Season 1, Episode 6 : The Mirror Of Umudim ( Nnenna ) The Voices from the Shrine

Since the river incident, Nnenna’s nights had become haunted. Even when her eyes were shut, she saw flashes of the girl with white eyes and heard strange chants in her dreams. Sleep became a place of fear.

One night, she awoke suddenly, heart pounding. The marking on her forehead was glowing faintly again. She sat up and saw that her mat was surrounded by white feathers and pieces of charcoal—placed there by someone or... something.

Her grandmother entered silently and looked at the glow. She didn’t seem surprised. “It is time,” she whispered. “You must return to the shrine and listen to what the ancestors want.”

At dawn, they set out. Nnenna carried nothing but a small pouch with alligator pepper and kolanut. The shrine stood still in the forest, its doorway sealed with palm fronds and cowrie shells.

Her grandmother removed the fronds and whispered to the earth. The air around them thickened, like time had paused. “Enter alone,” she said.

Inside, Nnenna found herself surrounded by ancient masks, clay pots, and bones. The air smelled of red earth and incense. At the center of the shrine was a mirror—one she hadn’t noticed before.

She stepped closer, and the mirror flickered. A figure appeared—not the white-eyed girl, but a man. Tall, with dreadlocks and tribal markings. “Nnenna,” he said, “you carry the burden of the unfulfilled oath.”

She trembled. “What oath?”

“The land was cursed when the sacred item was stolen. Blood must return it. You have seven days before the balance breaks.”

Suddenly, the mirror cracked. The sound rang like thunder inside her skull. She fell to her knees, ears bleeding, as the walls of the shrine groaned like they were alive.

Then silence. The image vanished. The mirror turned black. Her grandmother rushed in and pulled her out. “What did you see?” she asked.

Nnenna couldn’t speak. Her tongue felt heavy. The forest behind the shrine had changed—the trees had shifted, forming a new path leading deeper than ever before.

She would follow it. She had no choice.

---

---

To be continued...