Freshwater

“If we were trapped in a body, then we would do bodily things.”

On Ada's birth the gates are left open, and evil spirits - Ọgbanje - flow in. From early on the Ada is many, a mass of brothersisters, children of Ala, the goddess of earth, who shield her and split her to protect her from her own memories. But only when she encounters strong physical trauma, the many crystallise and a personality emerges that learns to take possession of Ada's body. The new self is aggressive yet protective, loves Ada, but also sets out to violently damage her and those she loves.

A spiritual and dark take on split personality disorder, that I liked more than I originally thought I would. I especially loved the ambiguous push-and-pull dynamics of how the spirits simultaneously want to protect and harm Ada, how Ada asks for their help but also wants them gone. Trigger warnings, there are many turbulent and painful images of them going wild within and with her body.