Whispers of the Cursed Wind -| The Ink Well Fiction Prompt #139

The night was still, the town dwellers swallowed their breath in fear and dismay, and the moon cast a shadow across the deserted town. "Who will be next? The people feared the horror that befall them."

The town has been in great danger. There was something in the wind that has been slowly taking the lives of the dwellers. The town, once lively with activities, is now a hidden thing covered by darkness.

The sudden death of Mr. David was a bomb to dwellers. Within a month, seven souls have been lost to the hands of the evil in the wind. No one was ready to find that how to stop this evil lingering in the wind until it captured the soul of a gentle man of peace in the city, Mr.David.

"Who will be our source of joy?" the villagers cried out.

"Mr. David didn't deserve to die. What actually is taking our able men from us?"

"A solution must be sought," Mrs Mia aired out confidently.

"I know how you love investigation but I will advise you to back off from this particular one. Many have lost their lives in quest to find out what is causing this mystery."

Mrs Mia is an investigative journalist known for her determined attitude for daring pursuits. "I feel there is something in the wind," she said to no one in particular.

Driven by the death of Mr. David who was the first man to show her kindness the first day she stepped foot into the town. She was determined to go deeper into the mystery that takes the lives of men in the town.

Her encounter with the town dwellers was strange as they were all absent minded and unwilling to reveal any secret to her.

"Mrs David, I know you love your husband so much, others might refuse to say something but because of the love you have for him, you would want to seek justice for his soul. Would you mind sharing little about what you know about this village?"

"Hmmm, my dear. In as much as I would want to talk, the fear of being killed the next day after divulging this secret to you leaves my mouth locked."

"Okay, I understand. Can you give me any hint that will reveal something, just a hint please. I don't know why everyone is mute on this matter."

"The only thing I would advise you is to stay off that big river in the four corners of town. You may be tempted to...

"Thank you, thank you, you have spoken enough."

"Wait!!!, I'm not done, wait, don't endanger your life by going there!!" She shouted at the top of her voice hoping it would make Mrs Mia change her mind but she was already too far to hear what she was saying.

As she got to the river, the stillness of the river, the eerie silence it carried sent fear to her spine but she was ready. As she moved, scanning her eyes round every corner, she got to a point she felt something hold her leg, it was a strange feeling.

"HA! My leg!" She shouted in pain as she fell .

Sitting on the bare floor, trying to examine the foot. As she stood up a thought of going back crossed her mind but something else got her attention. She sighted a graveyard and moved towards the directions.

Source

"Ha, if these tombstones are already buried, then this town would be empty by now. Why are there so many tombstones here," She asked rhetorically as she moved closer.

Getting closer, she saw that these tombstones carry her name, and those of the town dwellers. She observed more closely and saw Mr David's and already dead dweller's tombstone sealed with red blood signifying termination.

She began visiting the tombstones with blood signs. She saw six tombstones with different inscriptions. The first was "S...." second "rain" third "rain" "rain" "in" "group" "with" "Co..." Immediately she saw that, she brought out her note and jotted down the writings the exact way they were written.

She was certain that those writings meant something. That gave her the zeal to unravel the mystery. The wind, which goes as a messenger at night, sends death notes to the next victim, immediately it delivered the victim sleeps forever but Mia had to do something.

She knew everyone in the village was bound by a curse and the only way to put an end to it was to break the curse but the words must be decoded. She returned and informed the town what she found. At first they refused getting involved but at the same time they understood it's the same thing. Whether they try to break the curse or not, that something in the wind will still kill them one day.

"I saw "S ... Rain, Rain, rain...but I don't understand what that actually means."

An elderly man "that S means Samuel. This happened when Samuel, an alien came to the town and used his magic to seize the rain from falling and compel the dwellers to worship him as god before he would make them see rain again."

"Really?"

"Yes. When Samuel arrived, everyone loved him and treated him like a resident. He had the gift to control the rain and the farmers were great beneficiaries. One day, he ceased the rain from falling and instructed the dwellers to worship him. Everyone refused and asked him to leave the village but he objected. He was ostracized from the town, the five men you saw their names on the tomb with that inscription were the men that accompanied him to the town boundary. Before he was taken away, he said vividly to everyone "you will see rain again but you all will wish Samuel never visited, you shall all chant my name like Psalm." That was the last time we saw them and Samuel."

One young lady who saw what happened in the river shared how the five men were shouting "Samuel, rain! Rain!! Rain!!!. Immediately they shouted that Samuel evaporated like a boiling steam into the big river and that was how he began to torment the town. In unity, the town visited the river, chanted the inscription courageously. Together they broke the curse, freeing the trapped souls.