I Found the Leather Pouch Under His Pillow. That Was When I Understood Why I Could Not Leave.

I was 26, living in Ibadan at the time, and I had been with Kunle for two years. He was 44, married with four children, but I could not stay away from him. Every time I tried to end it, I would wake up the next morning with a desperate need to see him. It felt like withdrawal, like my body was craving something my mind rejected.

One afternoon, he asked me to bring something from his room. I found a small leather pouch under his pillow , the kind babalawo tie with thread. Something told me to open it. Inside was a dried root, some cowries, and a folded paper with my name written in red ink. My hands were shaking, but I was not surprised. I had been feeling the pull for months, ignoring the way my head would spin whenever he touched me.

I took the pouch to a woman in Oje who deals with these things. She said it was a binding charm, meant to keep me attached even when my mind told me to run. She asked if I wanted it broken. I said yes, but omo, the week after was hell. I cried every night, I called him twenty times, I almost went back. But I stayed away. After three weeks, the fog lifted. I saw him clearly for the first time in years: a manipulative man who used spiritual control because he knew he could not keep me any other way.

I never confronted him. I just disappeared. And the lesson I carry now is this: if your body says stay but your spirit says run, check the pillow. Some chains are not visible. But they are still chains.