Chapter 2 Ayo's eyes

Chapter 2: Ayo's Eyes

Ayo didn't know why he smiled at the stranger.

Maybe it was curiosity. Maybe it was the haunting familiarity in those eyes. Or maybe-though he would never admit it aloud-it was the way his chest had fluttered like a moth trapped in a glass jar.

The man stood across the road, still as stone, dressed in black like Nairobi's heat didn't touch him. Even from a distance, Ayo could tell there was something... off. Not dangerous, not exactly. But different. Like a dream that stayed with you after waking.

He crossed the road without thinking.

The man didn't move until Ayo stood a few feet away. Now that they were face to face, Ayo could see the sharp cut of his cheekbones, the old-fashioned collar of his coat, the kind of posture no one his age held anymore. And his eyes-dark, old, watching him like he was more than a stranger.

"Hi," Ayo said, suddenly awkward. "Uh... do I know you?"

The man tilted his head slightly, lips parting as if to speak-but then he hesitated.

"I... don't think so," he said at last, his accent faint and hard to place. "But you remind me of someone."

Ayo chuckled nervously. "That's never ominous."

The man smiled. It was a small thing, but it softened something in his face. He held out a hand. "Malakai."

"Ayo." They shook. The touch was warm. Too warm, almost feverish.

"You were at the bar last night," Ayo said. "Staring at me like I owed you money."

Malakai looked amused. "I wasn't staring."

"Pretty sure you were."

"I was... surprised. That's all."

Ayo folded his arms, squinting at him. "Let me guess-ex I forgot?"

"No." A beat passed. "Not in this lifetime."

Ayo laughed, but the man didn't. His eyes were searching, like he was looking for something inside Ayo's soul.

"Okay," Ayo said slowly, "now you're giving reincarnation cult vibes."

Malakai blinked. "Do you believe in that?"

"No." Ayo shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. My gogo used to talk about souls being reborn, but she also thought our cat was the ghost of her ex-husband, so..."

"Smart woman," Malakai said, and smiled again.

There was a silence between them, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Just thick with something unsaid.

"You're not from here," Ayo said after a while. "You've got a vibe."

Malakai raised an eyebrow. "A vibe?"

"Yeah. Like you stepped out of a history book and accidentally found yourself on River Road."

"I've been... away. For a long time."

"You talk like a man with secrets."

"I am."

That made Ayo laugh again. "At least you're honest about it."

A matatu roared past, blaring reggae and spewing black smoke. Malakai barely flinched. Ayo took that in, too. There was something coiled beneath the man's stillness. Not violence, exactly. Power.

"So what now?" Ayo asked, only half-joking. "Are you going to tell me I'm the key to some ancient prophecy?"

Malakai's eyes glinted. "Would you believe me if I did?"

"No. But I might buy you coffee."

The man's expression shifted then. Something like awe flickered in his face-so brief Ayo thought he imagined it. Malakai nodded slowly.

"I'd like that."

They ended up in a café on the edge of Ngara, tucked between a betting shop and a secondhand bookstore. It was quiet, dimly lit, and smelled of cinnamon and old wood.

Malakai sat stiffly, as if unused to chairs, while Ayo ordered for both of them. Two black coffees and a mandazi.

When he returned, Malakai was still staring at the mural on the wall-an abstract piece of Nairobi's skyline at dusk.

"I don't like coffee," he said softly.

"Why didn't you say so?" Ayo asked, sliding into the seat across from him.

"I didn't want to be rude."

"You literally walked out of a gothic novel, and now you care about manners?"

Malakai smiled faintly. "You're funny."

"You're weird."

They sat in silence for a moment. Outside, the rain had begun again, soft and steady.

Ayo sipped his coffee. "So who was he?"

Malakai blinked. "Who?"

"The person I remind you of. You said I looked like someone."

The vampire looked down. For a long time, he didn't speak. Then he said, "His name was Elijah. He lived a long time ago."

Ayo waited.

"He was a healer," Malakai continued, "and a singer. He had this ridiculous laugh, and he used to hum when he was nervous. He made me believe I could be something other than what I am."

"What are you?" Ayo asked, tone playful-half-joking.

Malakai looked at him. Really looked.

And something in his gaze made the laughter catch in Ayo's throat.

"Not human," Malakai said.

The words hung between them.

Ayo blinked. "Is that a metaphor? Like, 'I'm a monster inside' kind of thing?"

Malakai didn't answer. He just reached across the table and gently took Ayo's hand.

And for a second, Ayo saw it.

Flashes behind his eyes. A field of tall golden grass. A man with dark braids singing in a language he didn't recognize. Blood on sand. A broken necklace. A promise whispered beneath stars.

He yanked his hand back, gasping.

"What the-what was that?"

Malakai's face was unreadable. "A memory."

"No, that wasn't... I don't know what that was, but it wasn't mine."

"It might have been."

Ayo stood up abruptly. "Okay. This has been fun. Very mysterious. But I think I'm done."

Malakai didn't follow. "I'm not going to hurt you, Ayo."

"I don't know what game you're playing, but it's not cute."

Malakai rose slowly, leaving a few bills on the table. "This isn't a game."

Ayo turned to leave, his heart thudding in his chest.

"Ayo."

He paused, hand on the café door.

"If you start to remember things," Malakai said, "come find me."

Ayo didn't look back. He pushed into the rain and didn't stop walking until his clothes were soaked and the pounding in his chest had nothing to do with fear.