As he was exiting the building that housed the governor's office, Mutis noticed that we were still inside. He told his driver to take him home and then come back for us. We had been led into the conference room, where there were already two men. One was seated at the far end of the large table, and the other stood beside him, taking notes. We sat down at the enormous table, nodding to the two men, who seemed very busy. I then recognized the one who was seated. It was the young man in the big SUV I had seen at the police station the day before. The man who was standing and taking notes left the room shortly after we sat down. Kaba, who apparently knew him well, followed him out of the room.

At that point, I was alone in the large room with the young man. He turned to me.

"I believe I've seen you somewhere before, Ma'am," he said.

"Well, this is the first time I've ever been around here," I replied.

"More precisely, I believe it was last weekend, when I arrived at the airport in the capital," he clarified.

"I actually was at that airport last weekend," I confirmed.

"I am now sure it was indeed you. My name is Eric Mukendi, and I'm the Regional Minister of Mines. You can call me Eric."

"Nice to meet you, Eric. My name is Liza," I introduced myself. "I'm here with my uncle, who was asked to come in by the governor."

"Pretty name. I noticed Mr. Mutombo's son with you earlier. Were you also summoned?" he asked me.

"We came together, but I don't really know if I was summoned," I retorted.

"You're the girl who accompanied him to Babowa two days ago?"

"He's the one who accompanied me, actually. My maternal grandparents' native village is in Babowa. As a sociology student, I wanted to study the inhabitants of that village."

"As a result, we also summoned you. But what a coincidence! My mother is also from there."

"Okay. So, you must know it well, in that case?"

"Not really, unfortunately... I only went there a few times with my parents, and it was a long time ago. But I know people there. We may be related, you and I," he said with a small smile.

"I highly doubt it. No members of my family live in Babowa nowadays. But I met some very interesting people there, such as a woman who was one of her village's wise elders."

"Did you know the Babowa territory was once uninhabited because it was overrun with panthers?"

"Yes, the villagers of Bena-Tshitolo told me."

"In reality, humans were in command of those panthers," he explained.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked, perplexed.

"Panthers are solitary hunters. As a result, it is naturally impossible for so many of these animals to be found in such a restricted area. Foreign researchers even traveled there to try to find out what was really going on."

"And what did they discover?" I asked, intrigued.

"That they'd arrived too late. Those mysterious humans had erased all traces of their existence, and not a single panther could be found."

"Do you really believe in the existence of these mysterious people?"

"My great-grandfather, the valiant Tshiamalenga Ntumba, served as a guide for those researchers who wanted to understand why so many panthers were gathering in that place. But when they entered the forest, they had all disappeared. Not a single wild animal had set foot there since, which allowed the first inhabitants of Babowa to occupy the area in the days that followed. The big cats and their masters had left no sign of their long presence there," he told me. "Strange, isn't it?"

"Hmm... Was there a name for these mysterious humans?" I asked hopefully.

"They were called Bashama or the Shamas."

"Was your great-grandfather sure that the panthers had been there before?"

"Everyone in the region could see them. Tshiamalenga was a skilled leopard hunter, by the way, probably the best of his time. But the panthers of Babowa were different. No trap was ingenious enough to capture them."

"Was he able to see the Shamas?" I asked, more and more interested in his story.

"Long before the European researchers' visit, my great-grandfather embarked on a leopard hunt in Babowa, in the utmost secrecy," his story began. "His village was more than ten kilometers away. He thus set off in the middle of the night, in order to arrive at his destination the next morning. But on the way, in the middle of the savannah, in complete darkness, he met a stranger whose face he could not see. The valiant Tshiamalenga got the feeling that this was not an ordinary man, and that if he attacked him, no weapon would be able to defend him against this being, who possessed a particularly terrifying aura. However, the stranger greeted him amicably and told him, in short, that it was better not to attack wild beasts that posed no danger to man. Then the stranger continued on his way, and his frightening figure disappeared into the tall grass along the path. Tshiamalenga knew that the panthers of Babowa never threatened the regional villagers and that those were the animals the stranger was referring to. But since these leopards had never been captured, neither dead nor alive, and since he considered himself the best in his field, he remained determined to achieve the feat of capturing them, even if it might cost him his life. My great-grandfather therefore decided to keep going. He arrived in Babowa at sunrise and began his hunt. After several weeks and a series of failures, he finally gave up and returned to his village. Several years passed before the announcement that an important scientific mission would take place in Babowa. Everyone knew that Tshiamalenga was the only person capable of guiding this mission. So, a few days before the researchers' arrival, he went to Babowa," Eric explained to me. "And as he approached the leopards' territory, he glimpsed a human form on the top of a small hill. No one in those days could have ventured so close to those dreaded places. He walked towards the person up on the hill. And when he got to the top, he recognized the man who had once advised him not to hunt the panthers of Babowa..."

At that precise moment, the door to the room opened, interrupting Eric's story. The man Kaba had followed came back in and let the minister know that everything was ready to begin. Eric asked him to bring him his glasses, which he had forgotten in his vehicle, and to let everyone into the room when he returned.

As soon as the man closed the door again on his way out, Eric handed me an envelope, and making sure no one could see us, said to me in a low voice: "Hide this and only open it in the restroom." I took it discreetly and concealed it in my small bag.

Just then, Kaba came back in the room, accompanied by a woman. She approached Eric and leaned down to his ear. They had a brief, inaudible exchange, and then Eric invited everyone to sit down, announcing that he and his two advisors were going to start questioning us about what had happened during our visit to Babowa. He said to the woman, "Sandy, would you please show Ms. Liza where the restrooms are located."

Compelled to stand up and play my part, I followed the advisor, who led me to the ladies' room. Once I was alone in one of the stalls, I took the envelope out of my bag and opened it. There was a folded sheet containing a message, along with a small, transparent perfume bottle. The message read:

You and your cousin are going to be kidnapped on your way home. You won't be in any danger if you follow our instructions exactly.

The name of the object referred to as the "stone of Babowa" is actually "Tehla." Do not speak to anyone about it again.

Remove the stopper from the bottle without spilling the liquid inside. Gently drop Tehla into the bottle. The liquid will make it invisible and undetectable by the devices of those who are pursuing you. Close the bottle tightly, and when you leave the governor's office, hide it in the car, beneath a seat. Absolutely do not keep the bottle on your person once you are inside the car. Your assailants are going to render you both unconscious so they can perform a full scanner search on you. They won't find anything and will release you.

Act as natural as possible and everything will be fine. Get rid of this message by flushing it down the drain, and don't tell anyone anything about it.

Trust us. We're looking out for you and your cousin.

The Union