It is as if my legs couldn't carry me any longer. It felt as if I had been standing up for over an hour. My students were working on a science project that they had chosen in our previous lesson. I had come to the board to illustrate something when I turned towards the door because noise was coming from the corridor. Anya stood by my door staring at me. She was elegant. She never slouch, but now she was. Why is she looking at me that way? Is she scared of me or scared of what she's about to say? "Hey," I voiced out. "Hey yourself." She responded with a weak smile and walked in. I returned her smile with a nervous one. Watching her take her steps one after the other made me realise that she was being cautious. It didn't take me up to a minute to site the backpack she had on. It was puffy and looked heavy. About two steps away from me, she whispered, "I'm going home." I connected the dots and my gaze softened to sympathy. I wanted to take her hands into mine and pull her into a hu
Everything is as it should be. I know this because I am standing in front of Maya's class after the bell for school over rang. Her students, just like mine, have joined the ocean of bodies swimming towards the gate, others walking to the car park to join their parents and older siblings. The rest headed towards where the school bus is parked. Maya isn't in her class. She may have gone out to get something. All I have to do is wait. And so I wait. I sit down on one of the chairs in front of her table and automatically bring out my phone to while away the boredom threatening to descend on me in the absence of anyone to talk to and anything to do. I open my chat to text the good doctor as Anya likes to refer to him. Gius, that's his name, isn't a call person, texting is his style. He would spend an entire twenty-four hours thumbing the screen of his phone if he had a cleared-out schedule. Myself on the other hand never minded. As luck may have it, he is online, and so, we text. He wan
We walk into Maya's class and there she is seated, staring into an empty space. I try to read her mind, but can't. It feels like an endless void, the kind I felt the day I connected to Mr Rodriguez. Just dark! Perhaps, it was the distance between us, so I close the gap as fast as I can. Getting close to her, I squat down by her feet to directly look into her eyes, but her gaze is far away. It feels as if she is in a different world altogether. She doesn't say a word to either myself or Caleb, let alone acknowledge our presence. Out of desperation to make contact with her, I glance at the table and I take one of her hands into mine. Her usually soft and warm palm feels cold. Outside, the sun seems to be in a competition with humans to ascertain who is hotter. “So, why is her palm this cold?” I whisper to myself. If a pin had dropped on the floor, it will be like a bomb, that's how quiet the classroom is and it's unnerving. “What's up with her? Can you feel her?” Caleb’s voice rise
The moon hung on the sky, casting a glow on the forest. Trees looked exceptionally beautiful this night. The forest floor glowed of blue colour, all thanks to the moon. Outside the forest, humans, mostly adults, went about their businesses as if it was daybreak. The time was past 10 pm, and children would have been fast asleep if it weren't a weekend. Among the persons that went about their businesses is a 6'2" figure who had a cross bag on her shoulder. While most persons were headed towards buildings, her focus was the Longroove Forest. In her skinny jean and Harcket shirt and sneakers, she looked like every normal human being going about their businesses. Carefully glancing around to be sure no one was watching her or paying attention enough to notice that she was headed into the forest by that hour of the night, Anya quickened her pace. She was beginning to feel some little changes coursing through her vein. Certain that she was totally away from any form of gaze except that
Waking up fully, Anya stood up and dived away from the bullet with a speed only her has ever felt. The bullet landed on the grass. “Wake up!” She shouted in her thought and then every wolf stood up. Seeing what was happening they began to run away from the bullets flying around, trying to dodge them. Vincent woke up and headed straight to attack one of the hunters. As he zoomed past Anya, she heard it for the first time; “God help me, I will tear him limb to limb.” It was Vincent's thought. Shocked, she stood still to see if anyone else noticed. No one did. Better still, every wolf was trying to run away from the melting bullet. That’s what the hunters' ammunition was called. It is a type of bullet that goes by its name. It goes in and melt you inside out within minutes. There is no cure for it. And that is the same bullet that may hit Vincent if he doesn't turn back. “Will you stop?” Yelled Anya in her thought. The force of her thought made Vincent fall backwards. Perplexed,
Anya walked briskly, her mind still grappling with the recent events and the encounter with the hunter. The scent of the unfamiliar werewolf lingered in the air, causing her curiosity to pique. Is there still another wolf out there? She queried herself. She couldn't help but wonder who this newcomer was and what their purpose was in Longroove. As she made her way out of the forest, she noticed a figure leaning against a tree at the edge of the clearing. It was a man, tall and muscular, with piercing blue eyes that seemed to hold a mix of apprehension and curiosity. His presence disrupted her usual calm demeanor, awakening a sense of intrigue.Anya approached the man cautiously, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. She didn't have any choice, she had to walk pass the same tree he was leaning on. "Who are you?" she demanded, her voice laced with authority. The man straightened himself, sensing her dominance. He took a step forward, his eyes locked onto hers. "My name is Caleb," he answ
Anya woke up the next morning, her senses tingling with a mix of determination and unease. The piercing sound of her alarm pulled her from her slumber, and she groggily rubbed her eyes, aware that her apartment was in dire need of tidying up. As she got out of bed, she made a mental note to clean later. With that she headed to the rest room to relief herself, but her growling stomach demanded attention first. She quickly did her business and exited the rest room. Being a werewolf, Anya needed to consume fresh meat at least once every three days to maintain her strength and prevent herself from preying on unsuspecting humans. She shuffled into the kitchen, eyes fixed on the contents of her freezer. There, amidst the frozen goods, she found a supply of meat waiting for her. She had bought some of those meat from the meat market nearby and the rest was an offering from Vincent, the alpha of her pack, who often made grand gestures towards her. The first time he brought her meat , Anya
It was exactly 4pm when Anya got home. Walking into her apartment and catching a glimpse of her freezer reminders of her Mr Rodriguez and his cold hand and her body's heat reaction. All she could do was sigh, not out of relief that it was over, because it wasn't, but out of tiredness. Yawning, she dropped her backpack on her centre table as she peddled a few steps backwards into her couch, shutting her eyes for some minutes. Thoughts of what was yet to be attended to flooded her mind. Her kitchen was not in a good state. Upstairs, her room was a mess. She mentally arranged her to-do list in order of importance. "Let me get started with the kitchen and also rustle up something to eat." she said to the empty room as she got up and began to walk her way to her kitchen. Walking in, she glanced. The sink was practically overflowing with used dishes. Her dustbin was filled to the brim. While her freezer was pristine on the inside, the body had some stains on it. While she wasn't the
We walk into Maya's class and there she is seated, staring into an empty space. I try to read her mind, but can't. It feels like an endless void, the kind I felt the day I connected to Mr Rodriguez. Just dark! Perhaps, it was the distance between us, so I close the gap as fast as I can. Getting close to her, I squat down by her feet to directly look into her eyes, but her gaze is far away. It feels as if she is in a different world altogether. She doesn't say a word to either myself or Caleb, let alone acknowledge our presence. Out of desperation to make contact with her, I glance at the table and I take one of her hands into mine. Her usually soft and warm palm feels cold. Outside, the sun seems to be in a competition with humans to ascertain who is hotter. “So, why is her palm this cold?” I whisper to myself. If a pin had dropped on the floor, it will be like a bomb, that's how quiet the classroom is and it's unnerving. “What's up with her? Can you feel her?” Caleb’s voice rise
Everything is as it should be. I know this because I am standing in front of Maya's class after the bell for school over rang. Her students, just like mine, have joined the ocean of bodies swimming towards the gate, others walking to the car park to join their parents and older siblings. The rest headed towards where the school bus is parked. Maya isn't in her class. She may have gone out to get something. All I have to do is wait. And so I wait. I sit down on one of the chairs in front of her table and automatically bring out my phone to while away the boredom threatening to descend on me in the absence of anyone to talk to and anything to do. I open my chat to text the good doctor as Anya likes to refer to him. Gius, that's his name, isn't a call person, texting is his style. He would spend an entire twenty-four hours thumbing the screen of his phone if he had a cleared-out schedule. Myself on the other hand never minded. As luck may have it, he is online, and so, we text. He wan
It is as if my legs couldn't carry me any longer. It felt as if I had been standing up for over an hour. My students were working on a science project that they had chosen in our previous lesson. I had come to the board to illustrate something when I turned towards the door because noise was coming from the corridor. Anya stood by my door staring at me. She was elegant. She never slouch, but now she was. Why is she looking at me that way? Is she scared of me or scared of what she's about to say? "Hey," I voiced out. "Hey yourself." She responded with a weak smile and walked in. I returned her smile with a nervous one. Watching her take her steps one after the other made me realise that she was being cautious. It didn't take me up to a minute to site the backpack she had on. It was puffy and looked heavy. About two steps away from me, she whispered, "I'm going home." I connected the dots and my gaze softened to sympathy. I wanted to take her hands into mine and pull her into a hu
"Why did you uncloak here with the kids…"The question died on my lips as I glanced around. Every pupil had their eyes fixed not on anything in particular. Their hands, body, stopped, as in frozen."What's wrong with the…"My questions died on my lips again as I looked at her. Birdie May happens to have one of the strangest powers. Did she just freeze my class? Did she pause time? "Yes, I paused time," her voice vibrated in my head. Yeah I forgot about that power, too. "I paused time within this environment. You have that power too. Any pure blood can do that with some training. No lamb should be able to break the barrier unless they have both legs into old religion." She explained casually like one explaining why cereal is for breakfast. I stared at her in a mixture of wonder and astonishment. Silence fell upon us as she fixed her gaze on me. As we gazed at each other, I found out that I couldn't read her mind, she was blocking me out on purpose. "I will be leaving town today.
Before anyone tells me that my days any where are numbered, I usually feel it. That was the same feeling I had as I walked into Mr. Surajo office and a scent waffed into my nose. I walked passed his secretary tapping into the strong girl part of me as I proceeded into his office and stood tall against Vincent who sat on plastic seat opposite the principal. I fought endlessly to subdue the urge to glance at him but I caved in. The disdain in his eyes almost floored me, but I had to keep my shield as high as possible as I focused my attention on the principal. "You sent for me?" I asked him as I turned fully towards him. "I did." His gaze was on everything and everyone else apart from me. Was he worried about firing me or about what he will find out if he questions me?The silence that descended on us was like a heavy blanket trying to squeeze life out of me, but I had to remain calm and clearheaded for the shots to come. I fixed my eyes on him while my mind travelled back and fo
Today isn't my day. I have no desire to be where I am currently even though it is a Monday. Everything around me is irritating me. Merely hearing voices around riles me up. As if it isn't bad enough, suddenly my co-teachers want to say hi which I am not in the mood for. On top of all these, I have this unease, fear of something bad happening today. What’s up with you, dude? You don’t look happy today, why? Anya’s voice pulled me out of my head.I threw a glance her way and saw concern on her face.“Nothing, just not in the mood for being an adult today,” I responded, transferring my gaze to the window and my eyes fell on students playing. I sighed and held back the comment of Maya coming in to ask me the same question. Dear Universe, let today be one of those Mondays that she is too busy to go for a break, I wish. I had barely sighed when my eyes fell on the tall glass of wine called Maya as she made her way to Anya’s class. it is not all prayers that the universe answers after a
My aunt's voice cut through our little make-out. I practically held myself from openly whining about it. We withdrew our lips but our hands were still making contact with our body parts. None of us had disconnected our gaze. I still looked at Maya like she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She was, in a way. "Both of you need to get a room, Aunty B's voice came up again. "Meanwhile, Anya did you not bring spare clothes today?""I…" Maya beat me to a response. "You could help us arrange those quickly since you are good at slipping in between worlds and places." Maya quipped without disconnecting her gaze from me. "I should totally do that." Aunty B left her gaze on Maya with a smirk on her face. "You should," Maya's gaze finally left mine and fell on Aunty B. She disconnected her hand as well and stood in front of me. I was so scared of doing this after what had happened roughly an hour ago, but had to. I quickly peered at Aunt B's face. It wasn't filled with laissez
"Why would you think like that? Why would you just call off our relationship? Did it ever occur to you that I should have a say in this? She didn't say anything. She stared at me, her pupils bristling with unsheded tears. Just as the first began to drop down her cheek, she turned away. Was she feeling ashamed of herself? Why? "You won't understand, Maya. I think you should stay away from me. I am dangerous. I am a beast. I could kill you." She yelled and began to walk away. I began walking towards her and her step quickened. I was falling behind within seconds which means she was using her speed. This wasn't what I wanted her to feel. This wasn't what I expected from her after the incident. Thoughts of what she might to do herself clouded my mind forcing me to say the exact thing I hate saying to people. "Are you ashamed of me? Is that it?"I watched her stop abruptly. She covered the distance between us in seconds and stared me in the eyes. She had this stunned look in her fac
The days I dreaded most came too fast. Birdie May has been out of her cloak for more than 24 hours. Anya has been busy. Her training began the next day after the evening her aunt crashed our little party. The training takes place at the other side of the forest where my pack hang out. Birdie May had cleared out trees using her power to create an open space for the training. Her first training with Anya instilled fear into me. Anya on the other hand is changing very fast. She is becoming stronger. She's getting faster in her superspeed. Her windseeking skill is developing very fast. It doesn't take her up to 10 seconds to shoot up into the sky. Maya has been here, observing, learning unlearning, discovering things she has always referred to as fairytales. I am somewhat marvelled at the courage which she summons to be here witnessing and experiencing everything. She has changed from the fearful and anxious girl to this strong backbone, giving Anya all the support she needs. What