Half-Stolen

Naya just wanted six quiet months. As a chemistry student finishing her internship, the boarding house near her workplace seemed perfect-cheap rent, polite neighbors, and only three rooms.

But the middle room is always locked. The air in her bathroom feels thick, like someone's breathing with her. And when she plays Qur'an recitations to ease the heaviness, it's not just her who's listening.

Her life tilts the night a woman appears beside her bed-crying, whispering "Help me". Naya convinces herself it's just a dream... until a neighbor falls into a mysterious coma, and Naya sees that same face again.

As prayers falter, shadows linger, and whispers follow her into daylight, Naya tries to hold onto a normal life-flirting with a kind coworker, cooking meals that somehow lift people's spirits. But a so-called miracle in the neighborhood peels back something darker: the healed are not always whole, and not everything under a prayer tent is sacred.

Some souls don't stay where they belong. Some reach out. And some... find you whether you look back or not.

N.B.

Sunday updates (mostly). Just to get you ready for Monday 🌚!