She smiled

First Move

    Akin seemed to have vanished. She missed the company of her friend. She would sometimes walk past his house, as her heart longed to speak to him.

Sadly, Chloe's faith went through one test to another, shaping her resolve to remain with her Lover and Saviour. Her relationships with the opposite sex did not go untested.

Even though she loved the Lord, she was unsure about how to deal with her failures. Foremost her education. She immersed herself in church and pastoral activities.

Chloe was using activities to block out the responsibility to deal with the little girl within her.

She became very active with the youth prayer group. She committed to seeing the love of the Saviour birthed in others.

The youth group was essential and a pleasant place to be. Being part of the group faded away from the encompassing thoughts of the missed company with Akin. The community became an extended family for her.

Chloe started developing other healthy relationships. Chloe's friendliness made her a well-known figure amidst the young and the old.

She related to the older group because of her depth of wisdom and knowledge. Her maturity over a short timeframe spurred out of hard-line experiences.

Within the community, they described her as daring, reliable and trusting a contrast to her childhood. But sometimes too gullible in believing people and accepting their views.

Mama Joe raised her, to be honest and straightforward like the Saviour expect her to be. She was naïve to believe the world was flat, pure as they raised her to think the community should be.

One evening during the fellowship, it was thanksgiving time. Chloe remembered an incident she had told no one. When it was her turn to share, she recalled what happened one night.

An episode that occurred while she was in the boarding house.

There was an ongoing rumour that a male spirit or man comes into the dormitory. He flirts with the girls while they were asleep. As it was a rumour, she did not believe.

There were other stories of other strange incidences with no evidence; this was like any other. The dormitory was the largest in the hostel, with fifty beds. Many of whom were junior girls.

Chloe was one of the ten senior lassies, each positioned at several points in the hall. Light out was eight pm, and the girls ought to be in bed.

Chloe usually sleeps like a baby; However, that night, she seemed to have a restless sleep. The location of her bunk bed at the end of the hall. They advised each student to keep a touch under their pillow just in case of an emergency.

As rumour has it, the stranger comes in from the entrance. He moves from one bunk to another with a tiny touch to view the half-naked girls on their beds, especially the girls without underwear.

A little after one am, she heard the door to the hall opening. At first, Chloe anticipated it was one of the girls going out to the toilet. But since the rumour started, the girls avoided going out at night. Somewhat improvised means, toileting without going out using bowls and old buckets.

The steps moved a bunk at a time, using a touch light to look into the beds. It was so creepy to watch the movement of the figure.

"It was true! The girls were not lying about it. I need to do something."

By the time she felt the movements in the middle of the hallway, she had switched into action. Padding her hands under her pillow, she took hold of her touch light.