The Talking River

The first time Ella heard her name whispered in the wind she thought it was her imagination. The second time, she froze mid-step, her grip tightening around the basket in her hands. By the third time, she knew. It was calling her.

She should have turned back. Gone home, but she never did not since sheila died.

Her sister's name, Helen, was never spoken of in their home since that incident. The villagers barely whispered it. But Ella couldn't forget, wouldn’t.
Because the river had swallowed her only sister and sibling whole and her body was never found.

Her mother had forbidden her from ever going near the river. “You will not call to life what is meant to stay asleep” she warned, gripping Ella’s chin with her rough hands. “And you will ver look back”.

But Ella returned to the river anyway.
The river never lied. It carried secrets, yes, drowned them, softened their edges, made them bearable but it never lied.

This was why Ella stood at its edges now, toes curling into the cold, damp earth, heart pounding. The village was Silent behind her, its people fast asleep, but she knew the truth. Someone was missing and no one did anything about it.

She had felt it before the whispers began. Before the old women at the market clutched their wrappers tighter and muttered about things best left undisturbed. Before Papa’s hands trembled when he reached for his cup at dinner. Before mama suddenly refused to speak of Helen and usually cried in secret.

Everynight Ella would sit at the edge of the river, listening to its whispers. Searching, hoping. Was Helen here? Has she really gone?

That night, the air was different, heavier and a bit eerie. The river was restless, its surface rippling even without wind. And then…..

“Ellaa……….”

“Ellaa……….”

“Ellaa……….”

Her eyes snapped open. It wasn't her imagination. The river rippled violently. A shape rose from its depths, not entirely solid, not entirely mist. A shadow made of water, a presence just beyond the realm of the living. And yet, it knew her.

“You shouldn't have come, it echoed”

The eerie voice sent shivers through her spine.

Ella took a step back. Who are you? she asked.

The figure titled its head. The river never lied. And now, neither did it.

“You know me Elly”

Her chest tightened. No one had called her that since……..

Upon realisation, she turned sharply, scanning the empty, dark and lonely footpath ahead of her. She ran towards it, trying to get home.

Asides the restless swaying of trees, the distant murmur of the river, and the suffocating weight of a night too still, there was nothing else to scare Ella. so she stopped running and started walking home, like every other night.

Ella…….., elly……., whispers of her name carried by the wind, came once again.

Don't look back, her mother’s warning echoed in her head. When the night speaks, you don't answer. When it calls your name, you don't look back.

But Ella had never been one to obey without question.

She turned around angrily, what do you want!!!!! she screamed.

And there, standing in the moonlight, barefoot on the dirty path, was herself.

No, Ella exclaimed.

Not herself, not quite. The girl had Ella's face, eyes and Ella’s braided hair. Except the eyes were wrong. Hollow. Deep. Holding a thousand voices that had no mouths. At a point Ella could see a faint image of her sister in those eyes, like she was swallowed up.

“You weren’t supposed to come to the river, you weren’t supposed to turn around," the girl said, smiling.

Her smile grew into laughter, haha haha, ha, ha, haha, ha…….

And then, the world cracked.

A force stronger than the wind pulled at Ella, dragging her downward. The ground beneath her feet was no longer solid. Cold hands clawed at her ankles. A deep, endless dark swallowed the trees, the path, the sky.

Everything turned dark but Ella couldn’t scream for help or move, she was helpless. As she watched herself disappear into the void, she remembered her mothers warning but it was too late.

But then again, she heard her name, Ella, Ella, get up. It was her mothers voice. She opened her eyes, she was home, in her room and it was all in her sleep, everything that happened.

Sweat drenched clothes, gasping for air, her heart pounding violently, it felt as though it would break free from her ribs.

A dream, It was just a dream.
And yet, when she sat up, she felt it, the dampness around her ankles, the lingering feeling like someone actually gripped them, the cold air curling at her ear, the lingering whisper in the wind.

What's wrong her mother asked, you were screaming and struggling in your sleep. Ella looked at her in disbelief, she couldn’t make a sound or move in that dream, how was that possible?

Ella hesitated. Then in a trembling voice, she whispered, still out of breath:

I promise, I won't go to the river again.

Her mother sighed, and urged her to go back to sleep.

Laying her head on the bed, her eyes wide open, Ella looked outside the window, the night was young and still. But in the distance, the river whispered.

Ella swore she heard it laugh.