SHADOW EIGHT

Ivie's mind was adrift during Simon's sermon, but she heard Paul's giggles, his hand tied with a small cloth to hide the blisters he got from cutting the grasses, and saw Sister Gabriel's raised eyebrow when Simon sermon centered on the adulteress Jesus saved from the hands of those who wanted to stone her to death as per Moses's teachings, and not on the wages of sin. Simon held up a hand when he started to speak and said he was going by the leading of the Holy Spirit, and warned her, a mild warning, not to speak until he was done. It felt like Simon didn't want to go home, the same way it felt like Sister Gabriel was suspicious. There were so many twos that didn't add.

The shadow around Sister Gabriel begin to dance, and Ivie watched as it twirling, growing bigger, almost covering her, before it condensed, some parts of the airy blackness dissipating into thin air, to form a block, and stood in front of her. Ivie swallowed, frightened, and Sister Gabriel who had been watching her started to come towards her, but in that conscious manner of trying to avoid something in front of her, of trying to avoid the shadow. Could Sister Gabriel see the shadow?

"You have done a great job, Simon, but next week when you give the sermon, please stick to the topic," she said, her very own way of telling Simon, what he already knew, that he was not going home that week.

"Excuse me, Sister, I have a question," Ivie raised her hand. "Are we not attending service this evening?"

"You just attended one, which other one are you talking about?"

"Church service."

"As long as you are here dear, you don't leave this place until you leave."

"We are more like slaves," Simon said.

"If you didn't want to be a slave then you shouldn't have sucked on a girl's breasts."

That night, Ivie couldn't sleep. First because the other shadow, she had come to realize they were two, crept its way to her side by the bed, and second because she couldn't stop thinking about what had happened in the office. She laid on the bed, staring at the shadow but not seeing because she was wondering what was happening to her, when the door to the room opened in the darkness. The shadow quickly disappeared, and she squinted her eyes. Sister Gabriel walked in with a candle, her hand clasped around the candlestick and on her first finger, she wore a ring. In the darkness, Ivie couldn't make out what ring it was as Sister Gabriel moved to Itohan, the shadow still in its block form, her movement still conscious. She started muttering something to Itohan's sleeping figure, and the shadow changed to the floating shapeless figure Ivie was used to, some of the black smoke going into Itohan's chest. Ivie coughed. It was not an intended act, but she knew she would arouse suspicious if she went back to sleep, so she coughed again and sat upright, feigning oblivion of Sister Gabriel's presence.

"Are you okay?"

She jerked at the sound of Sister Gabriel's voice. "Sister, did I wake you?"

"Did something get into your throat? There should be water somewhere." She came back, annoyed, when she couldn't find water. "I always tell these girls to keep water around." She coughed again and Sister Gabriel said, "Let me go and bring a cup for you."

Ivie jumped out of her bed immediately she stepped out and went to Itohan's, where the girl slept soundly. She touched her head, raised her hand, examining to see if there was anything unusual.

"What are you doing?" The voice jolted her and she coughed.

Sister Gabriel gave her the water, her eyes peering over her. "I asked what you were doing." She looked over at Itohan.

"I— I was— I— cockroach, there was a cockroach, and the smell of cockroaches makes me nauseous." She sneezed to emphasize her point. "What are you doing here, Sister Gabriel?" Her eyes went to her finger, it was the ring she went from earlier.

"I came to pray."

"By this time of the night?" Ivie looked at her, askance.

"I concentrate more when I have the silence of darkness around me. You should go to sleep, you have work to do tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Sister." Ivie climbed her bed and laid on it.

Sister Gabriel brought out her rosary and started to pray, covering what she had been doing before. When she came to ivie's bed, Ivie opened her eyes. "Sister, please don't pray for me, I like praying for myself."

Sister Gabriel studied her for a while before nodding. "Goodnight then."

The next morning, Itohan woke up saying, "Jesus, thank you, thank you." She was shaking.

"What is it?" Aisosa rushed to her bunker, sleep still heavy on her eyes.

"Jesus, Jesus." Itohan was still shaking. When she looked at Aisosa, ready to explain, she started to scream. Ivie covered her mouth so her voice came out muffled, and held her down so she would stop shaking. Behind Aisosa was the shadow, and Itohan could now see it.

"Let me go and call Sister Gabriel." Aisosa started to leave, but Ivie held her hand. She knew her act was suspicious, but it was better than letting Sister Gabriel know just yet. "Tell us what happened first," she said and as Itohan said, and as she had guessed, it was the same thing that happened to her. Whatever Sister Gabriel did that night had brought Itohan to the darkness, and now, just like Ivie, had life had changed.

"We should tell Sister Gabriel," Aisosa proposed again.

"She would see you like a demon possessed person," Ivie said, trying to convince them off the idea without being suspicious. "I'm not saying you should not tell her oh, but tell her when you are more sure about what is happening. If you go to her now, what will you even tell her?"

Itohan looked skeptical, she kept glancing at the shadow behind Aisosa and Aisosa who looked confused kept looking back to an empty space. Ivie didn't want to tell them just yet that she could see this shadow as well, they might as well decide to tell Sister Gabriel and blow her cover, and until Father Chibuike showed up, she wanted to keep quiet about it.

That morning they went to clean the chapel and Ivie kept looking around, checking if she would see Father Chibuike, or Father IK, or even the Bishop, but the chapel was devoid of anybody.

"How are you going to finish cleaning if you keep moping around like a mumu?" Sister Gabriel said to her. "There's nobody here so don't waste our time."

"But how do you expect five people to clean this big chapel?" Simon grumbled.

"Five people can clean this big chapel if one of them stop grumbling, one stop looking for who she would not see, and one stop zoning out. Itohan why are you looking like you had a bad dream last night?"

Ivie's head shot up at the leading question and she saw Itohan's trembling lips as she looked from Sister Gabriel to her, back to Sister Gabriel.

Sister Gabriel looked at Ivie. "What have you gone to tell her?" Then looked back at Itohan, "I only came to your room last night to pray for you."

Itohan's brows raised in both question and confusion. She looked at Ivie again, and Sister Gabriel grinded her teeth. "If you're not going to believe me, come and take this mop and clean the altar." She said and while Itohan wanted to move, the shadow stood in front of her, and Sister Gabriel was watching her.

"Is anything in front of you?" Sister Gabriel asked, and Ivie concluded, as well as Itohan, that she knew something. Gathering courage, Ivie went to Itohan, and stepped on the shadow, standing the exact place it did and asking Itohan, with a worried expression, if she was okay. On the| shadow, she was covered in darkness and couldn't see a thing, but something more fearful than the shadow was Sister Gabriel knowing she, they, could see the shadow.

"I'm fine." Itohan stepped to her side and went to get the mop, and Ivie stepped from the shadow, the darkness disappearing.

The rest of the chore, aside from the grumbling from Simon, was done in silence, each person dedicated to finish his portion. But during the time, when Sister Gabriel left to bring lunch, Itohan dropped her mop.

"Did Sister Gabriel come to our room last night?" Itohan asked.

Ivie nodded. "And I saw her saying something on your bed, she said she was praying."

"You don't look like you believe it." Paul joined them.

"Do you feel like she is a witch? Ha! Reverend Sister oh" Aisosa looked surprised.

"I'm not saying she's a witch o. But even the question she asked you is suspicious."

"I know you don't like her, but suspecting her is too much na, it was just a dream."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Paul asked.

"Itohan had a dream last night where she died, and Ivie doesn't want us to tell Sister Gabriel." Aisosa told him.

"But, it's actually strange to me," Itohan said. "That time she told me to come and take the mop, and when I stalled she asked if something was in front of me. Something was in front of me, and it was like she could see it."

"I agree with Aisosa, that conclusion is too far fetched," Paul said.

Ivie knew she would not be able to convince them without telling them about her, so she kept quiet, hoping that either that Sister or Father Chibuike would come and free up her time.