Mmachi watched as trees, billboards and similar buildings rolled by while trying to tune out an old song by Celine Dion booming from the car's stereo. It didn't help that Chidiogo kept humming along to the song and she felt her irritation growing just like the dark fumes pouring out from the faulty exhaust of a trailer in front of them, clouding around the car while slowly obscuring the sight she'd been admiring.

She could pick up hints of the acrid smell that had managed to sneak it's way through the air vents and shut windows, mixing with the cool air circulated by the air con and making her situation all the more unbearable.

She began feeling nauseous after sometime, having been trapped in the vehicle for over two hours. She was just about to ask the driver to stop so she could step out for some fresh air when a taupe duplex came into sight.

She sighed, grabbing a hold of her lilac school bag and hurrying out of the car as soon as the hum in the engine died. She walked on the paved parts, making her way around the the lawn on purpose while Chidiogo strolled across it.

Chidiogo made it to the front door and was inside the house before her. She took in deep breaths before walking in.

The door stood ajar and she gave it a small push. She was rewarded with a creak as she made her way across the lobby.

She entered the living room, deciding to head straight for the stairs but paused when she saw her mother with Chidiogo. She held onto both her hands asking how she was doing.

She pulled her into a hug afterwards and continued her redundant questions.

Mmachi stood watching them for a few minutes. Not once did their mother ask about her. Finally fed up, she rolled her eyes, walking past them.

"CHASE!" she yelled making sure they heard her.

She ventured further into the house repeating the name while looking around for the Golden retriever her father had gifted her for her sixteenth birthday.

"Chase! Come here boy!"

The wooden stairs creaked underneath her feet, the thud of her footsteps echoing around the house as she stomped up the stairs.

"Chase?!"

She was beginning to get a bit worried. He usually rushed to the door to greet her whenever she arrived and it had just been a week since she left. What could have happened?

She strolled past her parent's room and went straight to her room. Her hand was on her door knob when something made her pause.

She turned to the side, casting a long glance at the opposite room. It's door was cracked open a bit, enough to reveal the thick darkness which didn't even budge as the lights from the lobby tried to seep into the room.

An eerie chill ran down her spine and she turned her knob quickly, slamming the door behind her. Her fingers were quick to find the light switch and in a matter of seconds, visibility returned to the room.

She looked around, a bit surprised by how everything seemed to be coated with a layer of dust. The room had only been unoccupied for a week and it already looked abandoned.

She waved her hands in the air as she forged in, just in case any net of cobwebs lay in wait to ambush her. She repeated her dog's name but instead of the cheerful barking that followed on a norms, she only got her own words in return.

She stopped in front of her bed, which still bore lilac sheets she'd tucked in before leaving for the hostel, before going down on her fours.

Her knees lightly grazed the slippery surface of the spiral optical illusion carpet just in front of her bed as she peered under the bedstand. She couldn't make out much but she was certain Chase wasn't under there.

She stood up again, barely dusting off her body before continuing her search. After going through her walk-in closet, bathroom and even the terrace, she still couldn't find him.

She left her room for Chidiogo's room in hope of finding him there. The first thing that struck her when she flipped on the lights in Chidiogo's room was how her room was sparkling clean, it almost looked like it was just cleaned.

She ran her hand over the mahogany reading desk at a corner and came back with clean fingers, entirely dust free. Her thoughts were confirmed when a maid came in to retrieve the mop tank she'd forgotten.

She waved it aside, continuing her search for Chase. She didn't stay long in Chidiogo's room before she left. Her eyes landed on the same room opposite hers again, the slightly cracked open door unnerving her.

Taking one last look at it, she headed downstairs.

"Where's Chase?" she asked, stepping into the living room.

She found Chidiogo and their mother seated on one of the plush leather cushions.

"Mom have you seen Chase?"

She fixed her eyes on her mother waiting for a reply. Her mother's eyes remained fixed on some magazine spread between her legs as she flipped through the pages. Chidiogo looked up at her awkwardly before glancing back to their mother.

Mmachi gritted her teeth.

"Mom?"

She continued to flip through pages until Chidiogo tapped her and informed her of Mmachi's presence. She looked up, as if just noticing her and asked her what she wanted.

"Do you know where I can find Chase?"

"Chase? Who's that?"

Mmachi opened her mouth to reply but Chidiogo beat her to it. "Her dog. The one dad got her on her last birthday."

Mrs. Ezenwa's brows furrowed for a moment before the lines on her forehead smoothened again. "Oh, you mean that pesky little creature that keeps running around the whole time?"

Chidiogo cringed a little at her mother's choice of words but still nodded.

"I got the maids to throw it out."

Chidiogo's mouth dropped open at her words while Mmachi cocked a brow, her jaw tensing.

"You did what?"

Chidiogo regained her composure and shifted awkwardly in her seat while Mrs. Ezenwa shot Mmachi a glare before returning her attention to her magazine.

Mmachi's nostrils flared as she stared at her mother.

"Why would you even throw the poor thing out like that? Do you have no compassion?"

The sound of something slamming against the table startled Chidiogo but Mmachi remained unfazed as her mother rose to her feet.

Chidiogo fought the urge to stand in between them to prevent things from escalating as she feared her mother's wrath. She stared helplessly at the two, praying that Mmachi would have the good sense to remain shut.

"And you will teach me what compassion is?" Mrs. Ezenwa asked raising a brow at Mmachi.

Mmachi didn't flinch once.

"Of course since all this hate has turned you into an unrecognizable beas–"

A slap silenced Mmachi, resounding in the living room. She clutched her stinging cheeks, her chest heaving as she watched her mother walk back to her seat.

The next few moments happened quickly, blurred by rage.

Racing footsteps, ragged breathing. Hers? She couldn't tell. Hands slowly rising; a rough shove.

Her mother's yelp brought her back to her sense and she felt a pang in her chest as she watched her mother fall. Her outstretched hands dropped to her sides, her fingers recoiling as what she had just done dawned on her.

She let out a small sigh, grateful that her mother had landed in Chidiogo's arms. Her lips parted but she couldn't muster any words.

Letting her rage get the better of her, she stormed out of the living room leaving her mother clutching onto her ankle with Chidiogo by her side.

———††††———

Chidiogo raised her hand to knock on the door but it creaked open just as she made contact with it. She peeped inside before walking in, calling out Mmachi's name as she did so.

She found the room lights on but Mmachi was no where to be seen. She looked around in search of her, trying not to touch anything.

The air was thick with particles floating around and she found herself struggling to breathe properly the longer she stayed. She found the windows and pushed them open in an attempt to air the room.

It worked and she felt a gush of wind sweep past her, ruffling her hair. With violent swipes, she pushed the hair away from her face, gathered it up in her hands and tied it into a knot which was sure to leave it tangled by the time she eventually freed it.

She looked around the room a bit more before she gave up. She stripped the bed of it's lilac sheets and sat on the mattress. She fixed her eyes on the spiral optical illusion carpet at the foot of the bed while trying to put together what she would say to Mmachi.

The main problem would be trying to get her to apologize for pushing their mother. It seemed to hurt her deeply and though Mmachi's apology would do little, it might just make her mood better.

She eventually decided to not overthink it. The words would provide themselves, at least she hoped they would.

As she waited for Mmachi, she used the opportunity to take in the changes in her room. Mmachi never let her anywhere near it so she hadn't been there in a while.

Her eyes travelled around the almost bare black walls with white polka dots. The only feature on it was a black empty frame which she would have thought weird on a norms but knowing Mmachi well enough, it probably symbolized something.

The walls had been a shade of purple before—lilac if her memory was correct. It looked a bit different but not entirely out of place and weirdly blended with the rest of the room.

With everything in the room having at least a touch of lilac, the only thing which really matched the wall was the black and white carpet at the foot of the bed with swirls deceitfully entrapping giving off the illusion of being in a time portal.

Her eyes landed on something on the mahogany reading table in a corner. She stood up, walking to the table.

She picked up the black book, careful not to get her hands too dusty. She looked around for a rag but ended up using one of Mmachi's many handkerchiefs, making a mental note to replace it later.

She flipped open the book. The first page bore an inscription in an almost unreadable cursive writing. It read:

Mmachinerem Silver Ezenwa
Jotter

Kindly drop it back now;)

She flipped through the next couple of crisp pages, browned from age. At first all she could see were random notes, lyrics to songs, a couple silly write ups and school essays.

She was slowly loosing interest when she stumbled upon another write-up that seemed just as random as the rest but she went ahead to read it, having nothing else to do.

In frilly writing, the title stood at the top of the page. The visit, it read.

She went on to the rest of the writing.

Damned—a shaking mess.
Afflicted, my breath
came out in muffled puffs.

She scrunched her face trying to make meaning of the words but kept reading.

My gaze robbed by a glint,
the light in the darkness—
or so it seemed.
Kill her! Kill her!
The shards did scream.

Shards screaming? The personification felt a bit disturbing.

An end to the darkness she is,
They promised.
But the beginning to the one which would forever plague me,
I responded.

The write-up left her speechless for a moment as she pondered the words. She couldn't tell if it was some kind of poetry or whether Mmachi just copied it off the net.

She glanced back at the page, reading the words again and again.

Damned—a shaking mess.
Afflicted, my breath
came out in muffled puffs.
My gaze robbed by a glint,
the light in the darkness—
or so it seemed.
Kill her! Kill her!
The shards did scream.
An end to the darkness she is,
They promised.
But the beginning to the one which would forever plague me,
I responded.

None of it made sense so she waved it off flipping to the next page.

"What are you doing here?"

The voice caused her heart to skip a beat as she looked up just in time to see Mmachi glaring at her from the door. And right before she could see the next words on the page: Deadly games? Ekila.

A/N: FIRST OFF, I DEFINITELY EXPECTED THIS CHAPTER TO BE MUCH LONGER BUT THIS BOOK BE SURPRISING ME IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

SO MY BABIES ARE BACK HOME FOR THE WEEKEND AND THERE'S ALREADY WAHALA UPON THEIR ARRIVAL. LET'S SEE HOW THINGS PLAY OUT.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON MRS. EZENWA? IS SHE TREATING MMACHI UNFAIRLY OR IS MMACHI THE ONE AT FAULT?

AND AS FOR CHIDIOGO, THAT ONE😂. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY SEF. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THEM TO RETURN TO SCHOOL SHAA. I ALREADY MISS TORMENTING CHIDIOGO🥲.

OKAY YOU DIDN'T HEAR ME SAY THAT😂.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE, YOU MUST COMMENT O‼️ AND DO SHARE THE NOVEL IF YOU THINK IT'S NICE😗. T FOR THANKS AND HAVE A NICE DAY😗.

UNTIL NEXT TIME❤️✨.