Insight of a Kenyan Girl

Tilly’s hands trembled as she opened the manuscript.

The pages felt heavier than she expected—thick, substantial. As though each word carried a weight that wasn’t just ink on paper, but something alive.

The title was the first thing she saw.

The Chosen Shadows
By Nathaniel Pierce

Her breath caught.

She knew the name.

Nathaniel Pierce. The elusive writer she had met at Mystique—the one whose identity had been cloaked in shadows. The man who never showed his face, who preferred to remain a mystery.

Now his words were here in front of her, and they were far too familiar.

She flipped open the first page, the faint scent of paper mingling with the growing tension in her chest.

“She thought she had left everything behind. But the door she shut years ago never truly locked. And when the time came, it would open again, pulling her back into the world she had tried to escape.”

Tilly’s throat tightened. She. The character. But this wasn’t just a story.

This was her.

The next lines felt like they were written with her in mind.

“The silver ring she had once worn, lost in the past, would find its way back to her. The red envelope that had once brought her fear would return, and she would be forced to answer its call. A knock would come, uninvited. And when the door opened, she would know—everything had changed.”

Her hands went cold. Her mind reeled. The ring. The envelope. The knock at her door. She felt like she was reading a twisted version of her own life.

She flipped through more pages, her heart pounding faster with each word.

“She was never chosen for her innocence. She was chosen for what she had buried. The past would return to claim her. The shadows would test her. They always did.”

Her fingers shook as she read the next line. It felt like an accusation.

“Her name was Tara Morgan. But she would forget it—because to remember would mean to face the darkness.”

Tilly felt a rush of heat flood her body. Tara Morgan. That was her name. The name she had buried when she fled. The name she had tried to forget.

The realization hit her like a punch to the gut. Nathaniel Pierce wasn’t just writing a story. He was writing her story.

Her life, her past, all of it—laid out in front of her, as if he had seen everything. Everything she had never told anyone. The moments she had hoped to erase. The tests she had been through.

And now, the manuscript felt like a guidebook, pulling her deeper into its twisted narrative.

“The last test is simple. If she opens the door, she will be free. If she doesn’t, the door will open for her, anyway.”

The door.

Tilly’s throat constricted. It wasn’t just a metaphor anymore. The door. The game. It was all real. Nathaniel Pierce had known.

She snapped the manuscript shut, her mind racing.

Her phone buzzed in her hand.

A text.

Unknown Number:
Chapter Two begins tonight.

Tilly felt her pulse quicken. This was no longer just a book. This was a message. From Nathaniel Pierce. From whoever was watching her. It wasn’t just the beginning of a story. It was the beginning of something far more dangerous.

She stood up, her mind swirling. The game had already begun.