WITH IN SHADOWS

Genre: Supernatural horror, mystery, suspense Setting: A remote village in Uganda, surrounded by an ancient forest Main characters: Daniel, his younger sister Grace, their grandmother, and the mysterious figure that lives inside the darkness. Some doors should never be opened. Some names should never be spoken. And some shadows do not belong to the people standing in the light. Chapter One: The Village That Forgot to Sleep The first time Daniel heard his name whispered from beneath his bed, he blamed the wind. He was sixteen years old and had spent most of his life in Kampala, where the nights were filled with the sounds of passing motorcycles, distant music, barking dogs, and neighbours arguing over things that never seemed important in the morning. But Mirembe Village was different. Here, darkness arrived early. The village sat b eyond a long, winding road, surrounded by hills, banana plantations, and a forest so old that nobody could agree on who had planted the first tree. During the day, children played football on dusty fields, women carried baskets to the market, and farmers worked beneath the warm Ugandan sun. At night, however, everything changed. Dogs disappeared from the roads. Chickens fell silent. Even the crickets stopped singing. The villagers called it the sleeping hour.