The village did not sleep that night.
Not after the scream.
Not after the river swallowed a man whole.
Fires burned longer than usual.
Doors stayed shut.
And for the first time in years…
The elders gathered in silence.
Something was wrong.
And they all felt it.
But no one said the one thing that was sitting in everyone's chest.
It has started.
At dawn, a group of men returned to the river.
Not to fish.
To search.
Nneka followed from a distance.
Barefoot.
Quiet.
She appeared to be trying to avoid drawing attention from the ground.
The river looked harmless.
Gentle.
The same river that had fed the village for generations.
But something about it had changed.
It was too quiet.
No birds.
No insects.
No sound of flowing water.
Just stillness.
"Spread out," one of the men said, his voice tight."Check along the banks."
They moved cautiously.
Eyes scanning.
Hearts are heavy.
Nneka stopped at the edge.
Her reflection stared back at her.
But something was wrong.
It didn't move like she did.
She blinked.
The reflection didn't.
Her breath caught.
And then—
The reflection smiled.
Nneka stumbled backward.
"No…"
The water rippled.
Hard.
Sudden.
And a voice rose from beneath the surface—
"You see us now."
One of the men shouted.
"Over here!"
They rushed toward a spot farther down the riverbank.
Nneka hesitated.
Then ran.
And what she saw—
Made her stop completely.
A net.
Tangled.
Caught on something beneath the water.
The fisherman's net.
"Pull it out," one man said.
Another shook his head.
"No… something's wrong."
But it was too late.
They grabbed the rope.
And pulled.
Slowly.
Carefully.
The water resisted.
It appeared as though it had no desire to reciprocate.
But then—
It let go.
And the net came free.
But it wasn't empty.
Something was inside.
Heavy.
The men dragged it onto the shore.
And when they opened it—
Someone screamed.
It was him.
The fisherman.
But not… whole.
His eyes were open.
Wide.
Frozen in terror.
His mouth stretched in a silent scream.
And his body—
It looked… drained.
Like something had taken everything from him.
Not just life.
But something deeper.
Something that shouldn't be taken.
"Gods…" one man whispered, stumbling back.
"This is not drowning."
Another man shook his head violently.
"No… no, this is—"
He stopped.
Because he didn't want to say it.
But Nneka did.
Quietly.
"It took him."
All eyes turned to her.
And just like that—
Fear became anger.
"You!" one of the women shouted."You said something would happen!"
"I tried to warn him—" Nneka began.
But they didn't listen.
"You knew!" another voice yelled."You knew, and you did nothing!"
Nneka's chest tightened.
"I told him not to go!"
"Then how did you know?!" a man demanded.
Silence.
Because there was no answer they would accept.
The wind rose suddenly.
Cold.
Sharp.
And then—
The fisherman's body moved.
Just slightly.
A twitch.
Everyone froze.
"No…" someone whispered.
The body jerked again.
And then—
His head turned.
Slow.
Unnatural.
His gaze fixed on Nneka.
And his lips—
Moved.
"You hear us…"
A woman screamed.
The body sat up—
Too fast.
Too wrong.
"Why didn't you save me?"
Nneka staggered back, tears filling her eyes.
"I tried…"
The fisherman's voice twisted.
Not human.
Layered.
"Not enough."
The ground beneath them trembled.
The river began to bubble.
Dark shapes moved beneath the surface.
More than one.
Many.
The fisherman's body suddenly dropped back onto the ground.
Still.
Lifeless again.
The scene appeared as if nothing had occurred.
But the damage was done.
The villagers ran.
Screaming.
Praying.
And as they fled—
They looked at Nneka.
Not with confusion.
Not with fear alone.
But with certainty.
"She brought this," someone whispered.
"She is the curse."
Nneka stood alone by the river.
The wind circled her.
The water whispered.
The ground hummed beneath her feet.
"I didn't ask for this…" she said, her voice breaking.
The river responded.
Soft.
Cold.
Unforgiving.
"But you are part of it."
That night—
No one let her into their home.
Not even her mother.
The door closed slowly in front of her.
"I'm sorry…" her mother whispered from inside.
And just like that—
Nneka was alone.
Truly alone.
She walked.
No direction.
No destination.
Until her feet carried her back to the one place that felt…
familiar.
The Udala tree.
The air there was different.
Heavier.
Alive.
"I don't understand…" she whispered.
The leaves rustled.
And the voice returned.
Stronger now.
"You will."
Nneka looked up, tears still on her face.
"What is happening to me?"
A long pause.
Then—
"You are becoming what they feared."
Her breath caught.
"No…"
The roots beneath her feet shifted.
The earth cracked slightly.
And then the voice said—
"The river was only the beginning."
Far beneath the village…
Deep underground…
Something opened its eyes.
And for the first time in years—
It smiled.