33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBeSeD18iIr
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.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyLVs6uTr9N
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.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXpr8k4uJJ8
"*Folder*," he muttered, rolling the unfamiliar word in his mouth. "What's—"
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4wco8I8Ef1
"A school thing," Amina cut in too quickly, her fingers digging into the mattress. The lie tasted bitter.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6FA8q9X0g
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.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH1OyWYCMow
Emeka's knee bumped hers, dragging her back to reality. "You're doing that thing again."
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOH1vCSpoZa
"What thing?"
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LNdZj0PPG
"Your nose scrunches when you're thinking about something... or someone." His grin turned sly. "Let me guess—Ifeanyi and his *folder*?"
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrO0TmIMyDB
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.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTIxyncAnU
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.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTkgenFAcOu
"Why do you keep coming here?" The question slipped out before she could stop it.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsSKySCPHB
Emeka stilled. For a heartbeat, the usual mischief drained from his face. "You know why."
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHrwoc9s5D
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.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHnr6JwzUl8
She opened her mouth—
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC6g43zEF4z
"Do you believe in ghosts?" The question tumbled out, abrupt and clumsy.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNYvd2gpmV
Emeka recoiled as if struck. His hands, usually so animated, fell limp at his sides. The color drained from his face.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZug0t5PPv
"Emeka?"
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKsCVjB9Lwc
He stood abruptly, knocking over the stool. "I have to go."
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqYydux9it
"Wait—"
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9E7wKBOwC
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.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYEzmc2d4qV
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.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBAvg2USUl
She had her answer.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUVpf9gl4oc
Some ghosts walked in daylight.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHIyTBhidP
***
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavk3HpID5h
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.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4o4MDAbtZS
“*Mami Wata*,” she hissed into the dark, her voice like dry leaves. “*Bịa ebe a. Come to me. We made a pact.*”
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0H167qCzkx
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.*”
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZFOKcZMjSc
Grandma leaned closer, her milky eyes gleaming. “*Amina’s breath catches when she speaks Ifeanyi’s name. There’s desire there. Use it.*”
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJGL7OOR1A
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.*”
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVkFUHSMzt
***
Amina stared at the ceiling, her mind replaying Emeka’s hollow stare. The talisman hummed faintly on her nightstand.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZesRYGofVM
*Tap-tap-tap.*
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2vYmiYC4j
“*Not again,*” she muttered, yanking the curtain open. Ifeanyi stood there, his smile too wide, his eyes too bright.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwSaavvvqrU
“*Open the window, my sweet,*” he purred.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLUzQLtdUi1
“*Ọ dịghị mma!* This isn’t right!” Amina hissed. “*Go to sleep, you… you *agbụrụ*!”*
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQ9kCUPpO2
Ifeanyi’s grin turned feral. “*You don’t mean that.*”
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTDnPGQJ4L
*Thud.*
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ39eI2unMCo
Another figure stumbled into the moonlight—*Ifeanyi*, phone flashlight blazing, his face pale as he stared at his own doppelgänger.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYR631h26D2
“*Mmụọ!*” he screamed. *Ghost!*
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUMtehoc5J
The fake Ifeanyi hissed, its skin rippling like water. It bolted, but Papa Chukwuma was already charging into the night, machete raised.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5pEvCRxrn
“*Nna anyị!*” Amina cried as her father gave chase.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu3qqVHD0cb
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!*”
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡceOwFULjiB
Amina froze at the tree line. The river’s song thrummed in her veins, louder now.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1QBTWXA2U
“*Amina!*” her father roared. “*Go back!*”
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWdHMTt37U
But the creature vanished into the reeds, leaving only a trail of wet footprints and the echo of Mami Wata’s laughter.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe7kxWbJzqt
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.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ55QG6WrCnu
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—
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDhf73ecJT
***Thunk!***
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6woFM6uJkj
The machete shot back like a spear, embedding itself in a nearby tree trunk, the blade quivering inches from Ifeanyi’s face.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfljgIB2pab
Amina clapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. Her father whirled toward the trees. “Who’s there?!”
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX8z32bKlt7
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…*
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfD4Qw4DRk
Papa Chukwuma grabbed his arm. “*Nwa*! Wake up!”
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYWw1nrBOG8
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.”
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaWEWOQ0szX
Amina’s foot brushed something cold and slithering. She screamed, bolting from the trees—straight into her father’s chest.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmvx2HbhaO2
“*Nne*!” Papa Chukwuma gripped her shoulders, fury and fear warring in his eyes. “I told you to *go back*!”
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTNVqYvlNkx
Ifeanyi stepped forward, his usual swagger replaced by unease. “Amina, what are you—”
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34vcoANFsw
“Shut up!” She rounded on Emeka instead. “And *you*! What’s wrong with you?!”
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvIzvuq43Ym
Emeka stared at the river, trembling. “I… I heard her. The woman in the water. She was singing.”
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfVwrszRrDQ
Papa Chukwuma stiffened. “*Mami Wata*.”
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qwRH7A8Gm
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*.”
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvDufjJgCSg
“We’ll see,” Papa Chukwuma said grimly. “At dawn, I’m bringing the *dibia*. If this is dark magic, he’ll sniff it out.”
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuwcVa32Pf
Amina’s stomach dropped. The village medicine man, with his cowrie shells and bitter herbs, would sense the talisman. Would sense *her*.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP1OdBSrWQh
As her father dragged Emeka toward the compound, Amina lingered, her eyes drawn to the river. The water rippled, though there was no wind.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMsNHfuQm0p
In the shadows of her hut, Grandma watched, her lips moving in a silent chant.
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EMMI8AowY
*Almost time.*
ns216.73.216.146da2
