The road back from Mapatoni was long, winding, and unusually quiet. In the van sat Alani, Sienna, Naya, Sasha, Lex, and Adrian,each deep in thought after the haunting discovery at Kanisa la Mabibi Wa Usiku.
The image Adrian received still lingered on everyone's mind.
Sasha sat pressed against the window, her thoughts far from the road, guilt clinging to her like the mist crawling over the hills.
From the front seat, Lex kept his eyes on the road. "We need to tell Tasha everything," he said flatly. "This isn't just about the jar anymore. It's tied to all of us now."
Sienna nodded. "And maybe... to something older than any of us understand."
Back at Naya's house…
The house stood silent under the grey afternoon sky. Inside, shadows danced unnaturally across the walls, even though the curtains were drawn.
The jar, sitting untouched on its pedestal in the center of the living room, began to hum faintly,a sound just low enough to go unnoticed.
Outside, across the road, the hooded man stood once more beneath the tree. He tapped something into his phone and whispered, "They're on their way back."
From the other end of the line, Liona replied coolly, "Stay put. Observe. I want to know how far they've gone with that jar."
But the moment he ended the call, something shifted in the air.
He blinked—and the living room lights of Naya's house flickered violently.
Inside, the jar's hum turned into a dull thump ,once, twice, like a heartbeat waking from slumber.
And then… the figure appeared.
Not in the window, not behind the curtains.
It appeared in the reflection of the hooded man's car window.
A pale face.
Black eyes.
A torn veil covering its head.
He stumbled back in horror, heart racing. But when he turned to look inside the house, nothing was there.
At Liona's place…
Mean while,Liona stood before her mirror, adjusting her makeup. Her hand trembled slightly,a detail she almost didn't notice.
Then her reflection... didn't follow.
Her brush paused mid-air. She stared.
Her reflection stared back,but smiled with a different expression.
A whisper danced across her ear, one that didn't come from anyone else in the room.
"You shouldn't have meddled…"
She blinked, backing away. The mirror was normal again.
She quickly called the hooded man.
Before he could speak, she said, "Have you seen anything strange?"
Silence.
Then: "...It's watching us too, isn't it?"
Liona didn't reply. Her fingers tightened around the phone. "Get out of there. Now."
As the group returns…
The van finally pulled into Naya's driveway. The moment they stepped out, they felt it.
The air was electric. Heavy.
"Something's wrong," Naya said immediately.
They rushed into the house,and froze.
The jar had moved.
It was still in the center of the room, but the furniture around it had shifted,pushed back like an invisible force had exploded from it.
And on the floor: a black scorch mark in the shape of an open eye.
Sasha stepped closer, but Lex held her back.
"The jar's not just reacting now… it's responding."
Sienna picked up a piece of paper that had been stuck under the pedestal. It had Tasha's name—burnt around the edges.
"She's still feeling it," Sienna whispered. "Even from far away."
Back with the hooded man…
He was halfway down the street, trying to catch his breath, when his phone buzzed.A photo. Sent from an unknown number.
It was him,standing beneath the mango tree… but taken from behind.
And next to him in the picture, a shadowy figure no one had seen before.
Another ping.
"You think you're watching them. But you've been watched too."
He dropped the phone.
That night, Liona tried to sleep,but a burning pain in her palm woke her. When she looked down, she gasped.
A mark,faint, but real,had formed beneath her skin.
A crescent moon.
And across town, the jar's glow pulsed once again,brighter, louder,like something ancient had finally opened its eyes.