Daily Stories

©️ Opeyemi Akintunde As Inspired by the DEEP ONE My scream echoed back at me, swallowed by the tiled corridor. The body hung lifelessly in that first room like meat on a butcher’s hook. Roasted. Darkened. Human. My chest burned as I struggled to breathe. My palms shook so badly I thought I would collapse….

©️ Opeyemi Akintunde As Inspired by the DEEP ONE The pull grew stronger. My legs felt like they were no longer mine. Each step was ordered by something beyond me. It dragged me past the sleeping quarters, past the vegetable garden at the back of the compound…straight toward an old abandoned-looking house. From afar, it…

©️ Opeyemi Akintunde As Inspired by the DEEP ONE I gave in. Not because I wanted it. Not because it was holy. But because I was tired. Tired of fighting, tired of being locked in my own body. I let him touch me. I let him lay with me. And I wept. Not silent tears…

©️ Opeyemi Akintunde As Inspired by the DEEP ONE That night felt like a thousand years. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t open my eyes. My body had become a cage and I was the prisoner inside. I felt him leave the room without touching me fully. But there was no relief. I was still locked…

©️ Opeyemi Akintunde As Inspired by the DEEP ONE The room was beautiful, but beauty couldn’t fool my heart. As I walked slowly across it, tears still wet on my cheeks, I noticed small things that made me shiver. A perfume bottle half-empty on the dresser. A faint stain on one of the pillowcases. A…

©️ Opeyemi Akintunde As Inspired by the DEEP ONE They turned my immediate surrender into a wedding. I never said “I do.” I never walked down an aisle. In one breath, Father Soji declared me a bride, and the whole hall shouted as if God Himself had come to join us together. There was no…

©️ Opeyemi Akintunde As Inspired by the DEEP ONE The hall still roared from the last prophecy when the Iben Twin suddenly stiffened. His glazed eyes darted across the congregation as though a hidden hand was directing him. Then his voice rang out again: “Saint Oluchi!” The entire chapel fell silent. Oluchi froze where she…

©️ Opeyemi Akintunde As Inspired by the DEEP ONE I froze at the back door, the chants deafening. But before I could push it open, Father Soji’s voice lashed through the air: “Bring her forward!” Saints rushed toward me like a tide. Hands grabbed my arms, my shoulders, my robe. I tried to resist, but…

©️ Opeyemi AkintundeAs Inspired by the DEEP ONE The entire chapel vibrated under the weight of chants. Tongues roared… Incense smoke curled toward the rafters. Then Father Soji rose. “My children!” His voice was thunder wrapped in velvet. “Tonight is not an ordinary vigil. Tonight we seal the covenant of Kairos. The Spirit has chosen…

©️ Opeyemi AkintundeAs Inspired by the DEEP ONE After Father’s public declaration/proposal, I stayed indoors.I only attended morning devotion.The rest of the day? I hid under my covers, pretending to sleep. By 5 p.m., I heard MS Laura’s rock-hard voice.“Are you okay?” I nodded weakly. “Father said you must not miss the Vigil.” Did I…