After leaving the large room, Eze grabbed the mop and bucket, ready to return them to Sister Ulu's room. The water inside sloshed softly as he walked. But louder than all of it was the voice in his head.
"You have quite an eccentric group," the Spider remarked, its tone dry, as if amused. "Odd how they remarked something similar, right?"
Eze smirked. "Did you expect anything less?"
The now dirty, soap-filled water began to slosh around loudly, yet still meeker than the conversation in his head.
"So..." Eze started, barely above a whisper, more for himself than the Spider. "What was that thing Denzil was drawing?"
For a moment, there was silence—uncharacteristic, almost unsettling. Then the Spider spoke, slower this time.
"I do not know."
The hesitation in its voice was palpable, but not in its usual cryptic or ominous way. This time, it felt... uncertain. Eze frowned, stopping mid-step.
"You don't know? As like, your cryptic stuffs or..." he repeated, as if making sure he'd heard right.
"I do not," the Spider admitted, almost reluctantly. "Even if I did, I am sure we should be worrying about other things right now."
"You're weird. Sometimes, you are always full of answers, always one step ahead, pulling strings in the background. But other than that, you seem just as lost as me."
"Consider your choice of words."
Eze's headache became heavier.
. . .
Eventually, He slugged his way to Sister Ulu's room, and set down the mop and bucket. In doing so, he heeved a huge sigh of relief.
"And it only took the entire day," he muttered to himself.
With that task done, he headed toward the back of the orphanage—the quietest part. There, he found Chinwe, simply sitting by the old, fading tree. She noticed him outside and immediately rushed towards him.
"What took you so long to finish?" she interrogated, poking him in the chest.
He barely reacted, offering her nothing more than a blank look, his eyes tired. If anything, the poke only seemed to disappoint him.
"Am I the only person here that you can talk to?"
Her confidence wavered for a moment. She turned away, rather embarrassed. "Sorry."
"I-its fine. Trust me."
She quickly shifted gears, walking toward the house and motioning for him to follow. "Regardless, something is in the air today."
He raised an eyebrow. " What do you mean?"
"I don't know how to explain it, but the last few days since the kidnapping thing..." she stopped herself. It still didn't feel like that event had actually happened. "Every day since that day has felt...unimportant. Abi?"
"Hasn't been to me."
"I know now! Let me land abeg."
"So why bring all of this up?' he asked.
"I just... I feel like something important is going to happen soon. The first piece in a line of dominos."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Eze replied, in a tone that seemed half-attentive.
Inside, he felt something stir. He could already hear the voice forming in his mind, crawling up through the silence.
"I think you know what this means Eze. We're about to experience a major plot point."
Anansi's voice. Of course. It was always there, like a shadow lingering just out of sight, reminding him of everything he was trying to forget.
"Can you not?" Eze shot back internally.
"I know you want to rest, but in an ever-moving story like this, we don't have the time for that. Run all you want, but you and I both know there is no escaping what's coming. Do not forget. You are not normal anymore. You have not been for a very long time. And it's possible that you never will be."
"Eze? Eze? Are you there?"
He felt a heaviness creep into his chest—the same feeling he'd been running from since the day at the warehouse. Every step since then had been a conscious effort to push away the weight, to stay in the present, to not think about what came next. He had barely mopped the floors without letting his mind spiral. The idea of something important happening, another wave of problems, made him want to shut down completely.
"Shut up," he thought, more desperately now.
"Abeg, don't worry jor." Chinwe said, seemingly noticing the change in the air.
"Oh. I'm..."
"Let's go inside."
They did indeed arrive inside. But they didn't go too far. Right in front of them was Anjola. Her faced was scrunched up and puzzled, unusual for her. As soon as they got close enough, she crossed her arms and gave a cold, dead stare.
"Mr Okafor is here." she said, in the firmest voice she could master.
Eze's heart skipped a beat. Everything started whirring in his brain.
"And?" Chinwe said, attempting to match her tone after stealing a glimpse. She could tell that Anjola also knew the energy had changed for the worse.
"Well, he said he wanted to talk to the older ones." Anjola continued, gesturing for them to follow her. As they did, she continued on. "That being, you Eze, Me, Bolu and Joyce. For now at least."
"What? How about me?"
Anjola winced, darting around for an answer. "You're...not really an orphan are you? You know, not like it's a thing off joy or something but..."
"I'll come anyway. I'm sure he won't mind seeing me." Chinwe interjected.
She glanced at Eze, whose face seemed to gradually get lower and lower.
She frowned, leaning in slightly. "You think it's about the warehouse?" she whispered.
He hesitated as if analyzing the straightforward question. "I don't... No. He probably has no clue about it.," he muttered. "This is probably going to be very different."
Anansi's voice stirred once again in the back of his mind, speaking with an eerie calmness He echoed through every part of his skull like a screaming fog. "Do you feel it Eze? Change is in the air. You can feel it too. Can you not?"
He stopped his brist walking pace, and clenched his fists. "Is this your doing? I thought I was doing well now."
"You wish I was that strong, Eze."
Eze's hands began to shake, his fingers twitching uncontrollably. He rubbed them against his sides, but no matter how hard he pressed, the tremors wouldn't stop.
"Eze?" Anjola called. "Mr Okafor isn't that scary, Jesus now."
He snapped back to reality. "What? No, I'm fine."