Each village in this small land locked country of Botswana seems to have its own stories and legends that are told around camp fires and passed down from one generation to another. The small village of Otse is no different but its stories and legends on close examination of available evidence seem closer to reality than fiction. One of such stories was the story of Neo the sky witch.
Not much was known about Neo, not even how long she had lived up on the hill, maybe it was because those who knew anything was about her were counted among the ancestors. This lack of knowledge about Neo was not due to lack of trying to find out more about her, it was just no one dared go up the hill due to rumors of whomever goes up the hill never m returns. But that has not stopped the youngsters from venturing into Neo’s land and they were never heard from again.
This blind fear is what made the people to loathe Neo, but that has not always this way Neo used to be well revered in the for brining rain. The previous village chiefs used to visit Neo with offerings and a ceremony was performed to bring rain, in fact that is how she got her title of Neo the sky witch. It was also rumored that Neo’s mood influenced the weather. But as the years went by the younger villagers began to not believe in the so called super natural abilities of Neo. As they grew up and the older generation was all but gone some of the younger generation grew to regard Neo as a crazy old woman and other regarded her as a witch. But one thing they all agreed on was that the was something sinister about her, however they could not quit work out what it was about her that made them uneasy about her other than the disappearance of anyone who goes up the hill. There was more to her than what other villager knew, perhaps it was this mystery that surrounded her.
They say curiosity killed the cat but it seemed that the children of this village had ever heard that saying. It was curiosity that drove the youth to dare each other to go up to Neo’s hill and into the cave near her house. The rumors of people not returning from the hill did not faze them; in fact it excited them even more. One day as the youth of this village were engaged in their favorite past time of daring each other to go into Neo’s cave one of them did the unthinkable. He actually went into Neo’s cave shocked by this brave act rest of the youth waited in anticipation to hear what the cave looks liken in the inside. Many have tried to enter bat instead flocked at the entrance so they were yet to discover what inside the cave looks like. Theo as the young boy who entered the cave was name he ventured deeper and deeper into the cave.
The cave split into a series of tunnels and the land scape changed, it became gloomy. And as he ventured even deeper a putrid stench assaulted his nostrils. The stench was more than he could stand, but his curiosity drove him further to find the cause of that stench. He went deeper and deeper until he found the source of the smell. The source of the smell was a pile of half eaten bodies. He now knew what happened to all those who ventured up the hill and judging from the skeletons lying all around the flow they were a lot. Fear began to creep in and a groaning sound emerged deeper in the cave. The groaning sound became louder and louder as if whatever was making it was getting closer. Theo grabbed one of the torches on the wall to protect himself with. While he was standing there he was a creature standing on two feet but it was too big and too furry to be human. The groaning seemed to emanate from the creature. Stricken with fear his body shook uncontrollably.
More groans began to emerge indicating there was more than one. He ran back the way he came looking for the exit but had taken too many turns. He could not find his way out. While running through the cave he must have taken in wrong turn because he ended up in a part of the cave with half snake and half man like creatures. Slowly backing out to avoid being detected by the creatures, he tripped and hit his head on a rock. Blood came out of the wound caused by the fall as he laid there motion less. Meanwhile those standing outside the cave were worried; he had been gone for too long. As it got darker and darker the number of people outside the cave decreased more and more until no one was left. When they got to their homes none of the children spoke a word of what happened.
That is until Theo’s parents came knocking door to door asking the children where Theo was. At first the children denied knowing where he was, but one child’s parent twisted his arm until he told the truth. The words that child spoke were words no parent in the village wanted to hear. Theo’s mother broke down in tears while his father went around rallying the men to go to the hill with him but the elders urged him to postpone until day light. While roaming through the tunnels Neo found Theo lying on the ground, she picked him up and walked towards the exit by the time she reached the exit the sun was out. Most of the men in the village had gathered at the entrance of the cave. When Neo emerged from the cave carrying Theo’s bloody and motionless body, the men jumped to conclusions. They had heard rumors that Neo sacrificed people in the cave and when one of the men reminded the others of this, Theo’s father wasted no time talking he hit Neo on the back of her head. The impact caused her to fall and as she was falling she dropped Theo on the ground and the rest of the men began to throw rocks hit her body perhaps the first hit knocked her out.
Blood began to flow out from the wounds and so the ground shock in disgust, the sun hid behind the moon for it could not bear to watch, the wind howled in pain and the sky, Neo was dead. The men had never witnessed such a thing and so ran for their lives, Theo’s father was right behind them with Theo on his back. Unbeknownst to the men, there was no running from their fates. They killed the being who kept the monsters from leaving the cave. The weather returned to normal and the men gathered at the village ward boasting about their victory. Theo was at his parent’s house still unconscious. In the evening groaning sounds could be heard coming from the cave. At night fall the groaning noise was heard in the village and the screams began, come morning the village was quiet as a grave yard. When Theo woke up he could not find his parents and so walked around the village looking for them but the village was empty there were no people not even livestock or any other living things except trees. Theo never left his village; he roamed the village looking for the villagers until the end of his days. It is rumored that the present occupants of Otse are his descendants. It is said that sometimes on stormy nights some Theo can be seen roaming around looking for the souls of his fellow villagers.
