[Mombasa – Late Afternoon | September 4, 2005]
They didn't head back right away.
Msemo kept walking, taking a longer route through the neighborhood.
Not unusual.
He did that often.
Said it helped him "keep an eye on things."
Dhalik walked beside him, quieter than before.
Not distracted—
just thinking.
That empty spot from earlier stayed in his mind.
Not because someone had been there.
But because of how it felt after they were gone.
Too clean.
Like something had been removed on purpose.
"You're still thinking about it," Msemo said.
Not a question.
"…Yeah."
They turned a corner.
A group of kids sat outside a house, passing around a small radio.
Music played low.
"…you better lose yourself in the music, the moment…"
One of them rapped along badly, missing half the words.
The others laughed.
"Man, you're ruining it!"
"Shut up, I know it!"
Dhalik glanced at them for a second.
Then looked away.
"…You always think this much?" Msemo asked.
A small pause.
"…No."
"So what changed?"
That question stayed there for a moment.
Dhalik didn't answer right away.
Because he didn't fully know.
"…I just notice more," he said finally.
Msemo nodded.
"That's not always a good thing."
"…I know."
They kept walking.
A car passed slowly.
Someone waved at Msemo.
He nodded back.
Normal.
Everything looked normal.
But that didn't mean it was.
"…You think I'm wrong?" Dhalik asked.
"About what?"
"…That someone was watching."
Msemo didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked ahead.
"…No."
That was enough.
"But that doesn't mean you understand it yet," he added.
Dhalik frowned slightly.
"…What does that mean?"
Msemo shrugged.
"It means noticing something isn't the same as knowing what it is."
That made sense.
"…So what do I do?"
"Nothing for now."
Dhalik looked at him.
"…Nothing?"
"Yeah."
A short pause.
"Sometimes moving too early makes things worse."
That sounded familiar.
Like what he felt before stepping in during the bicycle accident.
Dhalik nodded slightly.
"…Okay."
They walked in silence for a bit.
The sun was lower now.
Shadows stretched longer across the ground.
The street felt quieter.
Not empty.
Just… slower.
Dhalik's thoughts drifted again.
Back to the hospital.
That place.
That moment—
when everything stopped.
He didn't fully understand it.
But it stayed with him.
Like something unfinished.
"…When I fell," he said suddenly.
Msemo glanced at him.
"What about it?"
Dhalik hesitated.
"…It didn't feel like nothing."
That caught his attention.
"What do you mean?"
Dhalik looked ahead.
"…It wasn't like sleep."
A pause.
"…It felt like I was somewhere else."
Msemo didn't interrupt.
"…And I wasn't alone."
Silence.
That kind of statement—
from a kid—
should sound strange.
But it didn't.
Not after everything else.
"…You remember it clearly?" Msemo asked.
"…Not everything."
A small pause.
"…Just enough."
They kept walking.
Dhalik frowned slightly.
Trying to put it into words.
"…It's like I know something… but I can't explain it."
Msemo nodded slowly.
"That happens."
"…To you?"
A faint smirk.
"Different reasons."
That answer didn't explain much.
But it didn't need to.
Dhalik looked down briefly.
"…Do you think it changed me?"
That question was quieter.
More honest.
Msemo didn't answer right away.
He took a breath.
Then—
"…Yeah."
No hesitation.
Dhalik didn't react much.
But he didn't look surprised either.
"…I thought so."
A short silence followed.
Then—
something shifted.
Not in the street.
Not in the sound.
In him.
Mid-thought—
while he was trying to figure out what to say next—
he felt it.
A gaze.
Subtle.
Not heavy.
Not obvious.
But there.
Like someone looking—
without wanting to be seen.
Dhalik's steps slowed just slightly.
Not enough to draw attention.
"…Don't react," he said quietly.
Msemo didn't turn.
"I'm not."
"…Someone's watching."
A pause.
"…Where?"
Dhalik didn't look.
"…I don't know."
That was the strange part.
He couldn't point to it.
Couldn't locate it.
But he knew it was there.
For a brief moment—
the feeling stayed.
Then—
it was gone.
Just like that.
Like it was never there to begin with.
Dhalik frowned slightly.
"…It stopped."
Msemo glanced around casually.
Didn't see anything unusual.
"Maybe they moved."
"…Maybe."
But something about it didn't feel like movement.
It felt like a choice.
Like whoever it was—
decided to stop.
Dhalik didn't say anything else.
But his thoughts shifted.
Because now—
it wasn't just about seeing things.
It was about feeling them.
And that—
was harder to ignore.
They kept walking.
The street carried on like always.
But for Dhalik—
something had changed again.
Because this time—
he didn't see it.
He felt it.
And that meant—
whatever was out there—
was getting closer.
To be continued…