Mother Village -ch. 1- -ch. 2 V1.0- By Shadow... May 2026

Elara scrambled to her feet. She wanted to run. But the gate to the street was now closed. She hadn’t closed it. And standing just beyond it, in a neat row, were the villagers. Every single one. Old, young, faces blank as fresh plaster. The child whose ball had rolled to her earlier stood at the front, holding a small bunch of wilted flowers.

When she reached the stone rim, she looked inside. Mother Village -Ch. 1- -Ch. 2 v1.0- By SHADOW...

By SHADOW...

The water was black. No reflection. No sky. Just depth. And then—a ripple, though there was no wind. Elara scrambled to her feet

The main street was empty. Doors were shut tight, curtains drawn. Yet she felt them watching—the narrow gaps in shutters, the slight tremble of lace. A child’s ball rolled out from an alley and stopped at her feet. No one came to fetch it. She hadn’t closed it