The weather was cold and the fog lay all around – I could see only a few metres in front of me. From time to time in the late autumn, I feel a little depressed, and when that happens, I like to walk alone on the hills or in the woods. The silence that I find there heals my spirit.
Anyway, that day, I came upon a little group of trees standing all alone in the middle of a green hillside. Even while I was standing quite far from the trees, something struck me as strange: with my third eye, my magical sight, I saw a gloomy and evil energy around the trees. I wondered why, since normally trees have a good energy.
When I reached the trees, I saw something troubling: a sheep's skull was sitting in a fork in the branches of one of the trees, and below it I saw dark red stains... dried blood?! Right away I realised that someone had been doing black magic. I shivered – I'm not afraid of black magic because I'm a powerful Chovahàni and can protect myself, but I know that it can do serious harm to other people.
So, what to do? No point in telling the police, they can't do anything, they don't even believe in magic. And worse, they might even arrest me because I'm a dark-skinned Roma woman who dresses traditionally. I don't trust the police at all!
I sat down on the grass and thought. What were these crazy people trying to achieve? Were they trying to summon demons, or to open a portal into another world, or what? No matter what they were trying to do, I realised that I needed to stop them before they could succeed in causing a major disaster.
I knew that that night the full moon was coming, and around the end of October, the Veil Between the Worlds becomes very weak. I figured that that night they would attempt to complete their evil magic. Dusk had already begun to fall, so I sat myself down behind some big rocks near the trees, and performed some simple magic to completely hide myself from sight. A second piece of magic protected me from the cold. I waited...
Two or three hours later, by the light of the moon I saw four people, dressed in black cloaks. One of them was holding a black cockerel, another was carrying a knife. “Oh my Gods,”, I said to myself, “they're going to sacrifice it – they're doing actual necromancy, death magic, this could quickly turn very bad!”. Now I was really scared – these people weren't young kids playing around with magic, they were genuine servants of evil. I was wishing I had brought a few other Chovahània with me to help me.
However, as my grandmother used to say to me, “we are Chovahània and we do the job that we find in front of us”. I quickly cast a circle, protection, and called down the Spirits and three or four of our Gods and Goddesses to help me fight the evildoers.
Even though I worked fast, my enemies worked faster. Before I had completed my magic, they had sacrificed their cockerel and ripped a hole between the Worlds: I could see a bright red light among the trees, as the cockerel's blood ran across the sheep's skull and onto the grass.
I cursed hard and imaginatively. Right then, two of the people – one man, one woman, by the sound of them – yelled out loudly and collapsed to the ground, bleeding from their mouths. They quickly fell silent, dead, their living energy drunk dry by the evil that they had called up.
Another woman ran into the light, which swallowed her up without a sound. The red light reached the last man, and it seemed to me that his head swelled up like an abscess filled with blood, the huge mouth full of long, sharpened, bloody teeth. He started walking towards me, mouth wide open.
I couldn't tell if he could see me or not. Obviously, some sort of demon had possessed him, was driving his body after it had eaten his spirit. Even though I know that my magic hides me well from humans, I didn't know if it could hide me from that kind of evil spirit. I had to think very very fast!
Because I am a Fire Chovahàni, the Power of Fire is my most potent weapon for destroying evil. I called up the Goddess of Fire from the Earth with all my magical strength, all my heart, and hurled a blazing fireball towards the possessed man. When it struck him, the demon exploded into a mass of stinking black smoke and a brilliant light that blinded me for a while. I fell down into the grass, onto my back, totally spent, blinded, my skin and clothes burnt.
Ever since that night, every time I see some idiot trying to perform black magic, I don't let them succeed: I drop a death curse on them before they can bring something evil from another world – once is enough for me!