The Girl Who Loved a Monster

Chapter 3 - The Boy Who Only Appears at Night

By the fourth week of living in Ajayi Town, Gloria had already get used to strange thing about the town. It wasn’t something anyone openly talked about, yet it was impossible to ignore once you paid attention. The town was peaceful during the day, almost too peaceful but when evening approached, a strange tension settled over everything like an invisible cloud. People hurried. Shops closed earlier than they should. Children were called indoors before sunset. Even the men who usually gathered under the mango tree at the corner of the street to argue about football and play some games disappeared before the sky grew dark.

At first, Gloria thought it was just the lifestyle of a quiet rural town. Ajayi Town was nothing like the busy Lagos she had left behind. In Lagos, night meant noise, traffic, music, and bright lights. But here, the moment the sun began to sink behind the hills, the town seemed to slowly fold into itself. It feels like everyone was preparing for something they did not want to face. Gloria see it every evening from the gate of Aunty Peace’s compound. She liked standing there after dinner, leaning against the metal bars and watching the sky change color. It gave her a few quiet minutes to think. Life had changed quickly for her.

Just a few months ago, she had still been living with her parents in the Lagos. Her life had been full of plans, school activities, and Playing with friends and neighbors children, ordinary problems that now seemed small compared to everything that had happened since then. Now she lived in Ajayi Town with her mother’s younger sister, Aunty Peace, trying to adjust to an unfamiliar life. Sometimes the silence of the town made her miss her parents even more. But something else about Ajayi Town kept pulling at her thoughts "the forest." From the back of Aunty Peace’s compound, you could see it stretching across the horizon like a dark wall of trees. During the day, it looked harmless, just another patch of nature surrounding a quiet town. But at night the forest looked different. Darker. Colder. Almost alive.

Gloria remembered the first night she heard the terrifying scream that echoed from those woods. The sound had been so strange that it still haunted her thoughts. The next morning the entire town woke up to the news that goats and chickens had disappeared again. People whispered the same words over and over: "the monster had hunted again." The way they said it didn’t sound like a joke. It sounded like a truth everyone was afraid to discuss too loudly. That mystery had been sitting in Gloria’s mind ever since, and curiosity had a way of growing stronger when nobody wanted to explain things.

On this particular evening, Around 6:30pm Gloria stood near the gate again, watching neighbors hurry past. A woman across the street was quickly removing her clothes from a drying line while two boys were still playing football in the road until their mother shouted from the house for them to come inside immediately. The boys groaned in protest but obeyed, and within minutes the street was nearly empty. Behind Gloria, the kitchen window opened with a creak as Aunty Peace leaned out slightly and called her name. When Gloria answered, her aunt asked "why are you still standing outside." Gloria simply smiled and said she was enjoying the fresh air, but Aunty Peace insisted she could enjoy fresh air inside the House. Gloria laughed lightly and reminded her that it was not dark yet, though her aunt’s expression remained serious. She warned Gloria that she was new in the town and did not understand everything yet.

After promising she would come inside soon, Gloria waited until Aunty Peace closed the window and the kitchen light moved away. Then she quietly pushed the gate open. The metal hinges made a faint squeak as she stepped out onto the road. The evening breeze brushed gently against her face while she began walking slowly down the quiet street. She had no destination in mind; she simply wanted to stretch her legs and clear her thoughts. The town looked beautiful in the fading light, with tall palm trees. and the distant calls of birds echoing across rooftops. Yet the peaceful view could not hide the strange feeling hanging in the air.

By the time Gloria reached the end of the street, the sky had turned deep blue and the first stars were beginning to appear. Ahead of her was a narrow dirt path she had noticed before during the daytime. It curved away from the road and disappeared between the tall trees of the forest. She stopped walking and stared at the path for a moment. The forest stood silent and still, the leaves barely moving as the shadows between the trees grew deeper under the rising moon. Folding her arms, she murmured quietly that this must be the famous forest everyone talked about. The place did not look dangerous, just trees and darkness, yet the entire town behaved as if something terrible lived there.

She took a step forward, then another, when suddenly a calm voice spoke from behind her and warned that she should not be there. Gloria froze instantly, her heart skipping a beat as she turned around. A young man stood a few steps away from her, She had not heard him approach. He looked as the same age as she. perhaps twenty-two or a little older. He was tall with dark hair that fell over his forehead, and he wore simple blue clothing that blended easily with the night around him. What caught Gloria’s attention most was his expression. His face looked calm and polite, yet there was something deeply sad in his eyes.

As he stepped closer into the light, he quietly repeated that she should not stand near the forest at night. Gloria blinked in surprise and admitted she had not seen him there earlier. His voice remained strictly and firm. When she introduced herself, he hesitated briefly before telling her his name was Tunde Adeyemi. Gloria smiled and said it was nice to meet him, but Tunde did not return the smile. Instead, his eyes frown toward the forest behind her as he advised her again to go home. Gloria crossed her arms with a stubborn face. she said "everyone in the town kept saying the same thing." I won't Leave here if I didn't get the Awnsers. She Asked But why are you here?? Tunde replied "that they were right."

Curious, Gloria asked why, but Tunde did not answer immediately. He looked toward the dark trees again as if listening carefully for something hidden within them before finally explaining that the night in that place was not safe. Gloria let out a small laugh and asked if he meant because of the monster people kept talking about. The moment she said the word, Tunde’s expression tightened with discomfort. He murmured that people talked too much and avoided her question about whether he believed the stories. Instead, he insisted again that she should return home before it became late. Gloria studied him carefully. Something about him felt strange. He did not sound like he was joking or teasing her. He looked Serious.

She asked if he lived in Ajayi Town, and he said yes, though he admitted she had probably never seen him before because he did not go out during the day. Gloria raised an eyebrow in surprise and asked if he only came out at night. Tunde simply shrugged and said he preferred it that way. At that moment a cold breeze swept through the trees, rustling the leaves loudly. Both of them turned their attention toward the forest. For a brief moment, Gloria thought she heard something moving deep inside the darkness, a faint rustling sound like something large shifting between the trees. Tunde suddenly stiffened. His voice became more urgent as he told her she needed to leave immediately.

Gloria looked at him in confusion and said he was acting as if something was about to attack them. Tunde did not smile. Instead, he repeated that she should just go home. Before she could ask another question, he stepped backward into the shadows. The moonlight briefly touched his face again, and Gloria noticed that his eyes looked troubled, almost frightened. In a quiet voice he warned her never to walk near the forest again, especially after sunset. Gloria tried to call his name and stop him, but he had already turned away. Within seconds he moved into the deeper shadows near the trees and disappeared completely into the darkness.

Gloria stood there, confused and broken She wondered how he had vanished so quickly when the road was completely empty. The night air feel cold than before. Then, from somewhere deep inside the forest, a low and distant growl echoed faintly through the trees. Gloria’s heart began to race as the sound sent a chill down her spine. Suddenly Tunde’s warning did not seem dramatic anymore. It felt real terrifyingly real. Without thinking twice, she quickly turned and hurried back toward Aunty Peace’s house, her footsteps echoing softly against the quiet road. Behind her, the forest remained dark and silent, yet Gloria could not shake the strange feeling that something hidden within those woods had been watching her the entire time.

As she closed the gate behind. she found Anuty Peace stood at main entrance. she looked worried. Where are you coming from she ask strictly. I'm coming from from........ her voice was breaking like someone who just escaped from death hand. She rushed inside. and took her shower. she asked if Aunty Peace know Tunde.... But she didn’t replied and walk aways

stay tuned for the next episode.