The first time Baba Akutu stepped into Zima Town, people pretended not to notice him. But they noticed. They noticed the way his cloth looked tired, like it had traveled longer than he had. They noticed the cracks on his heels, the slow shuffle of his feet, and the way he carried a wooden staff that seemed older than the road itself.
They noticed everything.
And then they decided what he was worth.
Nothing.
Except to one person.
Her name was Soma.
And even she did not know that the small kindness she showed that old man would be noticed and reported to her stepmother, the chief punisher. Zima Town was not the kind of place where secrets stayed hidden for long.
It was a restless neighborhood on the edge of Lumora City, where houses leaned into each other like gossiping neighbors, and every decision, every mistake, every whispered plan became public property before sunset. Soma had lived there for seven years, ever since her father passed unexpectedly and her stepmother, Felicia, took full control of the household.
Control.
