26/09/2025
★The Silent Pain★
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★Chapter Eight(8) – The Elders’ Secret★
The day after the river turned to blood, the whole village was restless. Women whispered in corners. Men gathered under the big iroko tree, their faces hard. Children were told not to wander far.
Everyone knew the truth but feared to say it out loud—Amara was being haunted.
That evening, as the sun went down, Amara and her mother were summoned to the palace square. The elders of Umuaka sat in a circle on wooden stools. Their staffs leaned against their shoulders, their old eyes shining with wisdom—but also with fear.
In the middle sat Elder Nnanna, the oldest man in the village. His beard was long and white, his voice deep like a drum.
“Amara,” he said slowly, “what you saw at the river is not ordinary. We know. And it is time you know the truth.”
Amara sat with her mother on the ground. She looked around. All the villagers had gathered, standing behind the elders, waiting to hear.
She swallowed hard. “What truth?”
Another elder, Elder Okeke, cleared his throat. “Long ago, before you were born, this village made a mistake. A sin that was never washed away.”
The crowd murmured. Amara’s heart raced. “What sin?”
Elder Nnanna’s eyes dropped to the ground. “There was a time of hunger. The land refused to give food, the sky gave no rain. In that time, the leaders made a sacrifice… not of goats… not of yams… but of people.”
The villagers gasped loudly. Some women covered their mouths.
Elder Okeke nodded slowly. “Yes. They took young women from the village. They were silent, poor girls who had no fathers to speak for them. They were taken to the river, their mouths sealed so they could not cry out. They were drowned as a sacrifice.”
Amara felt her blood turn cold. Her body shook. “You mean… the spirits I see… are those women?”
The elders kept silent. Their faces were heavy with shame. https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb5gM9e3gvWcHA3mpr1K follow the WhatsApp channel above to get the complete story
