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The Hissing Hoodoos · Stories from Väruld

• 0:02
  Speaker: You are listening to Stories from Väruld. In this episode, the Hissing Hoodoos.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: In the high desert of the Tabak Plateau, where the land is parched and the winds howl through the barren landscape, the Lamina people carve out their existence, guided by the harsh beauty of their surroundings.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: To the south stand the hissing hoodoos, tall spires of stone, shaped by time and the relentless desert winds.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: The Laminas believe these eerie formations are alive, filled with the whispers of ancient spirits who guide them in times of need.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: For generations, the Laminas have followed a tradition when arranging marriages.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: It is a practice steeped in reverence for the hissing hoodus, who, it is said, can foretell the fortune of a union by the way their hisses rise and fall within the stone.
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: When a young man or woman comes of age, their parents, along with their aunts and uncles, journey down to the hoodoos.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: There, they listen intently to the hissing, allowing the voices within the stone to guide them in choosing the right match.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: This method, though mysterious, has long been trusted, for it was believed that the Hoodoos, as the voice of nature, knew best.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: But one day, a young man named Malek, strong-willed and in love, wanted the spirits to favor his choice.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: He had fallen for a girl named Aisha, whose family was neither wealthy nor influential.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: He knew that his family would never choose her, no matter how beautiful she was.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: And so, under the cover of night, he stole away to the Hoodoos, hoping to sway the spirits to his will.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: As he stood among the towering spires, he called his heart's desire into the wind.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: Let it be Aisha, he pleaded, and told them of all her virtues, though many were imagined, for Malek had admired her from afar and had never truly known her.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: The next day, when his parents and uncles visited the Hoodoos, they were surprised by what they heard.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: The hisses spoke clearly, almost unnervingly so.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: Aisha was the right choice.
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: The message was so unmistakable that they could not ignore it.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: Perplexed, they visited Aisha's family, who, though surprised by the unexpected proposal, could not deny that the Houdus had spoken the same to them when they had visited earlier that day.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: Neither family stood to gain from the match, and there was little affection between the two households.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Yet they both agreed to follow the spirit's advice.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: The wedding was arranged, and Malek and Aisha were married, but the night of the wedding was far from joyous.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: Aisha, who had been pressured into the union by her parents and the ominous guidance of the Hoodoos, was filled with resentment.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: Her life, as she saw it, had been ruined by a marriage she had never wanted.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: In her anger and despair, she lashed out at Malek, beating him until he fled back to his parents, bruised and broken.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: Through his tears, Malek confessed what he had done: that he had gone to the Houdus alone, seeking to manipulate the spirits to get his way.
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: His parents were horrified, realizing that the Hoodoos had not guided them as they always had.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: Instead, they had been misled by a selfish wish, spoken in the dead of night, and a young man's desperate attempt to control his own fate.
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: From that day forward, the Lamina people regarded the hissing hoodoos with suspicion.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: No longer did they trust the hissing winds to guide them in matters of the heart, for they had seen how easy they were to manipulate.
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: The hoodoos, once revered, became a symbol of caution, a reminder that the spirits of the desert are not to be tampered with, and that desires born of selfishness and deceit will only bring sorrow.
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: And so the tale of Malek and the hissing hoodoos is told to every young Lamina, a dark fairy tale that warns against the dangers of trying to bend fate to one's will.
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: The hoodoos still hiss in the wind, but now their whispers carry a different message: one of humility, respect, and the knowledge that some things are beyond mortal control.
• 5:17
  Speaker: Thank you for listening to Stories from Väruld.
• 5:19
  Speaker: In the next episode, the Tiger and the Deceptive Rat.