Her secret became my fate

CHAPTER 1–Mystery One afternoon, I was in my room with my siblings. We had all come to the countryside to spend Christmas with Granny. Keisha, my big sister, was busy learning how to make crafts, while my little brother, Caleb, was outside playing football with his new friends. Everyone has always known me as an introvert—or would I say an ambivert? I go out, play with friends, and interact with people, depending on my mood. However, I sometimes enjoy my own company. That afternoon was one of those days. The house was unusually quiet, except for the occasional shouting and laughter coming from outside, where Caleb and his friends were playing. After some time, boredom started creeping in. While I was enjoying my own company, I suddenly decided to explore Grandma's room. Grandma was more like the village goddess. People came to her whenever they needed help. Some even worshipped her. She knew things nobody else seemed to know, and somehow, she always had a solution to every problem. But none of them knew where her power and wealth truly came from. There was always something mysterious about her. Even the adults lowered their voices whenever they talked about her. Whenever someone asked where Grandma got certain things from, they always seemed to change the subject. My father was the only child of my grandparents. After years of waiting for the fruit of the womb, Granny and Grandpa finally had a child after fifteen years of marriage. Dad. But even his birth was surrounded by mystery. Nobody knew exactly how it happened. Some people said Grandma had travelled somewhere before she became pregnant. Others said she had gone to see someone who helped her. There were even stories I wasn't allowed to hear because apparently, I was too young. Well, that will be a story for another chapter. Grandma had gone out for her girls' club outing. Honestly, I sometimes wondered how that old woman still managed to feel like she was young. With her gone, I continued my little adventure in her room. Grandma's room was different from every other room in the house. Everything had its own place. Her clothes were neatly arranged, her perfumes were lined up, and there were old photographs everywhere. I picked up one of the photographs and stared at it. Grandma looked so young. I almost didn't recognise her. "Wow," I whispered before placing the photograph back exactly where I found it. As I looked around, I started imagining myself becoming the next Grandma in charge. I know it sounds crazy, but who wouldn't want to inherit all that power and wealth? Maybe I would even become a village goddess too. I laughed quietly at myself. Then I saw Grandma's luxurious jewellery box. It was beautiful. Elegant. The kind of jewellery box you could stare at for minutes without getting tired. I had seen it several times before, but I had never been bold enough to touch it. That day, however, curiosity got the better of me. I looked toward the door. Nobody was coming. So I walked over and opened it. Inside were the most beautiful pieces of jewellery I had ever seen. Necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings... Everything looked expensive. I carefully picked up one of the necklaces and admired it. Then I noticed something strange. Some of them had names engraved on them. I smiled. I picked up another one. Mine. Then another,a strange name Keisha's. Then Caleb's. I stared at them in confusion. "Why do we have jewellery here?" I whispered. I searched through the box again, hoping I had misunderstood what I was seeing. But I hadn't. There was even a small note tucked underneath the jewellery. I picked it up and read it. The jewellery was meant to be given to us after Grandma's demise. My heart skipped. Why had Grandma prepared jewellery for us? And why had she kept them hidden? I quickly placed everything back. I wasn't supposed to be snooping around. If Grandma caught me, I knew I would be seriously sanctioned. I closed the box and hurried toward the door. But before I could make it out, my foot slipped. "Ah!" My head hit the wall. Hard. I groaned, holding the back of my head as I slowly tried to get back on my feet. "Ouch." Then I heard something. A faint creaking sound. I froze. I slowly looked toward the wall. For a moment, I thought I was imagining things. Then I saw it. A door had opened slightly inside Grandma's room. My eyes widened. A door? I had never seen that door before. I had been in Grandma's room countless times, but I had never noticed anything like that. I stood there, staring at it. Maybe it had always been there. Maybe I was just too blind to notice. But something about it felt wrong. My heart started beating faster as I slowly walked toward it. I took one step. Then another. The closer I got, the more nervous I became. I reached out and touched the door. It was cold. I swallowed hard. "Should I really do this?" I knew I should walk away. I knew I should leave Grandma's room and pretend I had never seen anything. But curiosity was stronger than common sense. I pushed it open just a little. And what I saw inside... I wasn't expecting it. My entire body froze. For a few seconds, I couldn't move. I couldn't even breathe properly. Then, with all the strength I could find, I screamed, "GRANDMA!”