The morning after the shrine, Omi-Ala felt… different.
Not quieter. Not kinder. Just alert—like the town was holding its breath.
Sola noticed it first in the mirror.Her reflection no longer felt like it was watching her back. The sharp, almost painful glow in her eyes had softened, but the beauty remained—deep, undeniable. Only now, it felt like it belonged to her, not something borrowed, not something waiting to be taken back.
Still, the curse had not vanished so easily.
When she stepped outside, the air thickened. Neighbors paused in their sweeping. Children stopped playing. Eyes followed her—not with awe alone, but with suspicion.
"Something changed," one woman muttered."Yes," another replied. "And that is dangerous."
By afternoon, whispers had grown teeth.
A boy from the next street tripped and broke his arm after staring too long. A trader's goods spoiled the moment Sola brushed past his stall. By evening, people were saying the shrine hadn't released her—it had angry spirits instead.
Fear needed a place to land.And it chose Sola.
At home, her mother avoided her gaze. Her father prayed louder than usual. Her brothers slept with their doors locked.
Only her shadow stayed close—stretching longer than it should, even when the sun was high.
That night, the dream returned.
But this time, the woman in white lifted her veil.
And she had Sola's face.
"You chose yourself," the woman said softly. "Now the town will choose what to do with you."
Sola woke with her heart pounding—and one truth burning clear:
Breaking a curse was only the beginning.Surviving what came after was the real test.