THE BOY WHO CAN

By Believe Dagbey Livingstone

Synopsis:

In a world where extraordinary abilities are rare and often feared, a young boy named Ernest discovers he possesses an unparalleled gift—he can do anything he sets his mind to. Whether it’s mastering skills overnight, bending reality with sheer willpower, or even defying the laws of nature, Ernest's abilities make him both a marvel and a target.

As he grows, he learns that his power comes with a price: the more he uses it, the more the world around him begins to unravel. Dark forces, envious rivals, and even those who claim to be allies seek to control or destroy him. Ernest must navigate a treacherous path—learning the limits of his power, the meaning of responsibility, and the true cost of being the boy who can.

 

Chapter 1: The First Miracle

Ernest was just five years old when it happened.

He had been playing in the dusty courtyard of his grandmother’s house in Accra when a ball rolled into the busy street. Without thinking, he ran after it—only to freeze as a speeding truck bore down on him.

Time seemed to slow. Ernest’s heart pounded. He didn’t want to die.

And then—he didn’t.

One moment, he was in the path of the truck. The next, he was standing safely on the sidewalk, the ball clutched in his small hands. No one had seen him move. No one understood what had happened.

But Ernest knew.

He could.

And that was only the beginning.

 

Chapter 2: The Secret

Ernest’s grandmother, Mama Ama, was the first to notice.

She had seen many things in her long life—spirits in the wind, dreams that came true, men who could speak to snakes—but nothing like this.

"Ernest," she whispered one night, pulling him close. "What you can do… it is a blessing and a curse. You must never tell anyone."

"But why?" Ernest asked, confused.

"Because the world is not ready for a boy who can do anything."

And so, Ernest kept his secret.

But secrets, like fire, are hard to contain

Chapter 3: The First Test

Ernest's secret remained hidden for two years—until the day his best friend, Believe, fell from the tallest mango tree in the village.

Believe’s scream pierced the air as he tumbled. Without thinking, Ernest willed him to stop.

And he did.

Believe hovered mid-air for a heartbeat before gently floating down. The other children gasped. Some ran. Others whispered: "Juju!"

That night, Believe swore never to speak of it. But secrets, once loose, never stay buried.

Chapter 4: The Stranger

A week later, a man in a dark suit arrived in the village. He asked questions about "unusual occurrences."

Mama Ama’s grip on Ernest’s shoulder tightened. "That man is not from here," she murmured. "He is from the Society."

Ernest didn’t understand—until he saw the man’s eyes flicker with unnatural light.

Chapter 5: The Escape

The stranger returned with armed men. Mama Ama hid Ernest in a root cellar, whispering, "Run to the river if they find you. Do not look back."

Boots stomped above. Ernest’s heart raced. Then—a hand yanked him into the light.

But it wasn’t the stranger.

It was Believe.

"Go!" Believe shoved him toward the trees. Ernest ran, tears blurring his vision. Behind him, a gunshot rang out.

Chapter 6: The River’s Secret

Exhausted, Ernest collapsed by the river. A voice startled him: "You’re the one they seek."

An old woman with silver scars sat beside him. "The river brought you here for a reason," she said. "It knows what you are."

She pressed a pendant into his hand—a tiny, glowing stone. "This will hide you. But not forever."

Chapter 7: The Hidden City

The pendant led Ernest to a place between worlds—a city of crumbling towers, visible only to those with gifts.

"Welcome to Adinkraland," said a boy with mirrored eyes. "Where the forgotten ones live."

Ernest touched a wall; it hummed under his fingers. This place remembers me, he realized.

Chapter 8: The Society’s Hunt

The stranger from the village appeared at the city’s edge. "Ernest," he called, smiling. "We only want to help you."

The mirrored-eye boy hissed, "They lie. They cage people like us."

Ernest’s pendant grew hot. A choice loomed: trust or flee.

Chapter 9: The First Fight

Ernest ran, but the stranger’s men surrounded him. Desperate, he willed the ground to shake.

It did.

Stones flew like arrows. The men screamed. The stranger’s smile vanished. "You don’t understand what you’re playing with, boy."

Ernest’s nose bled. His vision darkened. Too much power, he realized. Too soon.

Chapter 10: The Price

Ernest woke in a hut, the old woman from the river watching him. "You stirred the storm too fast," she said. "Now the Society will hunt you to the ends of the earth."

She pointed to his pendant—now cracked. "Next time, it won’t save you."

Ernest clenched his fists. What am I?

The woman sighed. "You’re the boy who can. And that’s the problem."

Chapter 11: The Marked Boy

The cracked pendant pulsed like a dying heartbeat. The old woman—Auntie Yaa—warned Ernest: "The Society brands those they hunt. See?" She rolled up her sleeve, revealing a scarred symbol. "You’re marked now, even without their ink."

Ernest touched his chest. A faint glow shimmered under his skin.

Chapter 12: The Mirror-Eyed Guide

The boy from Adinkraland, Ato, became Ernest’s reluctant guide. "They call me Seer," he said, tapping his mirrored eyes. "I see lies. Yours? You’re drowning in truth."

Ernest bristled. "What’s that mean?"

Ato smirked. "Means you’re terrible at hiding."

Chapter 13: The First Lesson

Auntie Yaa taught Ernest to "weave" his power—like threading a needle. "Pull too hard, the fabric tears," she said, as he levitated a rock.

The rock crumbled to dust.

"Exactly," she nodded. "Now you understand limits."

Chapter 14: The Bloodhound

A Society tracker, Dogo, found their hideout—a man who smelled magic. Ato’s eyes flashed. "He’s coming. Run."

Ernest hesitated. "What about Auntie Yaa?"

Ato yanked his arm. "She knew the cost."

Chapter 15: The Sacrifice

Gunfire echoed. Ernest turned back just in time to see Auntie Yaa raise her hands—and the earth swallow Dogo whole.

Her last words: "The river will guide you."

Chapter 16: The Broken Bridge

Fleeing north, Ernest and Ato reached a collapsed bridge over the Volta River. Ernest gritted his teeth. "I can fix it."

Ato grabbed him. "No! You’ll bring the storm again—"

Too late. Ernest’s power surged. The bridge reformed… but the water beneath turned black.

Chapter 17: The Fisherman’s Omen

A weathered fisherman, Nii Okai, pulled them from the poisoned river. "You woke the Nkontim," he accused. "Spirits of vengeance. They’ll hunt you now."

Ernest’s hands shook. What have I done?

Chapter 18: The Bargain

Nii Okai offered a deal: "I’ll hide you if you heal my daughter." The girl’s legs were withered—a curse from the Society years ago.

Ernest touched her knees. Power flowed… but her skin turned to bark. "No!" He recoiled.

Ato hissed: "You can’t undo what you don’t understand."

Chapter 19: The Society’s Vault

Ato revealed the truth: "The Society hoards magic in a vault beneath Cape Coast Castle. They stole it from people like us."

Ernest’s blood boiled. "We take it back."

Chapter 20: The Heist Begins

Disguised as laborers, they infiltrated the Castle. But the vault’s lock was a living shadow—it whispered Ernest’s name.

Ato panicked. "It knows you!"

Chapter 21: The Stolen Power

Inside the vault, floating orbs pulsed with stolen abilities. Ernest reached for one—and a vision struck: A boy, screaming as his eyes were ripped out.

Ato’s voice cracked. "That… was me."

Chapter 22: The Traitor Among Them

As they fled, Believe reappeared—now in a Society uniform. "They promised to fix my sister," he pleaded. "I didn’t know they’d—"

Ernest’s fist connected before he could think.

Chapter 23: The Fall of Adinkraland

The Society razed the hidden city. Ato screamed as his people were dragged away. "This is your fault!" he spat at Ernest.

The pendant shattered completely.

Chapter 24: The Split

Ato vanished into the smoke. Ernest stood alone, clutching the stolen orb. Its power slithered into his veins.

"Now you’re a thief too," whispered the shadow-lock’s voice.

Chapter 25: The New Enemy

The orb’s original owner, Efia, tracked Ernest. Her hands burned with blue fire. "That power isn’t yours," she seethed.

Ernest tried to return it—but the orb fused to his palm.

Chapter 26: The Bargain Revisited

Nii Okai returned, offering a cure: "A witch in Amedzofe can sever the bond. But she’ll demand a price."

Ernest’s stomach churned. What’s worse—the curse or the cost?

Chapter 27: The Mountain of Voices

The witch, Mawu, lived inside a talking mountain. "Ah, the boy who steals," she crooned. "I’ll help… if you bring me the Society’s First Book."

Ernest paled. The one guarded by the Shadow-Lock.

Chapter 28: The Reunion

Ato ambushed them on the trail, gaunt and furious. "You owe me," he growled. "Help me free my people, or I’ll drag you to the Society myself."

Ernest had no choice.

Chapter 29: The Plan

They’d strike during the Festival of Masks, when Society elites gathered. "We free the prisoners, grab the Book, and run," Ato said.

Efia crossed her arms. "And when the shadow-lock kills us?"

Ernest flexed his glowing hand. "Let it try."

Chapter 30: The Storm Breaks

As fireworks lit the sky, Ernest faced the vault again. The shadow-lock grinned. "Welcome home."

This time, Ernest stepped forward—and let it swallow him whole.

Chapter 31: The Shadow’s Embrace

The vault’s darkness swallowed Ernest whole—but instead of pain, he felt awakening.

Voices whispered:

"You are more than they told you."

"You were never just a boy."

When Ernest opened his eyes, the shadow-lock knelt before him.

Chapter 32: The First Book’s Secret

The First Book wasn’t paper and ink—it was alive, bound in human skin and whispering in a dead language.

Mawu the witch hissed, "It speaks of you, Ernest. The ‘Hollow Child’ who drinks the world."

Ernest’s stolen orb pulsed in agreement.

Chapter 33: The Society’s Origin

Ato deciphered the Book’s horrors: centuries ago, the Society’s founders were ordinary men who stole magic from a god. Their first victim? Anansi the Trickster, whose laughter still echoed in the vault’s walls.

"They’re not hunters," Ato realized. "They’re thieves."

Chapter 34: The Hollowing Begins

Ernest’s body rejected the fused orb—veins blackening, skin flaking like old paint. Efia tried to burn the corruption out, but the flames fed it instead.

"You’re becoming like them," she accused. "A thief of power."

Chapter 35: The Rebellion Rises

News spread: Ernest had survived the shadow-lock. Gifts hidden across Ghana stirred.

A one-armed girl who controlled storms arrived first. "They call me Sika," she said. "Let’s burn their castles down."

Chapter 36: The Siege of Elmina

They attacked Elmina Castle at dawn. Ernest shattered the gates with a thought—but the Society was ready.

Their leader, Ohene Nyarko, stepped forward, holding a chain attached to… Auntie Yaa.

"Yield," he said, "or she dies again."

Chapter 37: The Bitter Truth

Auntie Yaa smiled sadly. "Ernest, I was never real. Just a memory they trapped to control you."

Before Ernest could react, she dissolved into smoke.

Nyarko laughed. "All your heroes are ghosts."

Chapter 38: The God’s Whisper

Anansi’s voice slithered into Ernest’s mind:

"Break the Book, child. Break it, and I’ll give you real power."

Ernest hesitated. "What’s the price?"

The god’s chuckle rattled his bones.

Chapter 39: The Fracture

Ernest tore the First Book in half.

The world screamed.

Anansi’s laughter filled the sky as every Society member clutched their heads—their stolen powers ripped away.

Chapter 40: The Cost

Ernest collapsed, his body turning to stone from the feet up. Ato screamed, "You fool! Anansi tricked you!"

The last thing Ernest saw before petrifying: Efia’s tears hitting his stone hands.

Chapter 41: The Stone Dream

Trapped in darkness, Ernest spoke to the shadow-lock—now free.

"You’re not my prison," it said. "You’re my home. The Society made me to hold power… but you are power."

Ernest understood too late: He was the vault all along.

Chapter 42: The Witch’s Gambit

Mawu bargained with Anansi: "Free the boy, or I’ll bury your stories in salt."

The Trickster sighed. "Fine. But he won’t like what wakes up with him."

Chapter 43: The Second Awakening

Ernest burst from his stone shell—changed.

His shadow moved on its own.

The stolen orb was gone.

And his voice… wasn’t just his anymore.

Chapter 44: The New War

The freed gifts turned on each other. Sika’s storms clashed with a boy who could grow thorns from his flesh.

"We’re becoming what we hated," Ato realized.

Chapter 45: The Society’s Last Weapon

Nyarko unleashed the Silent Ones—children whose gifts were silenced into obedience. They moved as one, their hollow eyes fixed on Ernest.

Chapter 46: The Hollow King

Ernest’s shadow stretched, swallowing the Silent Ones whole. Their powers flooded into him—and he remembered their names.

"They’re not weapons," he roared. "They’re children!"

Chapter 47: The Choice

Anansi appeared, grinning. "Now you see. You can rule this chaos… or end it."

Ernest looked at his hands—one human, one shadow.

"I’ll break the cycle."

Chapter 48: The Unmaking

Ernest tore the shadow from his body and threw it into the sky. It exploded into a thousand shards, raining down as…

Stories.

Every stolen power returned to its rightful owner.

Chapter 49: The Aftermath

Ghana was forever changed. Some gifts faded; others flourished. The Society collapsed, but its poison lingered in whispers.

And Ernest?

He was ordinary now.

(Or so he let them think.)

Chapter 50: The Boy Who Still Can

In a quiet village, a girl lifted a rock with her mind for the first time. Ernest, now a wandering teacher, smiled.

"Like this," he said, guiding her hands—his own faintly glowing.

Some gifts never truly leave.

The end