ARRIVAL
The air smelled like rain and cigarettes.
Amara stepped out of the airport, dragging her suitcase behind her, already sweating through her denim jacket. The city loomed—tall, crowded, loud. Lights flickered from every direction, neon signs bleeding into the night like strange flowers.
This was Shanghai.
She told herself to breathe. One step at a time.
Find her dorm. Unpack. Survive orientation. Easy.
But as she waited for her ride, something about the night made her skin prickle. The crowds moved fast, everyone with somewhere to be, no one looking twice at her. And yet… she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching.
She shook it off. She was just tired. Jetlagged. Paranoid.
Her phone buzzed. A message from an unknown number.
Need help? Look for the blue umbrella.
Her stomach tightened. She scanned the street.
And there he was—standing near the curb, holding a faded blue umbrella against the drizzle. Calm. Still. As if he'd been waiting all along.
Kai.
She almost didn't recognise him. He looked older, sharper around the edges. But those eyes—dark, steady—were the same.
He smiled, small and polite.
"Long way from home, Amara."
She blinked, caught off guard.
"Kai?" she asked, almost laughing from the surprise.
"Na me," he said, voice low but sure. "You no dey change at all."
Amara let out a breath, a small, nervous laugh. "Na you sef. Had a hard time sorting you from the crowd "
Kai's lips curved slightly, unreadable. " You just did."
He took the suitcase from her before she could argue,
and they hugged awkwardly.
"Come," he said simply. "Make we dey go."
And just like that, she followed him into the night.
(continued)
The taxi smelled like incense and stale air freshener. Amara sat by the window, watching the city blur past—glass towers, scooters weaving through traffic, strangers hurrying under umbrellas.
Kai sat beside her, quiet. Too quiet.
"Na wah oh," she muttered, mostly to herself. "This city no dey slow down at all."
Kai gave a faint smile. "Shanghai no get brake."
She glanced at him, surprised at the joke, then laughed softly.
Kai didn't look at her. He kept his gaze on the traffic, his tone calm.
She nervously said," I'm so happy you helped me sort this out, you Don change oh,
I guess we're cool now?.
"You no change," he said, almost amused. "Always dey ask plenty questions. Yeah we are, no strong feelings ".
"Because e not clear," she shot back, half-smiling, half-wary. "You just dey act like say we be best friends before."
Kai's eyes finally met hers—steady, unreadable.
"For here, we no get choice," he said, voice low. "This place no be home. You go need people wey understand you."
The words sank heavier than she expected.
Amara looked away, biting the inside of her cheek.
"Abeg, no start." She forced a light tone. "I come here to forget people, not to gather more."
Kai chuckled under his breath, almost soundless. "E no fit work like that." "and common we grownups now, sha no worry, we go discuss am later".
They rode in silence for a while, the city's lights flickering across their faces. Amara kept sneaking glances at him—trying to remember the boy he used to be.
Back then, Kai had been the quiet one. Always at the edge of the classroom. Never talking unless spoken to. She remembered teasing him once or twice, but nothing serious. Nothing that should have lasted this long.
And yet here he was.
Older. Different.
But not quite unfamiliar.
As they neared his stop, Kai finally spoke again.
"You still dey brave ho, u get Mind come this side." he said.
Amara froze.
He didn't ask it like a question. He said it like he already knew.
She swallowed hard, staring out at the city that suddenly felt much too big.
"Mind your business," she muttered.
Kai's smile lingered, almost like he enjoyed the answer.
"No wahala," he said, eyes glinting faintly under the streetlights. "But Shanghai get way of bringing ghosts back."
" I'm long past that Kai, I'm long past that," she said before taking a long breath and focusing on the streets.
He stared at her for a while, imagining what life was like, for her after high school,
She still looks fragile, pretty, and natural like always just that she looks mature now with her confident look.
She's still the same Amara, stubborn and dramatic, always putting herself or others in trouble.
The car pulled over. Kai opened the door for her, calm and polite as ever.
"Welcome to your new life, Amara," he said, voice too soft to read. "Hope say e go better than the last one."
And just like that, he was already helping her with her bags again, as if nothing had passed between them.
But the weight in her chest stayed long after she stepped into his apartment.