The air went ice-cold.
Children ran into their houses.
Dogs hid under cars.
The sky, bright just seconds ago, dimmed like someone turned down the sun.
Sade could feel it.
A presence.
A watching.
A hunger.
"Tunde… what is that thing?" she whispered, her voice shaking.
He didn't blink, didn't breathe, didn't turn his head.
He just said one word:
"RUN."
Sade didn't ask questions.
She grabbed his hand — warm, shockingly warm — and sprinted.
Her slippers slapped the ground.
Her breath came fast.
But every time she took a step, she felt it behind her…
A second set of footsteps that didn't touch the ground.
A cold breath brushing her neck.
Tunde pulled her sharply into an abandoned compound — walls cracked, weeds everywhere, silence heavy like a secret.
"Stay behind me," he said.
Sade clutched his shirt desperately.
A shadow slithered into the courtyard.
Not walking.
Not crawling.
FLOATING.
A dark, smoky figure with a twisted, feminine shape… long fingers… and two hollow eyes burning faint blue.
It spoke in a voice that sounded like three people whispering at once:
"Saaaaaadeeeee…"
Sade staggered back.
"Tunde—why does it know my name?!"
"Because it tasted your soul once," he said softly. "The night you died."
Her heart dropped.
"What?"
Tunde didn't look away from the creature.
"The moment your spirit left your body after the accident… this spirit tried to claim it. I stopped her. And now—she wants revenge."
The creature hissed angrily:
"You. STOLE. My. Prize."
Tunde stepped forward, shielding Sade completely.
"She belongs to the living. Go back."
The spirit's body twisted, stretching unnaturally, like her bones were made of mist.
"I want… HER LIFE."
Sade felt tears burn her eyes.
She couldn't breathe.
Her legs trembled.
Her lips stuttered soundlessly.
"Tunde… I can't… I can't survive this…"
He reached back and took her hand — gentle but firm.
"You survived death. You can survive anything," he said softly.
The spirit lunged.
A high-pitched scream tore the air.
Tunde shouted, "CLOSE YOUR EYES!"
Sade obeyed instantly.
Something BOOMED.
Like thunder exploding inside the courtyard.
Wind rushed past her, throwing dust everywhere.
When Sade opened her eyes…
The spirit was gone.
"Tunde… what did you do?"
He didn't answer immediately.
He swayed slightly.
His glow dimmed.
He looked… sick.
"Tunde??"
He caught himself on the wall, breathing heavily.
"The more I stay in your world… the weaker I get."
Sade rushed to him, grabbing his shoulders.
"You're fading…"
He nodded weakly.
"I shouldn't even be here this long. But I came… because you needed me."
Her throat tightened painfully.
"Tunde… what happens when you disappear?"
He looked up at her… eyes soft, sad, and full of something she wasn't ready to understand.
"I go back to the realm. And the bond weakens."
She blinked hard.
"Weaken? What does that mean for me?"
"It means those spirits will come again. More of them. Stronger ones. Because they can smell a soul that has crossed the threshold."
Sade swallowed.
"And you? Will I lose you too?"
Tunde lifted a hand weakly and touched her cheek.
"You can never lose me. But you might not see me for a while."
Her heart twisted.
"No… Tunde, please—"
"I have to go."
He stepped back, his body becoming transparent.
"But listen carefully."
The world around them began to shimmer.
Tunde's voice echoed in the air.
"There's someone in your world who knows about all this. Find him."
"Who???" Sade cried.
But he was already fading.
"His name is—"
And then—
He vanished.
Just like that.
Leaving Sade alone in the silent courtyard…
With his unfinished sentence echoing in the wind.
Sade stood frozen for almost a full minute.
"Tunde??
TUNDE!"
Nothing.
Just her breathing.
Her trembling hands.
And the lingering cold in the air.
She stepped out of the abandoned compound, her legs shaking like jelly.
People outside were going about their day as if nothing happened.
Children buying sweets.
A keke passing.
A woman bargaining for tomatoes.
But to Sade — the world felt wrong.
Tilted.
Dangerous.
She reached home and locked herself in her room.
She replayed Tunde's final words over and over:
"There's someone in your world who knows about all this. Find him."
"His name is—"
Who was he trying to tell her??
Why couldn't he finish???
Then — suddenly — her phone buzzed on her bed.
A message.
From an unknown number.
She frowned and opened it.
> "Stop going out at night.
You are being watched."
Her heart plummeted.
Another message immediately followed:
> "Meet me today.
4pm.
The old shrine behind the stream."
Sade's breath caught in her throat.
No name.
No introduction.
But then—
A third message arrived.
> "I knew your grandmother.
And I know why the spirits want you."
Sade dropped the phone.
A chill crawled up her spine.
Was this the person Tunde wanted her to find?
Or was it a trap?
She didn't know.
But one thing was certain:
Her life had changed forever.
And there was no going back.