Love in the time of chaos

o: Ghosts

d, its faded sign barely legible: Regal Cinemas – Air Conditioned Luxury. Luxury had long since left this place. The paint p

child, cradled between his father's arm and a bucket of popcorn, dazzled by mo

quiet tonight. Even t

side door. Inside, the stale smell of dust and mold clung to the air. His flashlight cast lon

e called o

ans

The old seats stood like crooked teeth in rows of disrepair. A faint b

he sa

ak

jacket she always loved-oversized, sleeves rolled. Her hair was in braids

er voice steady but

d be here," he repl

didn't sen

en them, filled wit

asked, "

ster revealed thin slits of the night sky. "No sur

ing them?" he aske

een wit

stopp

With who? The

r head. "With

tened. "What do y

night-the one after our fight-when the tremors hit Surulere? I was walking back to

mmered in th

outside... everything. I don't know how to explain it, Tari.

etween disbelief and awe.

iding. I wa

ning

t in the way they think. She's not a weapon. She's... a frequ

ou hear yourself? That sounds like the

ught the same at first

rd h

emory. She showed me... things. Colonies that once thrived beneath

g?" he asked,

iefs. Borders. Everything we know will crumble-and from

k. "You sound like y

't. I'm telling you because she aske

his stom

mean?" he aske

aka replied. "The night she sm

e thudded i

," he said, backing away. "I j

tting light for days? Politicians stealing? Floods? Fi

. The blue light intensified behind h

d gently. "This isn't just happenin

want from me?"

idn't. "To listen. To choose. And maybe... to

ed his fist

re still capable of love

harder than th

. Dust rained down from the ceiling. A

aka exchang

aka whispered. "Tonight,

do w

o follow. You can come with me. Or you can

is chest, but so did something else. A memory

s if I say y

ad, beautiful. "Then

tside were not empty anymore. Shadows moved quickly along the walls, some human, som

e. Amaka pulled a pair of glasses from her pocket-o

se on,"

obe

rld sh

ed beneath the water. Strange script ran along the sides of c

he language of the

the sky. Hovering above the water, wrap

her face

sm