From the very beginning, Sade had always felt… different.
Not strange.
Not cursed.
Just different—as if part of her belonged somewhere she had never seen.
She was nineteen, quiet, beautiful in a gentle way, and loved by everyone in her small Yoruba town. But for months, she had been having the same dream…
A dark river.
Whispers calling her name.
And a hand—cold, soft, pulling her toward a place just beyond the veil.
She always woke up shaking.
But on this particular evening, the dream didn't wait until she slept.
It followed her.
It was the night of the village festival—drums echoing, lanterns glowing, people dancing under palm trees. Sade was walking home alone after helping her mother at their food stand. The path was quiet except for the distant talking of villagers returning home.
Then she heard it.
A whisper.
Soft… familiar.
"Sade…"
She froze.
The voice felt like something she had heard long before she was born.
The wind grew still.
The trees around her went silent.
And the air suddenly felt colder.
Sade turned… and saw no one.
She quickened her pace, her heart beating fast. But before she could reach the main road—
A blinding flash of headlights.
A sharp scream.
A crash.
And then… nothing.
Just darkness.
When Sade opened her eyes, she was lying on the same road… but everything looked wrong.
The trees were grey.
The air was heavy.
And the world was completely silent—no crickets, no wind, no footsteps.
She stood up slowly, realizing she felt… lighter.
Weightless.
Then she saw it.
Her body.
Lying still on the ground.
Her breath caught—or would have, if she still had breath.
She touched her face.
Her hand passed right through.
Her heart should have been racing.
But ghosts don't have heartbeats.
"Don't panic." a voice says
Sade turned sharply.
A boy she had never seen before stood at the edge of the road, wearing a simple white cloth tied around his waist. His eyes glowed faintly, like someone who had walked these paths for centuries.
"Who are you?" Sade whispered.
"My name is Tunde," he said softly. "And you… you're between worlds."
Sade shook her head. "No. This isn't real. I can't be dead."
Tunde stepped closer.
He didn't touch her—he couldn't—but his presence felt calm and steady.
"You're not dead," he assured her. "Not yet. Your body is still alive. But your spirit… has crossed."
Sade stared at him, confused, terrified, shaking.
"Why me?" she finally asked.
Tunde looked at her with something like sadness.
"Because someone has been calling you," he said. "Someone from the other side."
Sade's mouth went dry.
"The voice…"
He nodded.
"You are not here by accident, Sade. Something wants you. And now… you must decide whether to return to your body—
or follow the call."
The world around them flickered, as if reality itself was struggling to hold her.
Tunde reached out his hand—not to touch, but to guide.
"Come. Your journey is just beginning."
And with that, Sade took her first step…
into the realm between life and death.