This happened in 2020 when schools were on lockdown. I was in the university at the time. When they shut schools down, I moved from Accra to Juapong and returned in October. I returned to Accra in search of a job. I got a marketing job. It was stressful until I met someone who asked me to quit the job and stay home so he would take care of me. I did that but it got to a point where I became bored. All I did was watch movies and stay on the phone.

Then one day, a guy I talked to from time to time texted. “You are on my mind,” he said, “I want you to accompany me to Akropong for the weekend.” I told him that although I was bored, I was not one to follow people to strange places. He tried to persuade me but I wasn’t interested in going. He even said he was going to lodge at a hotel and I would have my own room. I still said, “No, maybe next time.”

A few weeks later, he called me again. This time around he asked me to travel with him to his hometown. He said it had been a while since he saw his people so he was going to say hello. I discussed his proposal with a friend, Kwaku. And he encouraged me to go and experience some adventure. “You are always indoors bored anyway.” So I agreed to follow Kwesi to his hometown.

He asked what time we should leave Accra and I told him, “I have never been there so I want us to leave early. Noon should work. That way I can watch the road and see where we are going.” He said okay. On the day we were supposed to leave, I was all dressed up and my bags were packed by noon. I was waiting for him to pick me up but he said he was picking something up from someone. “I will see you as soon as I get what I am looking for,” he said.

I waited and waited. By the time he got to me it was past 6 pm. He didn’t even come alone. He showed up with two other guys. I knew one of them as his brother. He said the other one was his friend who just returned to the country and was also interested in going to their hometown as well. The whole thing didn’t sit well with me but I went anyway.

This guy decided to use the bush road. It didn’t settle well in my spirit. I was one woman alone in a car with three men driving down the bush road at night to a place I don’t know. Yes, it looked like the intro to a poorly funded horror movie. And I was the girl everyone screams at, “Get out of the car!” Well, my brain was screaming those words at me the entire time. I texted Kwaku and told him I was scared. He told me he even regretted encouraging me to go. He said he was praying for me so I should also pray.

While I was praying for God’s protection and deliverance, I was still scared. I panicked so hard that my anxiety became visible. Kwesi saw me through the rearview mirror and asked, “What’s wrong?” I was honest and told him I wasn’t okay. And that they could hurt me and throw me in the bush somewhere. He assured me that nothing would happen to me.

By the time we got to his hometown, Kyebi, it was past midnight. He had a big five-bedroom house. When we got there the other guys settled in other rooms. He told me the rest of the rooms were filled with stuff so I would have to share a room with him. I objected at first until I saw the king-sized bed. I told myself we would sleep on the same bed but I wouldn’t be anywhere near him on that bed.

We ate some of the food and snacks we bought on the way, and then slept. The next morning, this guy woke up and told me they were going to a funeral. I said okay. I was in the house watching movies until they got back. When he arrived he told me, “On our way from the funeral, we passed by our mother’s house and ate fufu. My mum will send the small girl to bring you some.” I just nodded and said okay.

When they brought the food, I didn’t feel right about it. The meat looked weird to me. He said it was bush meat so it could be grasscutter. I took a bite just to be sure but I still didn’t like the taste. I ate only five morsels of the fufu and told him I was full. Meanwhile, I was still hungry. I just didn’t want to be rude by blatantly rejecting his mother’s food. Later, I ate some of the snacks we bought on our way to the village.

That Saturday night, he was drunk before he came to bed. He tried to kiss me but I refused. I explained that there was no way I would kiss someone I didn’t have a romantic relationship with. And he left me alone. We lay there having conversations about life. He told me he was running a business but never which kind. I chose that night to ask him because he and his brother spend money as if it grows on trees. They literally throw money around. When I asked questions, he said it was a family business. They were into security. When I tried to probe further, he refused to share more.

On Sunday morning, his mother prepared banku from the house and sent it to us. We all ate. After eating, we packed up and returned to Accra. When we got to Accra, he promised he would give me some money to keep me afloat while I was home unemployed. I said okay. I didn’t hear from him until three days later. He came to my house and handed me an envelope and left. I opened it and found GHC400 in it. I called him to say thank you.

A few days later, I called to check up on this guy but he didn’t pick up my calls. I texted him but he didn’t respond. I thought he was busy, or that he had traveled outside the country so I let him be. While all this was going on, I was having nightmares. The dreams were so bizarre that I still get chills down my spine when I remember them. In my dreams, people were attacking me. Sometimes they were faceless. Sometimes I saw their faces but wouldn’t remember them.

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I spoke to my friend Kwaku about the dreams and he said it must have been something I ate at the village. I shared with him how uneasy I felt when they served me with the fufu. So he took me to a nondenominational pastor of his. As soon as we got to the pastor’s office he asked me, “Why did you follow someone to a funeral? Why are women not afraid of certain things?” I explained that I didn’t know it was a funeral. He prayed for me and gave me some directions to follow.

It was after those prayers and directions that the nightmares became more bizarre and terrible. All this while, Kwesi was not in touch with me. I had to move from Accra to my mother’s place in the Volta region because I was scared to stay in my room alone. The entire time, an evangelist at my church was praying with me. At midnight, I would join his online prayer group. One day while we were praying, something told me that if I heard from the Kwesi guy, I would be delivered from these dreams.

He Woke Me Up At 2am And Asked Me To Go To My Mother’s House

So I took my phone and called him again. I called him six times but he did not answer a single call. So I used my small phone. He doesn’t know that number. I called him six times with that one too but he didn’t pick up. So I tried the seventh time and he answered it. As soon as he said, “Hello,” I responded, “Bra Kwesi, what have I done to offend you?” He said I did nothing wrong and that he had been busy. I reminded him of all the times he was busy yet still made time to talk to me. “If truly, I haven’t done anything to you but you are just intentionally ignoring me, then bye-bye.”

As soon as I hung up, I blocked him everywhere, deleted his number, and then cleared all our chats. Just as I suspected, I was able to sleep peacefully that night for the first time in a long time. The nightmares never happened again. I keep asking myself why something like this would happen. What was he trying to do to me? Why did I keep getting spiritual attacks and nightmares after I went on a trip with Kwesi? And how come he refused to talk to me, only for the nightmares to cease after I finally heard his voice? It was a terrible experience. One I wouldn’t wish on even my worst enemy.

—Yram

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