from dusk till dawn

Danielle sat on a stool by the counter in Niola's kitchen waiting for Niola to make a move after what she just said.

Niola stammered, "um…ok." It was difficult to say 'no thank you,' She had just said she wants to dress her injury; she said the bandage was probably too tight, that's why it was still hurting pretty much. But she doesn't care, as long as it was away from people's sight, she was cool with it. For Christ's sake, it's a handprint, anyone would freak out at the sight; the nurse did. But she couldn't just say no to Danielle, whatever way she freaks out, she'll handle it. "let me take this off… just a second."

Niola took the quickest shower and got in a sports bra and short tights, then she head back out with the first aid box. Danielle was looking through a pile of graphic novels on the table in the living room when Niola called to her attention.

"Alright, let's take a look," Danielle said sitting on the couch while Niola sat on the table.

She swallowed as Danielle unwrapped the bandage; she was so certain Danielle was going to freak out, Niola took a deep breath and winced as Danielle opened the burn, she shut her eyes tight waiting for the question, ' is that a hand print?.... What is that?' But to her surprise Danielle said nothing, she just concentrated on removing all clothing and gross debris from the burn area.

"The bandage was too tight," she said softly. Niola smiled wonderstruck at the way her face relaxed so calmly, her warm hands around her bent elbow as she cleaned her lower arm gently relaxing, while Niola ran her gaze over her face; Danielle's eyes framed by lashes so long and dark they almost looked fake, her face had a rosy flush, she could tell her skin was as smooth as ever, even without touching it. And the rest of her was …. Something else.

She looked kittenish and sexy, With her hair up in a bun, this was the first time she's seeing her without a wig on; a few strands tangled softly around her neck and Niola couldn't resist reaching out and tucking the strand back up. Unable to help herself, she let her fingers linger there, savoring the petal scent from her neck, sending an unexpected message down below her abdomen.

At her touch, Danielle felt something curl and unwind deep inside. She almost tuck her head to one side like a cat wanting to be stroked, wanting to sway towards the source of that delicious pleasure. But she just ignored whatever she was feeling and concentrated on what she was doing. She covered the burn with a moist, sterile dressing soaked in saline, To keep the dressing cool and moist.

"I'm done, you're all good to go," Danielle said finally. "that's not a curling iron burn." She shook her head with her mouth twisted. Niola open her mouth to say something, but whatever she was about to say died as Danielle continue. "whatever it was, it left a creepy scarring."

"Does it creep you out?"

"No….it doesn't," she said gently.

Niola glanced at how neat the dressing was, then back at her. "You should be a doctor or something.. look at how good this shit looks, on like the botched crap I did there earlier."

"I use to be in med school."

"Wow…now I see," she said wistfully

"Oh, it's no big deal, there is nothing 'wow' about it, I dropped out." She said quickly without any expression. If Niola had noticed anything, it was how much Danielle tried to avoid her gaze.

"And now you own your fashion brand… millions of followers and people working for you. There's no doctor with so many royalties at twenty-five, you know?" She said honestly. "You are a Star girl! Fuck med school!"

Danielle giggled into her icy eyes, and she wish she'd stoke her neck again. She didn't want to do anything stupid so she avoided her gaze again. How long could she put this up, her attention left her oddly uncertain, breathless even.

"Come on," Niola got up and pulled her up with her, heading for the guest room, it was an hour to midnight, and Danielle couldn't drive back home so she was going to spend the night. She'd always made sure to keep the guestroom clean and tidy just in case her mom or anyone came by and decided to spend the night. "You can sleep in here, my room is just right opposite, I'll leave my door unlocked in case you need anything. Thank you for tonight."

"Don't mention….." She whispered, smiled a little, and looked into her eyes. "Your eyes are beautiful." She raised her hand and push back a lock that disturbed the view, tucking it behind her ear, she let her finger slide down her neck, and traced her collar bone, since Niola was a bit taller than her, she caught the vanilla scent of her; it mingles with a faint hint of spice from the soap she'd used. Then she slowly lean forward and kissed her.

Niola leans in and deepens the kiss, Danielle gasped into her mouth at her reception. an all-in sensuous dance of tongue and lips, her mouth latching on to Niola's like there was no other sustenance she needed. A hot and sweet sucking on her tongue while her hands roamed over Danielle's back and low on her hips, Danielle pulled back taking off her tank top to reveal a black lace bra, she bit her lip and looked Niola in the eye.

Niola closed the gap between them, pulling her closer, and kissed her forehead. The tip of her nose. Briefest kiss on her lips. One side of her jaw. Near her ear. To her neck. Down to her clavicle. Peppering kisses across her chest. Danielle moaned and felt her body push into hers.

"Mm," a smile curved her lips

Her hand came up slowly, cups one breast, the faintest hint of a squeeze, like she's testing the weight and feel of it in her hands. She felt her exhale, hot and damp, against her skin, and it made her shiver.

She could feel her breath against her lips, panting now, desperate.

Intuitively, Danielle's hips pushed forward towards her, and wordlessly, without breaking the kiss at all, she slipped her hand down, sliding it between her thighs, pushing up her skirt until her hand was against the juncture of her thighs. When the warmth of her palm pushes against her lace pant, her body jolts.

She pulls her hand back suddenly, and took her hand, then pulls her to the bed. Danielle sat down on the edge.

"Danni," Niola said and she looked up at Niola with so much passion. She put her hands on either side of her face, stroking her hair and cheeks. "You are beautiful, so beautiful," she says and leans over and kissed her. "You smell good. Perfect. Amazing."

As she talked, Niola unhooked Danielle's bra clasp. She kissed her again, and again, moving from her lips to her neck, and back to her lips over and over. Danielle pulled her down on her as she laid on her back; She moved down slightly, her body over hers, and placed kisses along her shoulders to her chest. She paused a moment, taking off her bra, her mouth closes over one nipple and Danielle sucked a breath and released a moan. It felt so good, she instinctively squeeze her eyes shut to focus as much as she could on it. She continued for another minute, slowly licking and sucking. And she felt Niola's hand move down between her legs again, this time her legs were pressed up against her, her eyes pinned on hers, and her hand moving slow and lazy between her legs. She could feel the soft pressure of her fingers moving flat over her thighs, and she nudge her hips up into her. She leans over a little, looking away from her face to gaze down where she'd rubbed her. Her hand lifts off her, and she felt her fingertips take hold of the edge of her pants, moving them to the side, exposing her vulva.

Niola took a sharp intake of breath, "you're so wet," she said quietly as she looked at her. Her fingers trail along her vulva, gently, slowly, softly, slipping between wet lips, opening her. She gasps, and her breathing grows faster, panting.

Danielle felt her finger slide deeper and began to stroke, long and deep, hitting just the right spot, the slick dragging feel was explosively good and her shoulders lift off the bed.

"Oh my god, Niola," She started a slow rhythm, letting her finger slide in and out, and after a moment, she leans over her, her mouth so close she could feel the heat of her breath on her.

She pulls her finger out, and she lifts on her elbows to look down at her – she puts her finger in her mouth, tasting her for the first time, and sucks it in.

She looks up at her

"you taste good…" Her voice is warm and croaky and then she drops her head down onto her pussy, mouth open, tongue flicking, slipping between her lips to find her clitoris, slow and wet all over her. Without stopping, she moves her body over hers, in between her legs, kneeling there over her. She let herself come down off her elbows and lay her head back. She licks and sucks, her mouth opening over her, playing with her. When she lifts her lips off to take a deeper breath, Danielle instinctively put her hands down softly on her head and lifted her hips back up.

"Don't stop"

She groans, a deep low growl in her throat, and her hands gripped her head tighter, pushing her down. She starts licking her again, furiously now, desperate, fast, needing, and she felt a finger at her edge again – no, not a finger but two fingers – and she pushes them hard into her, until she was as deep as she can go, her knuckles up against her lips. She keeps thrusting, thrusting, thrusting, the wet sound of her fingers fucking into her like a rhythm that she matches with her tongue on her clit.

"I'm cumin–" and just like that, suddenly, without warning, Danielle cum hard. Her thighs close around her head, her hips buck up again and again and again against her face.

After what seemed like minutes, she finally laid back, her legs open, and her breath hitched. Niola moves up alongside her and kissed her gently.

" so, I guess Chiamaka was right about the skirt."

Danielle laughed shyly, "probably, yes" She lays back down next to her.

"It's sexy," she said, grinning

Danielle let one of her hands move over to her body, slipping between her legs and touching gently. Her eyebrows pop up and she looks over at her with a smile, letting her hand push a little harder against her, Danielle leaned closer watching her eyes flutter over the feeling of it. "Is it ok—"

"You're doing just fine so far," she said warmly.

Iman and Ade dropped Chiamaka home in the estate, "be careful," Iman said as she staggered towards the entrance. "see you around." They said and started the car engine.

" Alright, guys!.. *Hiccup…thanks... *Hiccup ..so much, good…. *Hiccup.. night." she yelled as their car drove off, she was drunk. She manages to stumble inside the house and shut the door behind her. Today was the best day ever, she thought. She just kept drinking and drinking back at the bar, nothing mattered at that moment than the excitement she felt. she smiled and screamed, "woohoo!"

"I am now ..*Hiccup… Famous," she grinned weirdly and sprawled over the couch. Within a minute, she began snoring loudly, Since Danielle wasn't coming home there would be no complaints.

Tolu found it difficult to sleep, it was as if it should be dawn already, the room was old, but in order and clean; it use to be her room back in the day, nothing changed around the house, it was a pity Ifadahunsi lost everything, he never told her how he got blind, his eyes were all white and she had a feeling it wasn't cataracts. She turned a couple of times on the bed and decided to get up and go to the living room since she couldn't sleep.

"Who's that?" she heard Ifadahunsi's deep voice in the dark around the corner, on an armchair.

She raised the lantern in her hand and peered across the room and found him sitting alone, "Daddy, why are you sitting all alone in the dark, where's kunle?"

"I'm always in the dark, always, even if the world is its brightest. Don't worry about me child, kunle is asleep, I know my way around the house."

She sighed and sat on the couch placing the lantern on the table, "Daddy." She turns to him

"Hmm," Ifadahunsi answered looking up.

"How did it happen, how did you get blind,"

"Mm," he was quiet for a few minutes then he said. "I saw something I wasn't supposed to see, so they gouged my eyes out in my dream. And I woke up blind." Then he chuckled and coughed.

"Who are they,"

"The less you know, the more you get to keep your sight too… do you believe in Angels?"

"Angels?... Yes sir, I do."

"Good, They are only called angels when they stay in heaven, but when they lose their way they become Demons… And it becomes a big problem when they try to dwell amongst us."

"Everyone knows about the fallen angels, baba, what exactly do you mean—"

"Mm-mm, not everyone. You'll understand soon…. Try to get some sleep, there's a lot of hiking to do tomorrow."

A review from the past:

In the early 1940s,

The Busari's were known for their agriculture; mainly Cocoa, cassava, maize, Potato, and yam crops, in the then part of Oyo State, (now Osun state). They were one of the richest and most famous farmers. In mid-March one of the sons of olawale Busari; Ismail, embarked on a journey with one of his newly wedded pregnant wife to a small village to visit a family high priest, Ifárànmī; who lived beside a cave. It was a family tradition that all the Busari's wives must stay under the care of the high priest a week before they fall into labor, to assure safe delivery.

Ifárànmī was a well-respected traditional high priest, he was well known only among the wealthy and powerful because only the rich and powerful had the resources to reach 'The caves of Ranmi.'

Ismail rode with his wife in a wagon while five servants including the wagoner accompany them, in a few more hours they were going to arrive at Ifárànmī's shrine. But unfortunately, it was getting late, they couldn't get there before nightfall; The servants built a tent for their masters to spend the night so they could journey in the morning.

But when morning came, Ismail was nowhere to be found, the servants never saw him leave the tent, and yet he was missing.

They never found Ismail, they searched everywhere, in the forest, and mountains, but there was no sign of him. Ifárànmī said to have felt the presence of something inhuman, but no one believed him, they all said he must have fed Ismail to the spirits of the forest. And that was how Ifárànmī, his family, and the cave became forbidden among the people since he was too strong to be killed, no one ever set foot there again and the path there grew old and covered up.

Present day,

At dawn, Ifadahunsi's driver came to pick them up with a land Rover truck to the mountains. Tolu sat in the back seat with Ifadahunsi, while the teenage boy, kunle; who usually walks with Ifadahunsi sat at the front with the driver, with the White stick folded In his hand.

"The story of Ismail Busari was a folktale now, they told us as children to keep us from wandering in the forest and to stay on the path anytime we went to the farm. I can't believe it's a true story." Tolu said with a surprised look.

"Just a few people knew the true story and yet the true story everyone knows, isn't actually what had happened." Ifadahunsi croaked.

Soon the truck stopped at the end of the road. And three of them began to hike, it took them longer hours with Ifadahunsi with them. And finally, they got to the caves of Ranmi.