Aisha Ibrahim
The next day, Tochi called an old friend, Dike, who was a pastor and lived not far from them. Pastor Dike was a large man with calm eyes and a quiet authority. He listened patiently as Nkechi spoke, her hands twisting the hem of her blouse.
“She comes to me in my dreams,” she said softly. “Sometimes I hear her humming that song we used to sing… sometimes she calls my name.”
“What does she say?” Pastor Dike asked.
Nkechi’s eyes darted to the window. “She says I betrayed her. That I chose him over her.”
Tochi’s face darkened. “Pastor, please tell her she’s torturing herself with guilt. That’s all this is.”
Dike didn’t answer immediately. He was watching Nkechi closely—her trembling fingers, the way her eyes moved as if tracking something unseen.
“There’s pain here,” he said finally. “And something else… something that doesn’t want to leave.”
Tochi frowned. “You think she’s possessed?”
Dike raised a hand. “Let’s not jump to conclusions. Sometimes the spirit is disturbed because truth is buried.”
That night, as she lay in bed, Nkechi’s mind wandered back to the past—the last weeks before the surgery. They’d been arguing constantly.
“I don’t want to do it!” Nnenna had cried. “You promised, Nkechi. You said we’d never let them separate us.”
“I can’t live like this forever!” Nkechi had yelled back. “I can’t even hug Tochi properly without you beside me!”
“You’re choosing him over me,” Nnenna said, her voice trembling.
Nkechi turned away. “I’m choosing a life, Nnenna. Maybe you should try that too.”
A few days later, Pastor Dike returned for prayer. Nkechi sat on the couch, Tochi beside her. Dike began softly, reading scripture, asking for peace to fill the home. At first, everything was calm. But as he placed his hand on Nkechi’s forehead, her breathing quickened. Her eyes rolled back.
“Nkechi?” Tochi said, shaking her gently.
Her lips parted. Her voice came out lower, distorted. “She killed me…”
Tochi froze. Dike’s hand stiffened.
“She killed me,” the voice repeated, angrier this time. “And now she lives my life.”
The curtains blew wildly though the windows were shut. The lights flickered. Dike shouted a prayer, commanding the spirit to leave, but Nkechi convulsed, screaming. And then—silence.
She slumped forward, gasping.
Tochi rushed to hold her. “Nkechi! Baby, are you okay?”
She opened her eyes slowly, confusion and fear mingled. “What happened?”
“You… you spoke,” Tochi stammered. “But it wasn’t you.”
She blinked rapidly, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t remember. What did I say?”
Dike hesitated, choosing his words carefully. “You said… someone was killed.”
Nkechi shook her head violently. “No. No! I didn’t kill her! It was an accident! It wasn’t my fault!”
Dike looked at Tochi gravely. “Whatever this is, it isn’t over yet.”
Objects move. Shadows whisper.
If Nnenna’s spirit is truly speaking…
What truth is she trying to tell?
And what secret is Nkechi still hiding?
Aisha Ibrahim’s creative writing skills come to bear in her beautifully crafted stories that keep readers expecting more.
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