Omne ignotum pro magnifico,” (Everything unknown seems magnificent).
 
It all started on a Friday lunch, much like any other week at work. There was the usual last minute work before the weekend set in. The boss was mysteriously (if not atypically) absent due to some illness so there was an atmosphere of relaxation followed by the usual light hearted banter.
 
I was absorbed in my work when the topic of conversation turned to lunch and the many a places my work mate wanted to go. She was an indian hindu girl who proudly wore the tika and in a society where people no longer held to their scriptures she had been raised to hold true to hers. And yet, she ate much like a Hobbit. With two breakfasts and two lunches (such is the teasing of friends). But all in all a delightful and intelligent girl. For the sake of this story we shall refer to her as Kay.
 
Everyone had given her their lunch orders for the day, McDonalds. I smiled and kindly declined (their food was always questionnable to me). The next half hour or so progressed as any other work day did, when my attention was suddenly drawn to the window by my colleagues remark 'Whose that talking to Kay?'
A glance outside the window showed that Kay was still in her car, whilst a stranger stood at her window talking to her. He seemed to be of Indo/Paki decent, with a dark complexion which made me think it was more so the former than the later. He was dressed in jeans, a bubble jacket (or something that could perhaps have once passed for a life jacket), all of which was nicely kept, clean and tidy with short black curly hair. He had a Charles Bronson type of moustache and a rough, 2/3 day shaved look about him.
 
What was even more strange was that, i had never seen him before. Whilst this may not seem like a big thing to you, our offices were located in a residential area and in the middle of a caucasian area.
 
Five minutes must have passed while she remained in her car talking to this unknown stranger at her window. Understandably my colleagues were getting restless waiting for their food. However something seemed amiss, so i ventured out to check Kay was alright.
At my approach his posture seemed to be relaxed but not threatening. However cornering someone at their car is hardly the decent thing to do. He swiftly took a few steps back as he saw i meant to interfere. I enquired if Kay was alright and if she had managed to acquire the lunch order. She saw by the steel look in my eye that I had infact come to check on whether she was ok. She smiled nervously, and said she was ok although something in her eye seemed to suggest she was uneasy. She explained she was just talking to this man before she asked that i take the food inside. Giving the man a look of warning I collected the lunch order and returned to the office. She returned to the office shortly after, clearly shaken when she asked to speak to me alone.
 
What she divulged was as follows: That the man claim to be a Yogi from Ajmer Sharif and had awaited specifically for her because he had a message for her. The message was that he believed she was the victim of black magic which is why she doesnt have any children. She had protested ofcourse at the time, however he had scribbled something on a piece of paper before handing it to her. He then asked her date of birth, to pick a number from a choice of random numbers, the year of her marriage etc. After asking these questions he asked her to open up the paper which revealed all her answers. This he presented as proof of his abilities. He then gave her an orange stone and told her to place the stone beneath her pillow with a red pen before she goes to bed. That night she will have a dream in which she will receive a 'mantra' which she is to write down as soon as she wakes up and then to call him on his mobile and he will help her undo this magic.
She showed me to stone. It appeared to be a calcite stone, approximately 15mm in length and 10mm wide. She appeared to be quite shaken by the event and awaited some words of reassurance.