Chapter One

Keteke – The Next Gen

Standing on an old concrete drain like a general inspecting his army, Keteke folded his arms across his chest.

Before him stood six boys of the prestigious Royal Creek Estate.

The estate children called themselves The TUTUS—named after the shrill whistle of the old trains that once crossed the nearby valley.

Keteke had named them.

They had followed ever since.

Although every one of them came from wealthy families, they looked at the shaggy newcomer with admiration. Three months ago, he had arrived to live with his Aunt Gyamfua—pronounced Jem-fu-wa—the estate's caretaker. Since then, he had somehow become their leader.

He wasn't the tallest.

He wasn't the strongest.

But he always spoke as though the world had personally trained him.

Today, he wore black rubber boots reaching his knees, a faded straw hat bought from an old farmer, and a belt carrying ten neatly wrapped hooks and fishing lines.

He slowly removed a glass jar from his backpack and held it high.

"Gentlemen," he announced dramatically, "catching fish is not merely a hobby."

He paused.

"It is an ancient art passed down through decades of family experience."

The boys stared in silence.

Inside the jar, dozens of earthworms wriggled helplessly.

"This..." Keteke declared proudly, "...is premium fish bait scientifically known as Lumbricus terrestris."

The boys blinked.

Carl whispered,

"What did he just say?"

"I think he spoke university," another muttered.

Keteke heard them and smiled.

"Does anyone here wish to challenge my intelligence?"

Not a single hand went up.

Satisfied, he opened his backpack and carefully laid several hook-and-line sets on the ground.

"I bought these tools for a fortune," he said. "Today, each of you has the opportunity to own one."

A skinny boy with a permanently blocked nose shuffled nervously.

His name was Tuktuk.

Whenever he spoke, it sounded as though he had a cold.

He slowly raised one finger.

"Tutu One requests permission to speak, sir."

Keteke nodded like a military commander.

"Permission granted."

Tuktuk cleared his throat.

"My father gave my sister and me twenty cedis each."

"So?"

"I wanted to buy a chocolate bar."

Several boys nodded in agreement.

Tuktuk continued,

"My father already owns a proper fishing rod. Why should I spend twenty cedis on a stupid hook and line?"

The group immediately erupted into murmurs.

"He's right."

"My dad has two fishing rods."

"My uncle catches tilapia every weekend."

Keteke felt the ground slipping beneath him.

One question.

That was all it had taken.

He wasn't selling fishing gear because he loved fishing.

He desperately needed the money.

Unlike the others, Keteke owned almost nothing.

Every afternoon after school, while the rich children climbed into waiting SUVs and school buses, Keteke walked home alone.

He often stayed behind in the school library until sunset, finishing his homework before returning to Aunt Gyamfua's tiny caretaker's quarters. Home was noisy, crowded, and full of distractions.

Books were the only place where nobody interrupted him.

He was poor.

But he had learned something priceless.

People could be controlled long before they realised they were being controlled.

Keteke took a slow breath.

Never panic.

Smooth heads win.

He shrugged carelessly.

"If you're soft," he said, "go home."

He pointed towards the estate.

"Go to your mums."

"Eat chocolate."

"Grow fat like Mrs Aza's cat."

The boys burst into laughter.

"But the rest of us..."

He picked up a hook dramatically.

"...will become men."

Silence.

Then he turned to Carl.

"Carl."

Carl froze.

"When you were 'sick' last week..."

The boys grinned.

"...who secretly did your maths homework while you were actually at Tuktuk's house playing video games?"

Carl looked at the ground.

Keteke slowly faced Tuktuk.

"Oh..."

A mischievous smile spread across his face.

"Tuktuk has a girl."

The boys gasped.

"No!"

"He does!"

"Tuktuk likes girls!"

"Tuktuk likes Smelly Fingers!"

Poor Tuktuk's face turned bright red.

"I don't!"

"You do."

"I don't!"

"You do."

Keteke raised both hands.

"My fellow TUTUS..."

The boys immediately became quiet.

"If Tuktuk cannot even spend twenty cedis to become a fisherman..."

He leaned closer.

"...how will he ever spend money on his guuuurrlll?"

The teasing exploded.

"Guuurrlll!"

"Guuurrlll!"

"Tuktuk is in love!"

Laughing turned into chanting.

Tuktuk's eyes watered.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a folded twenty-cedi note, and slapped it into Keteke's waiting hand

"There."

Keteke examined it against the sunlight before smiling.

"Excellent decision."

One by one, the others surrendered their money.

Soon every hook and line had been sold.

Keteke carefully tucked the notes into his pocket.

Mission accomplished.

"Tomorrow," he announced proudly, "we leave before sunrise."

Carl asked,

"Where are we going?"

Keteke smiled.

"To a valley hidden behind the old creek."

"My grandfather once told me fish there grow as long as your arm."

The boys stared in amazement.

None of them noticed the old woman sweeping outside her compound stop what she was doing.

She looked towards the distant valley.

Her smile disappeared.

Quietly, almost to herself, she whispered,

"Children should never go near Spirit Creek."

Far beyond the estate walls, where the valley disappeared into thick forest, something unseen stirred.

Something had been waiting.

And tomorrow...

someone would finally come looking.