Awakened by the Ancestors: A Journey to the African Gods and My True Power"

Whispers in the Dark: My First Encounter with the Paranormal

It had only been a few weeks since we buried my father, but every day felt like it dragged on forever. The house was quieter, heavier somehow, and everything around me seemed to move in slow motion. That afternoon, I went to pick up my younger sister from school, a task my dad had done so many times before. I had my headphones on, drowning out the noise of the world around me. Music had become my escape from the constant heaviness I felt.

As I approached the crosswalk near the school, I did what I always did—checked both sides. Left. Right. It was clear. The street was empty, so I took a deep breath and stepped forward. Just as my foot hovered over the curb, a sudden rush of movement caught my eye.

Out of nowhere, a car came speeding down the road, faster than any car should be going in a school zone, its engine roaring like a wild animal. My heart stopped for a split second as my body froze. I couldn't move, couldn’t think. I was standing right in its path, and I knew it wouldn’t stop in time.

Then I heard it—someone yelling, “Look out!” The voice cut through the music in my ears, louder than anything I’d ever heard before. Before I could react, I felt a sudden force, as if someone had shoved me hard. My body flew backward and slammed against the metal fence that bordered the playground.

The car roared past, missing me by inches. I watched it in a daze, my head spinning. And then—just like that—it was gone. No screeching brakes, no engine noise fading into the distance. The car had disappeared, as if it had never been there at all. The street was empty. I was completely alone.

My legs felt weak, my heart pounded painfully in my chest, and I couldn’t stop shaking. I was too shocked to move for a moment, my back still pressed against the cold metal fence. Who had screamed? Who had pushed me? There was no one around.

I stumbled forward, glancing back up and down the street, but it remained deserted. My head spun as I rushed inside the school, grabbed my sister’s hand, and practically dragged her outside. She noticed something was wrong, asking me why I was acting so weird, but I couldn’t answer. I couldn’t explain what had just happened.

We made it home, and as soon as I stepped through the front door, I was out of breath, my body still trembling. My mom looked up from the kitchen table, concern already written all over her face.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice laced with worry.

I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “I almost got hit by a car,” I blurted out, feeling the panic rise in my chest all over again. “It came out of nowhere, Mom. I checked. It wasn’t there, and then suddenly… it was. I—I heard someone yell ‘look out,’ and something pushed me. But when I looked… there was no one.”

My mom’s face paled, her eyes wide with a mix of shock and something else, something that almost looked like understanding. She stepped closer, gently pulling me into a hug. I could feel her hands trembling just like mine.

“That was your dad,” she whispered after a moment, her voice catching. “He’s still watching over you.”

I didn’t know what to say. Part of me wanted to brush it off as impossible, but another part—the part that missed him more than anything—wanted to believe it. Maybe she was right. Maybe he had been there when I needed him most.

As I stood there in my mom’s arms, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of comfort wash over me, as if somehow, in some way, my dad really was still with us.