35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclKdu3bXXs
Amina collapsed onto her bed, the springs groaning beneath her. The night air hung thick with unspoken tension, pressing against her skin like the humidity before a storm.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLOuVOKxSwK
Emeka crawled out from under the bed, brushing dust from his threadbare shirt. His fingers lingered near the iPhone box peeking from beneath her pillow.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ17JIu6NAoZ
"*Folder*," he muttered, rolling the unfamiliar word in his mouth. "What's—"
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdCUrkjVnJ
"A school thing," Amina cut in too quickly, her fingers digging into the mattress. The lie tasted bitter.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLj5OkV1HxC
Ifeanyi's gift burned beneath the pillow, its presence as unsettling as the man himself. She hated how her pulse quickened remembering those photos—the arrogant tilt of his chin, the way sunlight had danced across his collarbone. He was everything she despised: privileged, manipulative, too aware of his own charm. Yet her traitorous mind kept replaying his smirk at her window, the daring glint in his eyes when he'd mentioned the river.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIj7AbPhvaq
Emeka's knee bumped hers, dragging her back to reality. "You're doing that thing again."
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zlswfL4Oo
"What thing?"
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGiPM97ZdsS
"Your nose scrunches when you're thinking about something... or someone." His grin turned sly. "Let me guess—Ifeanyi and his *folder*?"
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡihKyNN5miT
Amina's cheeks flamed. Emeka had always seen too much. Where Ifeanyi's gaze felt like being dissected, Emeka's was a mirror—honest to a fault.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk4CSktlA4U
She studied him now: his perpetually untucked shirt, the two ridiculous chest hairs she'd once threatened to pluck, the scar above his eyebrow from when he'd fallen out of a mango tree at twelve. He was familiar as the village paths they'd raced down as children, yet suddenly foreign in this moonlit room.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4XSXv5SsxP
"Why do you keep coming here?" The question slipped out before she could stop it.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUjmnawq55s
Emeka stilled. For a heartbeat, the usual mischief drained from his face. "You know why."
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQes8N511Y
The air between them crackled. Amina's breath caught. This was the boy who'd once given her his last piece of candy, who'd taken the blame when she'd broken her mother's vase, who still flinched at loud noises because his father's temper echoed in them.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6U3WpN5ydK
She opened her mouth—
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCSoIZivpo
"Do you believe in ghosts?" The question tumbled out, abrupt and clumsy.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsfzkxgPZO
Emeka recoiled as if struck. His hands, usually so animated, fell limp at his sides. The color drained from his face.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarxJF4T9rp
"Emeka?"
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4ihxSvxwu
He stood abruptly, knocking over the stool. "I have to go."
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0xa10Mxhu
"Wait—"
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0bxS7slkJi
But he was already at the window, moving with unnatural stiffness. No teasing grin, no dramatic exit line. Just a hollow-eyed stare that didn't seem to see her at all before he vanished into the night.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeGd0C4Eurz
Amina clutched the windowsill, watching until his shadow dissolved into the darkness. The talisman on her nightstand pulsed faintly, its golden eye glinting in accusation.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdtX6Edy82q
She had her answer.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0qNgSMyMl
Some ghosts walked in daylight.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZa8d0kCG0
***
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCXXucVNlp
Grandma crouched by her window, her gnarled fingers gripping the sill as she watched Emeka slink away into the shadows. Her lips curled into a smirk.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Et1UZZHiE
“*Mami Wata*,” she hissed into the dark, her voice like dry leaves. “*Bịa ebe a. Come to me. We made a pact.*”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNJRM1gZC2
The air thickened, water pooling on the dirt floor as Mami Wata materialized, her serpentine form coiled in the corner. “*What do you want, old woman?*” The spirit’s voice dripped with venom. “*I have a soul waiting at the river. Do not waste my time.*”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvFd8ACIK5
Grandma leaned closer, her milky eyes gleaming. “*Amina’s breath catches when she speaks Ifeanyi’s name. There’s desire there. Use it.*”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdC84JuJV4
Mami Wata’s laughter echoed, cold and melodic. “*Ah, love. The sweetest poison.*” She dissolved into mist, her final words lingering: “*Let the river decide.*”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3q27Ow9YEb
***
Amina stared at the ceiling, her mind replaying Emeka’s hollow stare. The talisman hummed faintly on her nightstand.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGtyeLRHH6
*Tap-tap-tap.*
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZbRgN74vc
“*Not again,*” she muttered, yanking the curtain open. Ifeanyi stood there, his smile too wide, his eyes too bright.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdFjWqKIaA
“*Open the window, my sweet,*” he purred.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQwuVtZuQg
“*Ọ dịghị mma!* This isn’t right!” Amina hissed. “*Go to sleep, you… you *agbụrụ*!”*
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2NcLSehSRP
Ifeanyi’s grin turned feral. “*You don’t mean that.*”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnxExSr6xy
*Thud.*
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGH5OT22e3U
Another figure stumbled into the moonlight—*Ifeanyi*, phone flashlight blazing, his face pale as he stared at his own doppelgänger.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GtCPGSYKW
“*Mmụọ!*” he screamed. *Ghost!*
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWhVgwOcas
The fake Ifeanyi hissed, its skin rippling like water. It bolted, but Papa Chukwuma was already charging into the night, machete raised.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vRuMp1t7q
“*Nna anyị!*” Amina cried as her father gave chase.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQVqqtSQHk
The creature sprinted toward the river, its form melting into something inhuman—long limbs, glistening scales, eyes like black pearls. Ifeanyi tripped over roots, yelling, “*It’s leading us to the water!*”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgBtnoQWLc
Amina froze at the tree line. The river’s song thrummed in her veins, louder now.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBSLwacpaq
“*Amina!*” her father roared. “*Go back!*”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXupIOJjSoq
But the creature vanished into the reeds, leaving only a trail of wet footprints and the echo of Mami Wata’s laughter.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFHsKseCg6
Amina crouched behind a palm tree, her bare feet sinking into the damp earth. The river churned ahead, moonlight fracturing on its surface like broken glass. Her father and Ifeanyi stood at the bank, breathing hard, their faces slick with sweat.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsNOrvPh37
The creature—Ifeanyi’s warped double—had vanished into the water with a hiss. Papa Chukwuma’s machete sailed after it, plunging into the black depths. For a heartbeat, silence. Then—
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1udjsdsUYj
***Thunk!***
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbF3EpjEUAQ
The machete shot back like a spear, embedding itself in a nearby tree trunk, the blade quivering inches from Ifeanyi’s face.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVQgAll5lL
Amina clapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. Her father whirled toward the trees. “Who’s there?!”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJyTpKl09e
Emeka chose that moment to stagger into the clearing, his eyes glazed, shirt half-unbuttoned. He walked like a man sleepwalking to his grave, muttering, “*Ha na-ekwu… ha na-ekwu…*” *They’re talking…*
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1s5NPSEJBP
Papa Chukwuma grabbed his arm. “*Nwa*! Wake up!”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡti4BI2BsLB
Emeka blinked, shuddering as if doused in ice water. His gaze locked on Amina, now frozen in the moonlight. “Yes,” he said, voice hollow. “I believe in ghosts.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeH8YeLskKT
Amina’s foot brushed something cold and slithering. She screamed, bolting from the trees—straight into her father’s chest.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiuy2uEo5aO
“*Nne*!” Papa Chukwuma gripped her shoulders, fury and fear warring in his eyes. “I told you to *go back*!”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfDYQLhE1tP
Ifeanyi stepped forward, his usual swagger replaced by unease. “Amina, what are you—”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLC2ppZCjO
“Shut up!” She rounded on Emeka instead. “And *you*! What’s wrong with you?!”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGvy0AewI0
Emeka stared at the river, trembling. “I… I heard her. The woman in the water. She was singing.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9R0GCV7Emx
Papa Chukwuma stiffened. “*Mami Wata*.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70J34m3dOX
The name hung in the air, heavier than the humidity. Ifeanyi scoffed, but his bravado rang hollow. “Ghost stories. This is just some jealous neighbor’s *juju*.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc2BlpolBwP
“We’ll see,” Papa Chukwuma said grimly. “At dawn, I’m bringing the *dibia*. If this is dark magic, he’ll sniff it out.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPXokZg9ypU
Amina’s stomach dropped. The village medicine man, with his cowrie shells and bitter herbs, would sense the talisman. Would sense *her*.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajgBloYzu3
As her father dragged Emeka toward the compound, Amina lingered, her eyes drawn to the river. The water rippled, though there was no wind.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0I86K7blI
In the shadows of her hut, Grandma watched, her lips moving in a silent chant.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUMFjwbKKu
*Almost time.*
ns216.73.216.166da2
