Mother Village — Chapter 1 Verified

Koffi looked back at Lapazza. From here, it looked peaceful: round huts with thatched roofs, smoke curling from cooking pits, children chasing a lame goat. But he saw what others didn’t. The wells were shrinking. The goats gave sour milk. The babies were born with gray eyes that turned brown after three days—except now, they stayed gray.

And she smiled.

The Ashen Grove lay before him, gray and still. No birds. No wind. Just trees that grew in spirals and a path that seemed to invite him in. mother village chapter 1