The Whispers of Secrets

Chapter 2: The Stranger's Arrival

One day, in the midst of the noonday commotion in the village square, as people gathered for the weekly market, a stranger made his way to Eldoria. He was a large man, lanky. He had one of those faces worn smooth with time. He had blue eyes that flashed as he spoke. His garb was that of someone who had been traveling around villages. He approached the congregation and stated his name. Aric, he said. I am an independent historian and word has been reaching me from far away about Eldoria. They tell me of the whispers and that people in the village know certain secrets. Could you tell me about it? He asked.

Elara looked down at Aric when he arrived. While she was happy to see him, she was cautious. ‘Welcome to Eldoria, Aric,’ she said as she extended her claw through the space between them. ‘I’m Elara. Why are you here? I’ve been trying for years to fathom what the Whispers mean.’

Aric nodded seriously.‘Yes, Elara. All the old mysteries I have studied, and only this – the whispers of Eldoria. There is something in this village is it in corridors echoing, ghosts cradling koalas in their arms — listen carefully, gathering all you can hear, there is something.’

In the days that followed, Elara and Aric began to interview the elders of the village about the whispers and its history. Apparently, the whispers had always been there — the villagers remembered the first reports of the sound going back to the earliest days of Eldoria’s establishment. When it first appeared, the villagers shared, there were suggestions of hidden riches and lost loves, and other mysteries that had been half-revealed to them by the whispers.

But the most extraordinary tale came from another old guy, a skinny man I knew only as Doran: ‘There’s a story that this village holds a hidden room that’s full of answers about us, and that entire village rests on its secret,’ he rasped. ‘A long time ago, the mountains’ voice stopped, and everyone inside was killed, including the chanting ones who couldn’t escape, for when the voice stopped it brought true peace.