96Please respect copyright.PENANAhcfhBUKtMi
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.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAGJG6f5MRTD
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.
96Please respect copyright.PENANABXp0XlZdos
"*Folder*," he muttered, rolling the unfamiliar word in his mouth. "What's—"
96Please respect copyright.PENANADXwDUBFiff
"A school thing," Amina cut in too quickly, her fingers digging into the mattress. The lie tasted bitter.
96Please respect copyright.PENANADfftHqRaJN
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.
96Please respect copyright.PENANA6XSoJRvI8V
Emeka's knee bumped hers, dragging her back to reality. "You're doing that thing again."
96Please respect copyright.PENANAOf8Sq1IixI
"What thing?"
96Please respect copyright.PENANAXUEB2YPxNE
"Your nose scrunches when you're thinking about something... or someone." His grin turned sly. "Let me guess—Ifeanyi and his *folder*?"
96Please respect copyright.PENANAdmhqh1fv0k
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.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAvz7DIDyRk6
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.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAl4D1DH0xLD
"Why do you keep coming here?" The question slipped out before she could stop it.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAfsvbpAgYbQ
Emeka stilled. For a heartbeat, the usual mischief drained from his face. "You know why."
96Please respect copyright.PENANA00ViEdxb9T
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.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAQz0k4rQEJ9
She opened her mouth—
96Please respect copyright.PENANAQJ21k9MK4B
"Do you believe in ghosts?" The question tumbled out, abrupt and clumsy.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAYdSJWgBHFl
Emeka recoiled as if struck. His hands, usually so animated, fell limp at his sides. The color drained from his face.
96Please respect copyright.PENANADabMbRgx2r
"Emeka?"
96Please respect copyright.PENANAL4vY5qHziA
He stood abruptly, knocking over the stool. "I have to go."
96Please respect copyright.PENANAx6Pr1D5jwa
"Wait—"
96Please respect copyright.PENANAFYU9CbB0lt
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.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAsTFMauEWBu
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.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAt0DmJzr1fv
She had her answer.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAf4vdxFrW9K
Some ghosts walked in daylight.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAbNgPrApAch
***
96Please respect copyright.PENANAifO7hN6OOi
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.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAcysymHlboE
“*Mami Wata*,” she hissed into the dark, her voice like dry leaves. “*Bịa ebe a. Come to me. We made a pact.*”
96Please respect copyright.PENANAWcd0kPonhW
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.*”
96Please respect copyright.PENANACNCjIgaToF
Grandma leaned closer, her milky eyes gleaming. “*Amina’s breath catches when she speaks Ifeanyi’s name. There’s desire there. Use it.*”
96Please respect copyright.PENANASxcPmYSkLD
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.*”
96Please respect copyright.PENANAn6yChguEt6
***
Amina stared at the ceiling, her mind replaying Emeka’s hollow stare. The talisman hummed faintly on her nightstand.
96Please respect copyright.PENANA7TDNSTkakA
*Tap-tap-tap.*
96Please respect copyright.PENANAnqndvJsP7u
“*Not again,*” she muttered, yanking the curtain open. Ifeanyi stood there, his smile too wide, his eyes too bright.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAlvtMz5x2cD
“*Open the window, my sweet,*” he purred.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAAqUovMRSO1
“*Ọ dịghị mma!* This isn’t right!” Amina hissed. “*Go to sleep, you… you *agbụrụ*!”*
96Please respect copyright.PENANAdnkxGVXFjc
Ifeanyi’s grin turned feral. “*You don’t mean that.*”
96Please respect copyright.PENANAPbrgUss6eL
*Thud.*
96Please respect copyright.PENANAMwwTzHZ1iR
Another figure stumbled into the moonlight—*Ifeanyi*, phone flashlight blazing, his face pale as he stared at his own doppelgänger.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAsTZUbTtK7M
“*Mmụọ!*” he screamed. *Ghost!*
96Please respect copyright.PENANASkU67gTr45
The fake Ifeanyi hissed, its skin rippling like water. It bolted, but Papa Chukwuma was already charging into the night, machete raised.
96Please respect copyright.PENANARMUqPA22ci
“*Nna anyị!*” Amina cried as her father gave chase.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAbfKdC2MqeA
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!*”
96Please respect copyright.PENANAtETHmWGANb
Amina froze at the tree line. The river’s song thrummed in her veins, louder now.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAaj37GasE8V
“*Amina!*” her father roared. “*Go back!*”
96Please respect copyright.PENANAaPWLoWCYdp
But the creature vanished into the reeds, leaving only a trail of wet footprints and the echo of Mami Wata’s laughter.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAplrMqIDkYw
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.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAqMTUbDus6c
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—
96Please respect copyright.PENANA3kbxPjeCld
***Thunk!***
96Please respect copyright.PENANAErWdJ8TFCJ
The machete shot back like a spear, embedding itself in a nearby tree trunk, the blade quivering inches from Ifeanyi’s face.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAuvRMP0pqUQ
Amina clapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. Her father whirled toward the trees. “Who’s there?!”
96Please respect copyright.PENANAvA3KFibK3m
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…*
96Please respect copyright.PENANAFIchuuwHh7
Papa Chukwuma grabbed his arm. “*Nwa*! Wake up!”
96Please respect copyright.PENANA4GBNtjSqib
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.”
96Please respect copyright.PENANAwKR4K5y6Gg
Amina’s foot brushed something cold and slithering. She screamed, bolting from the trees—straight into her father’s chest.
96Please respect copyright.PENANA2kL6Q8bsZP
“*Nne*!” Papa Chukwuma gripped her shoulders, fury and fear warring in his eyes. “I told you to *go back*!”
96Please respect copyright.PENANA82WvkRhIrI
Ifeanyi stepped forward, his usual swagger replaced by unease. “Amina, what are you—”
96Please respect copyright.PENANApYku8mftD0
“Shut up!” She rounded on Emeka instead. “And *you*! What’s wrong with you?!”
96Please respect copyright.PENANAGxwghJLojC
Emeka stared at the river, trembling. “I… I heard her. The woman in the water. She was singing.”
96Please respect copyright.PENANAtAcXAdtyNW
Papa Chukwuma stiffened. “*Mami Wata*.”
96Please respect copyright.PENANAcdFqwSusdS
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*.”
96Please respect copyright.PENANAyBF3EG66dO
“We’ll see,” Papa Chukwuma said grimly. “At dawn, I’m bringing the *dibia*. If this is dark magic, he’ll sniff it out.”
96Please respect copyright.PENANAt9QmZkD8JT
Amina’s stomach dropped. The village medicine man, with his cowrie shells and bitter herbs, would sense the talisman. Would sense *her*.
96Please respect copyright.PENANACjpaohTX06
As her father dragged Emeka toward the compound, Amina lingered, her eyes drawn to the river. The water rippled, though there was no wind.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAvHlPKkO39u
In the shadows of her hut, Grandma watched, her lips moving in a silent chant.
96Please respect copyright.PENANAztS9fpJTy7
*Almost time.*
ns216.73.216.0da2