Shadow... — Mother Village -ch. 1- -ch. 2 V1.0- By

Elara spun. An old woman stood in a doorway, shawl pulled tight. Her face was a map of wrinkles, but her eyes—those eyes were too young. Too clear. They held the same unsettling light as the village’s lone streetlamp, flickering though it was midday.

And behind Elara, from the depths of the well, the singing began again—low, sweet, and endless. Mother Village -Ch. 1- -Ch. 2 v1.0- By SHADOW...

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. Elara spun