THE EMPTY SACHET

Later that night, Kene rushed out again. Phone call. Brief. Urgent.
He dressed and hurried out—forgetting his wallet on the bed.

I stared at the wallet for a long moment.

Something pushed me—Instinct? Suspicion? Fear?
I don’t know.

But I opened it.

I saw his transport money, ID card, receipts… and then a small transparent nylon sachet folded inside.

My heart dropped even before I opened it.

It was the exact sachet type boutique operators used to pack underwear.

Empty.

Meaning whatever was inside had been removed.

Meaning the pant — my pant — originally came from this sachet.

“Chineke… Kene, what is all this?” I whispered.

I was still standing there, sachet in hand, when I heard his footsteps at the door.

The key turned in the lock.

I didn’t have time to even hide it.

HIS FACE CHANGED

Kene entered and saw me standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, holding the sachet.

His face changed immediately.

“Amara… where you see that?”

My voice was shaking. “Inside your wallet.”

He swallowed hard.

“Why are you keeping my pant inside small nylon like new product?” My voice cracked. “Kene… what’s happening?”

He rubbed his face with both hands.

“Amara, it’s not what you think.”

Those words.

Those cursed words that usually mean the opposite.

Before he could explain, a knock landed sharply on the door.

Three fast taps.

We both jumped.

Kene ran to open it before I could move.

It was Sola again.

His face looked more worried than in the morning.

“Kene… e don happen,” he whispered quickly. “E better you tell her now before everything spoil.”

My stomach twisted.

Tell me what?

Sola looked at me with pity.

And fear.

“Madam, abeg sit down. Make Kene talk. Today no be day to hide anything.”

THE SECRET MEETING

We moved inside.
Kene stood.
I sat.
Sola leaned on the wall, his hands shaking slightly.

“Amara…” Kene started slowly, “I didn’t want to bring trouble to you. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

“Tell me what?” I whispered.

He closed his eyes.

“There is somebody following me.”

My heart stopped.

“Following you?” I repeated. “Why?”

Sola answered instead.

“Madam, some men from one cult group dey disturb our company drivers. Dem dey collect money, threaten people… You remember that day wey Kene come back late last month? E no be traffic. Na those boys hold am.”

My blood turned to ice.

Kene continued, voice barely steady:

“Dem talk say if I no cooperate, dem go use spiritual things hold me. They said they just need ‘personal cloth from someone I love’ as proof I will obey. So they told me to bring something small… something that belongs to you. Just once.”

Just once.

But I found more than once.

“You’ve been giving them my panties?” My voice went hollow.

“No!” Kene shouted. “No no no, Amara! I swear! I never gave them anything. I only told them I will bring it… but I couldn’t. I couldn’t do that to you. So I just… I carried it. To pretend. If they stop me on the road, I’ll show them. But I never gave them.”

My head was spinning.

Sola added:

“They stopped him twice this week. They demanded it. He lied that he forgot.”

A deep silence settled like dust.

“So… they are harassing you? Using spiritual threats?” I asked, still trying to understand the madness.

Kene nodded.

“I didn’t want to involve you. I didn’t want you scared.”

Too late.

Far too late.

I sat there, stunned, tears slipping out without permission.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Kene knelt in front of me.

“I didn’t want danger to near you.”

THE NIGHT VISIT

Around 11:30 p.m., just when my heartbeat had slowed down, we heard a sudden loud sound at the gate.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Sola jumped to his feet.
Kene rushed to peep outside.
I froze.

“Kene!” Sola whispered harshly. “Is it them?”

Kene didn’t answer, but the way his chest rose and fell told me everything.

Voices outside.

Three. No, four men.

One of them shouted, “Driver! We dey come back for our thing! You better bring am out this night!”

My heart nearly fell out of my body.

Mama Torera and some neighbours peeked through their windows like goats in market.

Sola grabbed Kene’s arm. “We need plan! We need call somebody!”

My mind raced.

This was spiraling too fast.

And too dangerously.

Kene whispered, “Amara, go inside. Lock your door.”

“No,” I said fiercely. “I’m not leaving you.”

We stood together as the banging continued.

Then suddenly—

Silence.

Followed by footsteps leaving.

Just like that.

But the air remained heavy, like a storm that paused but did not pass.

THE DECISION

That night, none of us slept.

And for the first time, I truly saw the fear Kene had been hiding.

How many nights had he lain awake beside me, suffering silently?

How many mornings had he left home, unsure if he would return?

The panty in his pocket had not been romance.
Had not been fetish.
Had not been cheating.
It had been fear.

The quiet fear of a good man trying to protect his family.

But fear is a poor shield.

So I made a decision.

“We report them,” I said.

Kene and Sola exchanged quick glances.

“Police?” Sola whispered. “Madam… these boys no dey fear uniform o.”

“Then we report to someone stronger.”

A name popped into my mind.

My elder brother, Obinna.

Ex–military.
Highly connected.
Zero tolerance for criminals.

Kene resisted.

“No no no, Amara. If we escalate this, those boys may come for you.”

“They already came,” I said quietly. “We end it… or it ends us.”

OBI ARRIVES

By 7 a.m. the next morning, a black SUV drove into our compound, scattering chickens and gossipers.

Obinna stepped out—tall, muscular, walking with the confidence of somebody who had seen war and survived it.

“Sister,” he greeted warmly. Then he faced Kene. “Sit down. Tell me everything.”

It took almost thirty minutes for Kene to explain fully.

Obinna listened silently, jaw tight.

When he finished, Obinna stood.

“I know the kind of boys doing this. I know their leader.”

He made two calls.

Short. Quiet. Dangerous-sounding.

Then he said, “Pack small bag. We are leaving this place for today.”

“Leaving?” I asked.

“Yes.” His voice was final. “Until I handle this.”

THE CONFRONTATION

The next evening, Obinna returned and called Kene outside.

“Follow me.”

I tried to follow too but Obinna blocked me gently.
“Not you.”

His tone didn’t leave room for argument.

Later, Kene recounted what happened:

Obinna took him to a small warehouse behind a petrol station.
Two stern-looking men waited inside.

Then the leader of the cult group arrived—slim, tattooed, arrogant.

At first, he tried to form big man.

Until Obinna stepped forward.

A few words were exchanged.

Low. Sharp. Heavy.

Then the leader’s face changed.

Fear.

Real fear.

Because Obinna was not just ex-military.
He was connected to someone high in the anti-cultism task force.

What followed was a brutal warning—no violence, just information so terrifying the leader nearly knelt.

By the time Obinna finished, the boys promised—swore—that they would never go near Kene again.

Or anyone connected to him.

THE TRUTH BEHIND THE PANTY

When Kene returned home safe, I hugged him tightly.

For the first time in days, his shoulders relaxed.

“Amara,” he whispered, “I’m sorry. I should have told you.”

“I’m sorry too,” I said. “I assumed the worst.”

He smiled weakly. “You thought I was cheating?”

“I thought… something strange. Something bad.”

He laughed softly. “I fit cheat on you? You wey dey beat person with silence?”

I hit his arm lightly.

Then he said something that made my throat tighten:

“I carried the pant because it smelled like home. Like safety. Like you. I know it sounds foolish… but when those boys threatened me, I panicked. Carrying it made me feel close to you.”

I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh.

But I understood.

Fear makes people do strange things.

Even quiet good men.

A WEEK LATER

Peace returned.

The boys disappeared.

No threats.
No shadows.
No calls.

Life slowly returned to normal.

One evening while we cooked together, Kene held my waist gently.

“Amara,” he said, “I want to be better. I want to tell you things. No more hiding.”

I looked into his tired, honest eyes and nodded.

“And next time,” I teased, “if you want to carry my pant… abeg just tell me. I will give you brand new one.”

He burst into laughter and lifted me off the floor.

In that moment, the fear melted.

And love—simple, stubborn, everyday love—took its place.

A HUMAN ENDING

Months passed.

Kene was promoted at work.

Sola started saving for his own apartment.

Mama Torera still gossiped, but now mostly about how “love dey hide inside small pant.”

And me?

I learned something powerful:

Sometimes the strangest discoveries lead to the deepest truths.

Sometimes the things we fear most are simply cries for help.

Sometimes a panty in a pocket is not betrayal—
but a man’s terrified attempt to hold on to the woman he loves most.

And sometimes…
when life gets dark…

Love finds the most unexpected way to glow.