The first time Unoma arrived at the orphanage, she was holding a red suitcase that was too big for her.
She was eight years old.
The suitcase dragged behind her as she walked through the rusty iron gate, making a loud scraping sound against the concrete.
Nobody came to welcome her.
Nobody came to take the suitcase.
Nobody even asked her name.
She stopped beneath the faded sign above the entrance.
SUNRISE CHILDREN'S HOME
Half of the letters had fallen off.
Unoma looked up at the building.
It was bigger than she had imagined.
The walls were painted yellow once, but years of rain had turned them brown. Several windows were broken. The compound was surrounded by tall weeds, and an old mango tree stood near the back of the building.
A woman in a faded blue dress finally appeared at the doorway.
She stared at Unoma.
"Are you the new girl?"
Unoma nodded.
"What is your name?"
"Unoma."
The woman looked at the suitcase.
"Where are your parents?"
Unoma lowered her eyes.
"They're dead."
The woman didn't respond immediately.
Instead, she stepped aside.
"Come inside."
Unoma pulled her suitcase through the doorway.
That was the day her life changed forever.
⸻
The orphanage had twenty-three children.
Some were younger than Unoma.
Some were teenagers.
Nobody smiled when she entered.
They simply watched her.
A little girl sitting on the floor stared at Unoma's red suitcase.
"What's inside?" she whispered.
Unoma didn't answer.
The woman in the blue dress turned around.
"My name is Mrs. Eze," she said. "You will call me Madam."
Unoma nodded.
"You'll sleep in Room Four. Follow the other girls."
Unoma looked around.
"Can I ask something?"
Mrs. Eze sighed.
"What?"
"When will my aunt come for me?"
The woman's expression changed.
"She won't."
Unoma stared at her.
"But the social worker said—"
"She changed her mind."
Unoma's fingers tightened around the suitcase handle.
"My aunt promised."
Mrs. Eze walked closer.
"Listen to me, child. You are here now. This is your home."
Unoma looked toward the doorway.
"But I don't want this to be my home."
For the first time, Mrs. Eze's face became cold.
"You don't get to choose."
Then she walked away.
Unoma stood alone.
That night, she cried quietly into her pillow.
She didn't want the other children to hear her.
She didn't want anyone to know she was afraid.
Before her mother died, she had promised Unoma something.
"No matter what happens, never be afraid of the dark."
Unoma had believed her.
But that night, lying in a strange room surrounded by unfamiliar children, she was terrified.
Especially when she heard the sound coming from upstairs.
Three knocks.
Then silence.
Three more knocks.
Unoma sat up.
Nobody else moved.
She looked toward the other girls.
"Did you hear that?"
No one answered.
A girl sleeping on the bed beside her suddenly whispered:
"Don't talk about it."
Unoma froze.
"About what?"
The girl pulled her blanket over her head.
"Just sleep."
Another knock came from upstairs.
This time it was louder.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Unoma climbed out of bed.
She walked toward the bedroom door.
"Where are you going?"
The girl's voice trembled.
"I'm going to see what it is."
"Don't!"
Unoma stopped.
"Why?"
The girl slowly lowered the blanket from her face.
"Because nobody is allowed upstairs."
Unoma stared at her.
"Why?"
The girl looked toward the ceiling.
"Because of the room."
"What room?"
The girl didn't answer.
A cold breeze suddenly passed through the room.
Then they heard footsteps.
Someone was walking across the floor above them.
Unoma's heart began racing.
The footsteps stopped directly above her bed.
She looked up.
Nothing happened for several seconds.
Then something slid across the floor upstairs.
A heavy object.
Unoma stepped backward.
The girl beside her whispered:
"Go back to bed."
Unoma obeyed.
But she couldn't sleep.
⸻
The next morning, Unoma noticed something strange.
While the other children were eating breakfast, she saw an old photograph hanging on the wall.
It showed the orphanage many years earlier.
There were children standing in front of the building.
Unoma walked closer.
She studied the photograph.
Then she stopped.
One of the children looked exactly like her.
Same eyes.
Same small nose.
Same birthmark above the left eyebrow.
Unoma touched the photograph.
Her heart pounded.
That was impossible.
She had never been to the orphanage before.
At least, that was what everyone had told her.
"Why are you looking at that?"
Unoma turned.
Mrs. Eze stood behind her.
"Who is this girl?" Unoma asked.
Mrs. Eze looked at the photograph.
Her face suddenly went pale.
"Put it down."
"But she looks like me."
"I said put it down!"
Unoma stepped away.
Mrs. Eze quickly removed the photograph from the wall.
Then she turned toward Unoma.
"Forget what you saw."
"Who was she?"
Mrs. Eze didn't answer.
She walked away with the photograph clutched tightly in her hand.
Unoma watched her disappear down the hallway.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
That evening, when everyone was asleep, Unoma heard the three knocks again.
But this time, they came from inside her room.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Unoma slowly opened her eyes.
Her red suitcase was standing beside her bed.
She was certain she had left it near the door.
Now it was open.
Inside was a small envelope she had never seen before.
Her hands trembled as she reached for it.
There was a name written on the front.
UNOMA.
She opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
The same girl from the old orphanage photograph.
On the back, someone had written six words:
"You were never supposed to return."
Unoma stared at the message.
Then she heard footsteps outside her bedroom door.
Someone whispered her name.
"Unoma…"
She stopped breathing.
The door handle slowly began to turn.
To be continued…