Tale of A Boy and the Ghosts

Chapter 1

Written by: Egandayo Chris Andrew
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My name is Dave— my name is Devon, my name is Chris, my name is this,my name is that... I've had many names.
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It was 9AM prompt I had just woken up so I decided to have a morning walk..
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Immediately I opened the front door I felt the cold swept through my skin, I quickly slammed the door shut..
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Devon: damn it's cold(as I massaged my shoulders with my palms)..
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I've been indoor since and I never realized how cold outside would be.
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Ever since my mum,my brother and I moved into this neighborhood four days ago,I've never stepped a foot outside..
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I think i grew up finding the joy of locking myself in room,either listening to music,playing video games,checking stocks,drawing or paying with Ghost...
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No, not the spooky kind—
Ghost is the name of my dog🐶.
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Have you seen Game of Thrones? I'm a big Jon Snow fan. Named my white pup after his direwolf.
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We're originally from Atlanta.
There we grew up with my parents. My mum is White, while my dad is Black.
That made me.. an alfcast.
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I look light in complexion with curly hairs,blue eyes which surprised my parents how come I had blue eyes and they don't..
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Anyway, we moved to Nigeria after my mom finally convinced my dad to let us meet his family.
They'd been together for 30 years, and she still hadn't met his people. He always kept that part of his life private.
We don't know anything about his family or background. He only told us his from Nigeria.
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After enough nagging and begging, he gave in.
Handed us photos of him and his parent, and an address in Lagos, and said:
"Go ahead. I'll join you after I finish work."
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Fortunately, it's the end of the season.  My mom was beyond excited.
She talked about it nonstop—as she told my brother and I at dinner that we would be leaving for Africa..
I already adapt to the African culture,dad had taught my brother and I all that we need to know about African languages and their foods.
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It's was like a dream comes true for my mum,as a White woman she just wanted to meets her African in-laws..
She bought lots of gifts 🎁
Wrapping up valuable,
And still planning on buying more..
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When we arrived in Lagos, her new friend helped her find a fancy house in a high-end neighborhood.
They even went to the mall together this morning—with my little brother, Cole.
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Back to me.
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With my palms burried deep in my hoodie pockets, I walked through the calm neighborhood.
Tall trees lined the sidewalks.
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To my right— I could see a basketball court.
"Nice," I said to myself, smiling.
"I'm loving this place already."
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I turned forward and— suddenly saw a little girl, standing alone ahead of me as I moved closer..
she's about my brother age..
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Devon: Hey little one, why are you out here alone in this goddamn cold?.
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She turned and stared at me.
For a while.
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girl: are you a ghost?(she asked).
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Devon: what?(laugh)..do I look like a ghost?
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girl: A little. Your eyes.. you're shiny blue. Ghosts always look shiny blue..
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I cocked an eyebrow..
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Devon: Really? How do you know that?
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girl: because I seen them, duh! (she threw up her hands as if i had asked the dumbest question in the world)..haven't you seen them?
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She looked at me expectantly..
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I was amazed the way she talks..
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Devon: I've seen lots of them(I lied, smiling)..all kinds, in fact.. big ghosts, little ghosts ... even dead ghosts..
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she scrunched her nose..
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girl: ghost can be dead?
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Devon:(scoffs)..of course yes, ghosts can be dead but let's not talk about that, OK?
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girl: are you scared of ghosts?
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I suddenly laugh..
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Dave: nah.. just saying (I lied)..tell me more about the ghosts you've seen,do they talk to you?..
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girl: no, not really,I don't think they can see me or maybe they don't know I can see them, nobody else can see them... well, except you, maybe.
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I stared at her closely.
Was she for real?
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Girl: I think I scared one once. (she said bringing me out of my thought)..
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Devon: really?—how on earth did you scare a ghost?..
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girl: Well, she was walking beside my friend, Alex. Looked like she was holding his hand. But he wasn't holding back. She was smiling at him. I said hi... she just stared at me—big, pretty eyes—and then poof! she disappeared!"
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Devon: Wow.. do they always vanish like that?
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girl: Nope. Just her. It's okay though. 'Cause she's a ghost and they're allowed to do that..
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Devon: Right... So, anything else you've noticed about ghosts?
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She put a finger on her lips, thinking. So adorable.
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I'm suddenly getting interested in her ghost story...
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girl: Sometimes I see them whisper in people's ears (she said)..the rest of the time, I just see 'em walking around..
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Dave: Mm— Interesting.
She definitely sees them.
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Just then, a couple of teenage girls passed us.
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WHO'S HE TALKING TO? (one of them whispered)..
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Teen Girl 2: "Fine boy like that dey talk to himself?"
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I slowly turned.
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Devon: ".....What does that mean? (Rhetorically)..
I turned back to look at the little girl.
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She was gone..
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Devon: hey?
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I looked around— no sign of her.
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Weird. After some while, i finally walked back to house.
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A week passed. Still no sign of Dad.
He kept saying he'd join us soon
Without him, mum wouldn't want us to go visit his family so she keen on waiting on him.
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Each night, they did video calls— sometimes with me and Cole.
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Mum: Guys, remember my new friend?  She invited us to her apartment today.
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Cole jumped up excitedly, throwing his hands in the air.
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Devon: "You can go with Cole. I'm not coming."
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Mom: "C'mon, Von. It's just a few blocks away."
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I rolled my eyes..
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Cole: Mum, just leave him. He's so boring anyway!
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I turned to look at my mum, to see her reply before I do something she wouldn't like..
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Mum: c'mon he's just being a kid(she said in between laughter)..
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I suddenly grabbed the pillow beside me..
He took to his heels immediately as he saw me coming as we chased around the house...
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I'm known as kind hearted person and i'm also a short tempered person, no matter how you frustrate me I'd walk away or ignore you and whenever I realized i'm getting annoyed I quickly walk away...
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But my little brother?
Gosh, the little
devil,sometimes I wish I can just kill him overnight and bury him at the backyard before anyone wakes up...
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Few minutes later..
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I was in my room on the bed when a text entered my phone, I was about replying when I heard a voice beside my window, I opened the curtain a little and saw this gorgeous looking girl with double figure 8 making a call standing beside a pool in the next house with her back facing me..
she was wearing this tight undies that exposed her full bouncy ass..
I looked her carefully until my door opened, I quickly shut my curtain and turned back to look at my mum..
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mum: why did you close the curtain that quick?
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Devon: uhm..did I?
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mum:are you hiding something?
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Devon: something?(laugh) nah was just..
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Mum: lemme see(as she walked over to the curtain and swung it open sideways)
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(but she wasn't there anymore)
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Devon: see,told you there's nothing..
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Mum: anyway hurry up and take a shower, your brother is ready will be leaving in the next 15 minutes (as she walked out of the door)...
I looked at the window again and saw the girl bringing her head out of the pool,gosh her skin looks really white..(as I remove my top and pant and threw them on the bed)
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I opened my closet and brought out my towel before walking into the bathroom..
I came out 10 minutes later out of the shower looking refreshed..
I put on a clean white T-shirt and a joggers,after applying a nice perfume,a knock came on the door immediately..
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mum: Devon are you ready?
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I opened the door and saw my mum dressed like someone going out on a date..
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Devon: uhh mum are you going out?
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Mum: yes, I told you we're going out?
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Devon: no I mean— On date..?
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Mum: noo,why do you ask?
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Devon: your dressing (as I looked her from head to toes)
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Mum: what wrong with my dressing?—you don't expect me to dress like an old Lady, let's go..your brother is waiting..
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I laughed..
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We finally arrived in front of her  friend's apartment.
Every apartments in the environment doesn't have a gate because the height of the fense is up to our waist except a little wooden latch.
We could see some children riding bikes in their space while few moved around chatting.
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As we walked toward the door, I noticed a woman waving at me from the corner.
Mom and Cole continued ahead.
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I walked toward her.
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she quickly rushed to me as I walked up to her..
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Woman: Please, help me get that ball and give it to the boy over there?"
She pointed at a lonely boy nearby.
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I turned to look at him.
(He must be missing someone)..
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Devon: Okay—The one stuck in the tree?
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Woman: Yes. Tell him not to cry anymore. Mama loves him.
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Weird... why not tell him u yourself?
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Devon: hey kid, this is your ball right?
(I said as I got the ball and gave it to the kid).
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He lit up with joy
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Boy: wow..
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I threw him the ball and he quickly grabbed it..
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Another woman suddenly stormed out of the house looking so galant. She turned to the boy and yelled at him to go inside..
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She shot me a mean glare then walked back inside.
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Devon: "What the—? What's her deal?"
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I turned back to the first woman.
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Devon: "I did what you asked."
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She looked overjoyed. Grabbed my hand, thanking me profusely.
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I just stood looking dumbfounded...
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DEVON! (I heard my mum yelled)..
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Devon: uhh i.i.. gotta go.
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She called again as I ran back.
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Mom: Where did you go? Why did you disappear?
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Devon: Sorry. That woman called me—just trying to help.
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Mom: What woman?
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I pointed.
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Devon: Right there—.
(But she was gone).
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Mum: where?— there's no one there.
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Dave: What? She was literally just—
I trailed off as I found her gone.
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What—That's strange she was right there just now..
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Mum: (sigh)..
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Devon: For real mum.. I swear
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Mum: you know what..let's just go okay and stop disappearing on me.
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I rolled my eyes...
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"Come on in Devon !" (She said walking in)..
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Devon: Aye, aye— captain
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We spent the rest of the day at Mrs-Zainab apartment.
She's a Muslim woman.
Both her and her husband were quite nice and lovely
Mom and Cole had their best moment ever with their children..
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There I saw this girl that caught my eye,
She's about my age ..
she's tall and dark. Not that beautiful but she has this perfect 8 figure shape..
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She dressed modestly, but you could see those curves.
We kept stealing glances at each other, but I didn't make a move. Too many eyes.
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We were about leaving when Ms. Zainab insisted we took some group photos..
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She asked the daughter. To used her phone. She's using an iPhone (13pro)..
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I watched as ms. Zainab with her husband,their younger kids,  and my mum with Kole  posed while they get snapped in different positions..
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They asked— the girl to joined them so she gave me her phone..
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Immediately,I have the phone after taking some two shots..
I quickly used the moment to typed my number into her phone and handed it back.
She looked at me.
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That look.
I think my charm worked.
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Finally, we went back home.
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Days passed.
Then weeks.
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It's being exactly a month—
Still no sign of DAD.
TBC