The Girl Who Loved a Monster

Chapter 4 - Strange Secrets

After that strange evening near the forest, Gloria could not stop thinking about the boy she had met, Tunde Adeyemi. There was something about him that refused to leave her thoughts. It wasn’t just the way he appeared out of nowhere or how he disappeared just as suddenly into the darkness. It was the sadness in his eyes, the kind of sadness that is deeper than ordinary worry.

For the next few days, Gloria tried to convince herself that the encounter had been nothing more than a coincidence. Ajayi Town was small, after all, and she assumed she would probably see him again during the day. But she didn’t. Morning came and went. The market became busy, motorcycles moved up and down the dusty roads, and children filled the streets with laughter after school. Yet among all those faces, Gloria never saw Tunde. Not once. It was verystrange to her

One afternoon, while helping Aunty Peace wash vegetables in the small kitchen behind the house, Gloria decided to ask one me time. She tried to sound relaxed as she asked. " Aunty Peace did you know a young guy called Tunde Adeyemi". Aunty Peace paused for a moment, her hand still inside the bowl of water, and asked which Tunde she are you talkingabout. Gloria explained that he was about her age, tall and quiet, and that she had met him the other night. Aunty Peace frowned and shook her head, I did not know anyone by that name. she replied.

Gloria suggested that maybe he lived in another part of the town, but Aunty Peace replied that Ajayi Town was not that big and that if someone new had moved here, people would know. Gloria said nothing more, yet the answer only deepened her curiosity.

Later that evening she decided to ask someone else. The opportunity came when she visited the small shop at the corner of the street to buy bread. The shop belonged to an elderly woman everyone called Mama Sade, who seemed to know every family in the town. As Gloria paid for the bread, she asked if Mama Sade had ever heard of someone called Tunde Adeyemi. The old woman looked up slowly, her eyes narrowing as she repeated the name. Gloria confirmed it. After a moment, Mama Sade shook her head and said that no one in Ajayi Town goes by that name. Gloria hesitated before explaining that she had met him near the forest. The moment she mentioned the forest, Mama Sade’s expression changed and her voice loud like a chief commander of the Army. She warned Gloria that she should not go near that forest at night. Gloria replied that many people had told her the same thing, but the boy said so, as well, which was why she thought he might live in the town. Mama Sade stared at her quietly for several seconds before finally saying that some questions were better left alone. Then she turned away and began arranging goods on her shelf, clearly ending the conversation.

Gloria left the shop feeling even more confused. How could nobody know him? She had spoken to him and seen him clearly. He was not some shadow or imagination. He was real. That night Gloria found herself standing near the gate again. The sky was darker than usual, with thick clouds hiding most of the moon. The town had already fallen into its familiar evening silence, and one by one the lights disappeared from windows as people prepared for the night. Gloria sneaky out the gate slowly. Part of her expected nothing to happen, yet another part of her hoped he would appear again. She began walking toward the end of the street, where the same narrow path leading to the forest waited quietly in the distance. The wind moved gently through the trees, creating soft whispering sounds among the leaves.

Gloria stopped when she reached the same spot where they had met before. For a moment she believed she was alone. Then a voice spoke from behind her, You come back again. Gloria turned quickly and saw Tunde standing there at the same spot, just as quietly as the first time she had seen him. She felt an unexpected wave of relief and told him that he had disappeared the last time they met. Tunde gave a faint smile and said he had to go. Gloria replied that he always did that, appearing out of nowhere. Tunde did not answer. Instead, he looked toward the forest again as if checking something beyond the trees. Gloria studied him carefully. In the dim light he looked almost the same as before, calm, quiet, and distant. Yet the sadness in his eyes was still there.

She asked him why he only came out at night. Tunde and said that it was the safest time for him. Gloria repeated his words in confusion and told him that it did not make sense. Tunde looked at her for a long moment before telling her she should stop asking questions about him. Gloria asked why, and he replied that the answers would only bring her trouble. Gloria folded her arms and said that was not very convincing. Tunde’s gaze softened as he told her. You should trust me. Gloria hesitated. Strangely, she did trust him, even though she barely knew him and even though he kept so many secrets. Something about him made her feel safe.

The wind suddenly grew stronger, rustling the trees behind them, and for a moment neither of them spoke. Then Gloria quietly told him that nobody in town knew who he was. Tunde’s expression darkened as he asked if she had been asking people about him. Gloria admitted that she had, and when he asked what they said, she replied that everyone claimed he did not exist. Tunde looked away and said that it was probably easier for them that way. Gloria asked what he meant, but he did not answer immediately. Instead, he stared toward the forest again, his eyes filled with a distant sadness.

Finally he spoke, Two hundred years ago Ajayi Town had been very different. Gloria frowned, unsure what he meant. There was a hunter who once protected the people of that land. The hunter had been brave and strong, and everyone respected him. The hunter is Called Odediran.

Odediran fell in love with a woman who was kind and fearless. She believed in him even when others began to doubt him. Gloria listened carefully and seriously want to hear more. Tunde’s voice became colder as he explained that the people of the town eventually betrayed them because they feared something they did not understand.

The wind moved through the trees again, carrying a faint and eerie sound from deep within the forest. Gloria felt a chill run down her spine as she asked what the villagers had done. Tunde looked at her with a strange expression and said they had cursed the hunter. Gloria repeated the word in disbelief, asking what kind of curse could do such a thing. Tunde hesitated before saying it was the kind that turns a man into something people fear. Gloria’s heart began to beat heart faster as she asked quietly if he meant a monster. Tunde did not answer directly. Instead, he explained that the villagers believed they were protecting themselves, but curses always had consequences and did not simply disappear with time.

Gloria swallowed nervously and asked what had happened to the woman the hunter loved. Tunde’s eyes met hers as he explained that for a long time people believed she had died. The wind grew colder and the forest seemed darker around them. But some stories, he continued, said something different. Gloria asked what those stories claimed, and Tunde replied that they said her soul had never truly left. Gloria stared at him in confusion and asked what that meant. Tunde looked away again and said quietly that the past sometimes found its way back.

An uneasy feeling settled in Gloria’s chest as she asked what he was trying to say. But Tunde did not answer. Instead, he s stepped backward and told her she should go home now. Gloria protested that he had not finished the story, but he only replied that there would be another night. She tried to call him again, yet he had already begun walking toward the corner. Within seconds the darkness swallowed him once more. Gloria stood there alone, staring at the trees as the wind moved through the branches like whispers from another time. Somewhere deep inside the forest, a low growl echoed in the distance.

For the first time, Gloria began to wonder if the story Tunde had told her was more than just an old legend. Something inside her felt strangely connected to it, as if the past he described was not entirely unfamiliar. The more she thought about it, the more certain she became of one thing: Ajayi Town was hiding a secret far older than anyone wanted to admit, and somehow that secret had something to do with her.

Stay tuned for the next Chapter........