On The Run

Jasmine laughed at the movie's unexpected joke. Nana, too, began to titter, and the ripples of laughter quickly turned into waves of hilarity.

"Oh my goodness!" "He really did it," Nana laughed as Jasmine doubled over with a gentle pat on her right leg.

"This guy is an idiot," I say. Jasmine blurts before walking to the refrigerator to get a bottle of cold water.

"I just don't understand why Mike would do that, Jake is getting his girl with his jokes," Nana cringed at Jasmine.

"Laura is perplexed," Jasmine explained, "she doesn't know who she loves, she's very attractive like someone I know."

Nana cast a glance her way. "It's someone you know!" "Mm-mmm, she loves someone but is perplexed because her spirituality does not intersect with her love life."

"Is this about Charles?" Nana asked shyly. "My lips are sealed," Jasmine responded back, returning her attention to the television.

Nana exhales as memories of Charles flood her mind.

She remembered speaking with him the day before, and they had planned to meet the next day.

Charles is charming, but her intuition tells her that he has been playing her not once, but several times.

He had asked her if she was interested in sex, and she looked at Jasmine with the intention of telling her why she has mixed feelings about Charles, but before she could, she heard a knock on the door. .

"Those must be killi meals," Jasmine exclaimed as she stood up to rush towards the door.

Nana huffs as she recalls Jasmine's food order from an hour ago.

She watched as Jasmine dashed towards the door, turning down the knob without even asking who was at the door knocking.

Jasmine's face flushed and her expectation went down the drain when she saw Charles standing at the door instead of the killi meals delivery man she had expected.

As she spun around to face Nana, her mouth opened. Nana's mouth dropped open when she saw Charles, and she quickly stood up as Jasmine stepped away from the door and gave her a silly thumb as she walked past her.

Nana smiles at Jasmine's awkward performance before trotting towards the door to meet Charles.

"Hello," Charles said, with a smile on his lips.

Nana returned his smile, puzzled as to why he had appeared on her doorstep unannounced and at this late hours of the night.

Charles understood what she was thinking; he doesn't even like going to women's houses, but after his own friend told him not to show up at his house, he couldn't go to a hotel, and Nana's house was the only thing screaming in his head.

"Hi," Nana replied, "Come on, come in," she added as she moved out of the way.

Charles entered the house, and this was the second time he is visiting her, while he entered he immediately noticed that it looked different.

He gave Jasmine a sidelong glance before taking a seat.

He shouldn't even be here, but he's too afraid to go home or even to a hotel room, so he feels safe in Nana's home.

”Mmm,.!” Nana muttered, looked at Jasmine, and then looked at the time, 7:33PM, it was already late.

Why would he come to see her so late at night, she ponders before returning her gaze to Charles.

"What can I offer you?" She inquired. Charles ruminates on what happened between him and Mamila once more; he can't tell Nana about Mamila, and he can't tell her the real reason he's in her house."

"I miss you," he admitted. Nana almost blushed, but when Jasmine looked at her with a grin, she kept her cool.

"That's nice," Nana said, unsure if she should have said it.

She's had a few dates, but she's always left them because they all wanted the same thing: sex.

After her previous relationship ended, she vowed to herself that she would not listen to any man's advances who was not of the same faith and spiritual oriented as her, but when Charles appeared with his entire flirtatious smile and killer looks, all her vows crumbled before her eyes.

Nana added, "I wasn't expecting you." Charles swallowed dryly, knowing that sooner or later he'll have to explain why he came to see her or why he wants to spend the night at her house.

That it is almost 8 p.m., and he can't go home, nor can he stay in a hotel room alone; the thought alone is terrifying.

"I actually came here to spend the night." He said with a smile. Nana's jaw dropped open in surprise.

"Would you like to spend the night here?"

"Mm-mmm," says Jasmine first. Charles said, shifting his gaze from Jasmine to Nana, ”

So many times I've invited Nana to my house, and she's always refused, so I figured if she's not coming to my house, I should go to hers."

Nana laughs, "You're not serious." "I don't want to sleep at home, and with John out of town, the only place I could think of to spend the night was here."

"Honestly, bae, we have a lot to talk about," ar"My house is a one-bedroom flat," Nana explained. "Where would you sleep while myself and Jasmine are on the bed?"

"I'll sleep here," Charles said, putting his hand on the chair. "Are you serious with me right now?" Nana inquired, concerned.

"I am not," Charles said after a brief pause.

"Can I spend the night here, Nana?" "Oh my God, you're serious," Nana exclaimed...

****************************************

Nana's phone alarm went off at exactly 12 a.m.

She managed to get out of bed while being careful not to wake Jasmine.

She blinks, hoping to clear the sleep from her eyes.

She drew open a drawer and took out her bible and olive oil before proceeding to the parlor.

She noticed Charles sleeping soundly on the long couch.

He didn't believe her when he told her he was sleeping over.

She's convinced Charles is hiding something, so why would he even sleep over?

Is he in any trouble? She dismissed the thought, dropped the oil, and returned to her room, reappearing with a duvet in her hand.

She paused a moment before spreading it all over his body.

She turned off the television and trotted towards her door. She said a silent prayer before unlocking the door and stepping outside.

The cold outside crept into her skin, and when she looked up at the sky, she noticed it was about to rain.

She read a few bible verses and began to sprinkle the oil on her threshold with a silent prayer.

She went back in, drew closer, and rubbed the oil on Charles's forehead before returning to her room to continue the prayers.

***************

After such a hot night, the heavens opened up and let loose an outpouring of rain.

Fall had finally arrived, and John held his hand to the cool window pane, watching his breath condense around his outstretched fingers.

He shut the windows and focused on his phone call, smiling as she said goodnight from the other end.

He took a deep breath before the call ended and walked towards the parlour with the intention of retrieving the charger he had left on the chair.

He stoo

He walked towards the door to close it, thinking he hadn't closed it properly and that the strong wind from outside had blown it open.

He shut the door and quickly spun around to get his charger, when he noticed Someone sitting in one of his chairs.

He closed his eyes, thinking it was just his mind playing tricks on him, but when he opened them again and saw her, his thoughts caught up with him.

It's her, the girl he was thinking about after Charles told him the bad news.

Terror rained down on him, and he dashed towards the door, unlocked it, but quickly realized that going out was pointless because the door couldn't open.

d there, his heart pounding, when he noticed his door was wide open. He quickly glanced at the time, 1:16AM 

"What happened to Charles and where can I find him?" Mamila inquires while her mind was engulfed with rage.

Fear gripped John's throat, and he began to scream the name of Jesus.

"Shut up and Keep quiet," Mamila demanded, "I don't have time for this."

"Where is Charles?" she inquired.

John was unable to speak. He had never seen anything like it in his life.

There was no point in asking her how she got into his house because he was correct from the start: she is not human.

As he bashed in the fog of fear, his mouth shook with fear.

Mamila growled again, and that was all it took for John to start talking.

”I,I,” He stuttered, trying to form the right words, but what came out was stuttering.

"Please, please don't kill me, I.i, I haven't done anything to you." "I can't seem to find Charles anywhere," she said.

"Where has he gone?" She inquired.

"He's at Nana's house" he says. John yells out, he can't stand her sight any longer, her voice, her face scares him, and all he wants now is for her to be gone.

"Another woman, where has he gone?" When Mamila drew closer to him, John hid his face, and Mamila quickly withdrew her head when she got what she wanted.

"Please don't kill me, please don't kill me," As urine squirted down John's legs, he whimpered.

"Killing you is a waste of my time because you're already dead." Mamila stated.

With the alertness of the words, John quickly turned to face her.

"What exactly do you mean?" Mamila didn't say anything to him before she disappeared.

When she vanished from view, John's heart pounded and he shivered before he started to scream.

***************

Rain falls in gentle waves, as if gravity is a sweet beckoning serenade from the Earth.

A wind blew by before Mamila made herself visible right there in front of Nana's house, and each drop bequeathed itself to the cooling air.

Charles' presence was felt by her.

She looked around and saw witches disguised as birds hiding on tree branches.

She decided to ignore them and proceeded to Nana's house, but immediately, she felt a powerful force which threw her down and she was thrown backwards and landed with a thud on the ground.

Her eyes darkened, and she stood up again, this time with ravenous rage, and attempted to enter the house, only to be thrown backwards again .

Sharp pain erupted from her head as she collided with a block. She stood up again, puzzled as to why she couldn't enter.

She heard the call of other witches, and when she turned around, she saw them pointing at the door.

She returned her gaze to the door, where she noticed the fire on Nana's threshold.

"You are not permitted to enter," a witch said into her ears.

If you keep going, the fire at the door will consume you."

Mamila was not about to give in to any petty witch. If she can't get inside, she has to find another way to get Charles out.

With that, she focused her gaze on the window and magically opened it, revealing Charles sleeping on the chair.

She closed her eyes with the intention of walking into Charles' dreams; once there, she'll be able to persuade him to leave the house.

***************

When thunder rumbled in the sky, Nana quickly opened her eyes.

She got out of bed and looked outside the window. When she saw nothing but total darkness, she went back to bed.

It wasn't even a second before she stood up, climbed out of bed, and trotted towards the parlour to check on Charles.

When she arrived, she noticed the window was open; she sighed and walked towards it.

She assumed Charles had opened it, but the weather was cold.

She looked at him, and he was still wrapped in the duvet she had used to cover him earlier.

She quickly shut the windows and blinded the curtains.

**************

Mamila opened her eyes outside the moment Nana shut the window.

Anger tore through every fiber of her skin as she stared angrily at the door, wondering who Nana was.

Charles awoke as if it were an emergency, as if sleeping had become hazardous.

His heart was racing and his brain was buzzing, and they were both panicking with jump-leads.

Only now is his brain as flat as a battery, the night's exertions a marathon of fearful conflicting solutions to his problems.

He sat up and looked around quickly, his thoughts catching up, and he realized he was in Nana's house.

It was still a mystery to him how he slept so peacefully. He looked down at the duvet on his body, wondering who had put it on him.

He quickly dropped it on the chair and picked up his phone, which revealed plenty of missed calls and text messages.

He quickly went through the missed calls, only a few from John, but many from Mrs. Alisha and others.

He sighed deeply before deciding to read through the text messages.

When he read the first one sent by Mrs. Alisha, he immediately stood up and dialed her number.

With his heart pounding in his ears, he waited for the call to be answered, "Where have you been,?" Mrs. Alisha scowled from the other end of the phone.

Charles took a deep breath to calm himself as the contents of the message flashed through his mind.

"I,I got your text," Charles replied, looking around to see if Nana or anyone else was coming, but when he confirmed that no one was in view, then he continued , focusing his gaze on the window.

"What do you mean when you say my spirit girlfriend attacked you and you have a permanent solution?"

Charles was contemplating the message's content.

Silence came from the other end, and it was wanting to kill Charles.

If Mrs. Alisha mentions Mamila in her message, he must be aware.

"Yes," Mrs. Alisha said over the phone, "she attacked me and warned me to stay away from you."

”Who,?” Charles inquired. "Did she tell you what her name was?" "Where are you? I need you to come meet me right now."

"You know what," Mrs. Alisha said again, "just meet me at Gardenlove resort in 30 minutes if you want to get rid of her."

Charles was curious and wanted to know more. Could Mrs. Alisha be referring to Mamila?

He's eager at the  same time scared, but he needs a long-term solution, as Madam Alisha previously stated, and if meeting her means that, he's willing to hear the story behind her attack.

"Good morning," Nana says. Charles gave her a brief smile.

"I'll be there," he said over the phone before hanging up.

"Did you have a good night?" Nana inquired as she approached him.