I Slept with My Boyfriend Without Knowing He Died Two Days Earlier—Now I’m Pregnant with His Ghost’s Child

I slept with my boyfriend without knowing he had died two days earliernow Im pregnant with his ghosts child
Episode1
I swear I saw him. I felt his hand. I kissed him. I sensed his warm breath, his minttasting lipsjust as always. He even wore that oversized gray hoodie he hated because it made him look like a softhearted thug. He was real. He held me all night, whispering I love you into my ear, promising wed marry next year. I remember every moment: the way his fingers slid along my arm, how he wept when I wept, how he made love to me with such intensity I thought my soul would split in two. And then he vanished.
I woke up alone, but I wasnt scared. I thought maybe Id gone for a run, as I sometimes did. His cologne still lingered on the sheets. My skin still burned where hed touched me. Something didnt fit.
I called.
Again.
And again.
Then my best friend Adesuwa burst into my room, palefaced, bewildered at my tears.
Simi she whispered. Dont you know?
I laughed. Know what?
Taris dead.
I blinked. Dead how?
She sobbed louder. He died two days agoin a car crash, the night of the storm.
No. No. No.
I screamed, shoved her away, called her cruel for saying it, said it was no joke. I showed her the text Tari had sent the night before and the voice note that said, Im coming over. I miss your body next to mine. She stared at the phone, shaking.
Simi he couldnt have sent that. He was already in the morgue.
The world tilted. My knees gave out. I ran to the bathroom, grabbed the towel hed used, still damp, the hoodie hed left on the floor, the bite mark on my neck.
He had been there. He had to be.
But the truth is Tari was buried yesterday.
And somehow, I had made love to him last night.
Days passed. Nights became unbearable. I couldnt sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw himsometimes standing at the foot of my bed, sometimes whispering in my ear. One night I heard his voice: Dont cry, love. Im still with you. I tried to record it, but only static and my own terrified breathing came through.
Then my period stopped.
Twice.
I thought stress, grief, trauma.
Until I vomited a fifth time in a day. I took a test.
Two lines.
Positive.
I collapsed. The only person Id been with was Tari.
But he was dead. Buried. Decomposing. Gone.
Yet something was growing inside me. Something kicking in the night, something that glowed under my skin when the lights were out. And every time I wept and said I couldnt handle it, I heard a whisper from the shadows:
Youre not alone. Our child is coming.
Episode2
I dont remember falling asleep. I only recall waking up in the bathtub, the pregnancy test still clenched in my hand, those two pink lines mocking my sanity. I hadnt spoken to anyone for daysnot even Adesuwa. My phone rang dozens of times, his name flashing on the screen, and I ignored every call.
How could I explain that I was expecting a baby from a man who had been six feet under for weeks? Who would believe me? I barely believed myself either, until that night.
Just as I was drifting off, something pressed against my belly from inside. It wasnt a normal kick. It felt clever, deliberate, as if trying to get my attention. I sat up gasping, hands on my stomach, and heard him again.
Taris voice inside my head:
Dont be afraid, love. I chose you.
I screamed and bolted out of bed. In the mirror I lifted my shirt and thought I saw a faint blue pulse just beneath my skin. It flickered, then vanished. My legs gave out, and I collapsed, sobbing.
The next day I forced myself to go to the hospital. I told the doctor Id become pregnant after my boyfriend visited me. I lied about the dates, about everythingexcept the symptoms.
Strange dreams. Skin that glows. Hearing voices of someone who isnt here.
The doctors expression shifted from concern to quiet suspicion.
Well run some tests, she said cautiously. Stress can heavily affect the mind, especially combined with pregnancy hormones.
She pressed her stethoscope to my belly. Her face froze.
I cant hear a heartbeat, but somethings moving.
She ordered an ultrasound. While I lay on the cold metal table, the technicians face went pale as she adjusted the scanner. She said nothing until I asked.
Theres a fetus, she whispered, but its shining.
I left the hospital without waiting for results. That night I dreamed again. Tari stood at our old spot by the lagoon, the wind tugging at his hooded hoodie.
Our child isnt like the others, he said, his voice softer than the breeze. He is me and more.
What do you mean? I asked.
He only smiled sadly. Youll understand soon. You must protect him.
I woke to find the curtains wide open, even though Id locked everything. The hoodie from the dream lay neatly folded on the edge of my bed, still warm to the touch.
Thats when I knew the thing growing inside me was real. It was his, and it was changing me.
The next day I finally called Adesuwa. I needed help. She rushed over, hugged me tightly, and I told her everythingshowed her the glowing spot on my belly, spoke of the dreams, the voice, the baby.
She didnt laugh. She didnt scream. She whispered, I have to take you somewhere.
She led me to an old house hidden behind her grandmothers church. Inside, an elderly woman with long grey braids and pale eyes looked at me once and said,
Youre not the first. You should be the last.
When I asked what she meant, her answer chilled me to the bone.
You carry the child of a bound soul. That baby is both a blessing and a warning. Its father shouldnt have returned. Now the door is open, and others are crossing.
For what? To take him? I asked.
To take you.
The lights flickered. A cold wind swept through the windows. From the shadows I heard Taris voice again:
Run.
Episode3
The room turned icy. The old womans eyes widened in terror as unnatural shadows stretched across the walls like claws.
Hes here, she whispered, clutching a rosary made of bone and kauri.
Adesuwa pushed me behind her.
But I was no longer afraid of Tari. I feared the others the woman had spoken ofthose who came because hed broken the rules.
She scattered ash in a circle and told me to stand inside.
Dont leave, no matter what happens. Do you hear me? she warned. Youre now a bridge between life and death. Bridges are crossed both ways.
I stepped into the circle. My belly glowed with that same unsettling light. The baby kicked harder than ever.
Then voices flooded the roomdozens, maybe hundredsshouts, moans, pleas, laughter, all emanating from the darkness.
Tari, please, I whispered. Whats happening?
And I saw him.
He was no longer the man Id known. His eyes were empty, filled with sorrow and fear.
Im sorry, he said. I never wanted to drag you into this. I just missed you so much. I wanted one more night, one more moment. I didnt know I was opening a door.
I moved closer, tears streaming down my cheeks.
Why me? Why the baby?
He looked at my belly, then at me.
Because our love was stronger than death. But love like that breaks the laws.
Suddenly another figure emerged from the shadowsa twisted, halffaced monster with flaming eyes. It whistled at the sight of me. Tari stepped in front of us.
You cant have her! it roared. You cant take our child!
The monster laughed.
You broke the rule, spirit. You touched the living. Now we feast.
The room shook. The old woman began chanting in an unknown language. Adesuwa clutched my hand, crying, Simi! Dont leave the circle!
I screamed as the monster lunged at me. Tari thrust himself between us. The old woman shrieked, NOW! Choose, girllife or love?
Bloodied and fading, Tari turned to me.
You have to let me go, love. For our child. For you.
I shook my head, sobbing, I cant lose you again!
He replied, You never lost me. I live in him now, in you. But if you hold on, theyll take everything.
Lights burst, the floor cracked, shadows howled. With all the pain in my heart I shouted his name and said goodbye.
At that moment he smiled and vanished.
The darkness retreated. The monster shrieked and dissolved into smoke. Silence fell.
I collapsed. The circle dimmed. The baby inside me kicked once, then again, and finally rested.
Nine months later I gave birth to a boy. He didnt cry like other infants; he simply looked me in the eyes, quiet and calm, as if he already knew everything. His skin faintly glowed in the dark. And sometimes, when I sing to him at night, I swear I hear a second voice harmonizing with mineTaris voice.
We named our child Tarioluwa, meaning Tari belongs to God, because he was never truly mine.
Before crossing over, he left me one final gift: a piece of himself that no shadow will ever be able to take away.