The Ginnys in Room 14
Everyone who knew Kojo and Sena agreed on one thing—they were kind.
Long before they entered the university, the two friends had earned a reputation for helping strangers. Whether it was assisting an elderly woman carry her groceries, paying the transport fare of someone in need, or sharing their meals with hungry classmates, they never expected anything in return. Their kindness came naturally.
One evening, while they were in Senior High School, they encountered an old man stranded on a lonely road. His clothes were worn, his walking stick was broken, and he looked too weak to continue his journey.
Without hesitation, the boys helped him. They repaired his walking stick, bought him food, and walked him several kilometres to the village where he said he was staying.
Before they left, the old man smiled.
"You have shown kindness when many others walked past me," he said. "Few people help strangers without expecting a reward."
The boys simply smiled. They wanted nothing in return.
The old man closed his eyes for a moment, murmured words they could not understand, and then looked at them with unusual intensity.
"For your kindness," he said quietly, "I will give each of you a companion. They will protect you, provide for you, and never abandon you."
Before either of them could ask what he meant, the old man touched each of them lightly on the forehead.
A sudden wind swept through the trees.
When the boys opened their eyes, the old man was gone.
They searched the road in every direction, but there was no sign of him.
Years passed.
They rarely spoke about that strange encounter, but both believed that the old man's promise had been fulfilled. They claimed that each had received a ginny—a powerful spiritual companion that protected them, warned them of danger, and sometimes acted on their behalf. They insisted that the ginnys had never failed them.
When they entered the university, they were assigned to Room 14 in one of the student hostels.
At first, they kept their secret to themselves.
But secrets have a way of revealing themselves.
Soon, whispers spread across the hostel. Students spoke of strange happenings around Room 14. Some claimed they heard voices when no one was inside. Others said they felt an overwhelming presence whenever they walked past the door. A few even insisted they had seen the two roommates speaking to someone who was invisible.
Most dismissed the stories as hostel gossip.
Until the afternoon a student unknowingly walked into Room 14.
That single mistake would change the lives of everyone connected to the room and turn an ordinary university hostel into the centre of a mystery that would be remembered for years.