Chapter 19: No Place Safe

 

Amogelang had always felt safe in her house. It was her quiet place, the one place where she could relax and feel at peace. But lately, something had changed. At first, it was small things. She would find a window open that she was sure she had closed. Sometimes, the lights in the hallway would flicker, even though there was no power problem. Once, she found muddy footprints near the back door but no one had visited. She tried to ignore it. Maybe she was just overthinking. Maybe she was tired. But deep down, she felt something was wrong. One night, she was home alone. Her parents had gone to visit relatives, and her younger brother was sleeping over at a friend’s house. Amogelang curled up on the couch with a blanket and tried to distract herself by watching a movie. But halfway through the film, she heard a soft noise. Click.

It came from the kitchen. She paused the movie and listened. Silence. She stood up slowly and walked to the kitchen. The lights were off, but nothing seemed out of place. She turned the lights on and checked the back door. Locked. She checked the windows. All closed. She took a deep breath. “I’m just imagining things,” she told herself. But that night, she couldn’t sleep. She kept hearing creaks on the floorboards, whispers that sounded like they came from the walls, and a strange feeling that someone was watching her. The next morning, she found something chilling. On her bedroom mirror, written in what looked like red lipstick, were the words: “I SEE YOU.”

Amogelang screamed. Her hands shook as she backed away from the mirror. She ran to her room, locked the door, and called her parents. They came home immediately and checked the entire house. But there were no signs of forced entry. Nothing was stolen. No one saw anything. That night, her father installed cameras around the house. Everyone tried to act normal, but Amogelang couldn’t relax. She felt trapped in her own home. Her safe place now felt like a prison. A few days later, while she was alone in the kitchen making tea, her phone buzzed. It was a message. Unknown number: “Nice pajamas. Red suits you.” She dropped the cup, and it shattered on the floor. Her hands were shaking again. She looked down. She was wearing red pajamas. Who was watching her? Amogelang ran to the living room and checked the camera screen. One of the outside cameras was offline. Someone had been inside the yard. Maybe even inside the house. She wanted to scream, to cry, but her voice felt stuck in her throat. There was no place safe anymore. Not even her home.