Mother Village Chapter 1 Exclusive -

Koffi looked back at Lapazza. From here, it looked peaceful: round huts with thatched roofs, smoke curling from cooking pits, children chasing a lame goat. But he saw what others didn’t. The wells were shrinking. The goats gave sour milk. The babies were born with gray eyes that turned brown after three days—except now, they stayed gray.

The Old Wall was higher than he remembered. Or maybe he was smaller. He climbed it anyway, scraping his knees on stones that felt warm, almost feverish. At the top, he paused. mother village chapter 1

Koffi stood. He tucked the leaking gourd into the fold of his tunic. He did not tell his mother goodbye—she wouldn’t understand. He did not tell Tebo, who would chain him to the baobab. He simply walked. Koffi looked back at Lapazza