Echoes in the Dark
In a secluded village, long forgotten by the world, where the hills met the dense woods, an ancient legend thrived. It spoke of voices carried by the shadows—whispers that floated through the air, revealing their secrets only to those willing to listen. Some believed they were the wind’s lament; others thought they were echoes of spirits long departed. But to Ella, they had always been something more real. She grew up in the village, where cobblestone streets wound around stone houses that seemed as old as the earth itself. Her grandmother, full of stories and superstitions, would often warn her, "Beware the shadows, child, for they hold desires too deep to understand." As the fire crackled in the hearth, her grandmother’s words seemed to wrap around her like the shadows themselves.