River Padma, Bangladesh.
The river had always been a lifeline for the people of this village. It was a constant, unyielding force — flowing with strength, its currents sweeping through the land like the breath of an ancient deity. But in recent months, something had changed.
No one spoke of it openly, but it had become a source of fear.
---
Shahina Begum, a young journalist from Dhaka, had heard rumors for weeks before she finally decided to investigate. Her uncle, a fisherman who lived on the river's edge, had mentioned strange happenings that no one dared explain. People vanishing in the night. Boats capsized without reason. A growing unease among the villagers.
When she arrived, the quiet was almost suffocating. The usual hum of the river had stilled, as though it, too, was waiting.
---
Her uncle met her at the shore, his face grave. He warned her not to go near the water, but Shahina was determined. She needed the truth, and she knew that it lay beneath the surface.
As she set off in a small boat, the river felt different. The water was murky, almost thick, and the usual gentle lapping of the waves sounded strangely hollow. Her uncle's warnings echoed in her mind, but she steeled herself. She had to find out what was happening.
The boat drifted downstream, the air thickening with tension. Soon, Shahina noticed something odd — dark shapes beneath the water. They weren't fish. They were too large, too deliberate in their movements.
She stopped paddling, her heart in her throat. The shapes were moving closer.
And then she saw it.
A pale, ghostly figure surfaced in the water, its skin a sickly white, the eyes wide open, unblinking. The figure rose slowly from the depths, its long fingers dragging along the boat's edge as it emerged from the river.
Shahina froze, her mouth dry, her body trembling. The figure was tall, impossibly so, its body contorted as though it had been twisted by the pressure of the deep. But its face — its face was the most unsettling part. Its eyes were empty, hollow pits, and its mouth was a gaping hole that seemed to swallow the very air.
"Come closer…" The voice was low, gurgling, as though spoken from beneath the water itself.
Shahina's instincts screamed at her to row back to shore, but her body was frozen in place. The figure's arms reached out toward her, its fingers elongating as if to claim her.
Just when she thought she couldn't bear it any longer, the figure lunged forward, its fingers wrapping around the edge of the boat.
But instead of pulling her under, the creature began to drag the boat toward the depths. The water churned, and the boat bucked like a wild animal.
With all her strength, Shahina tried to pull herself free. Her uncle's warnings, her rational thoughts, all melted into raw fear as she felt the pull of the river's current becoming too strong.
The figure was pulling her into the water, its grip tight on the boat, its other hand reaching for her.
And then, just as quickly as it had started, the creature released her.
Shahina gasped for air, her heart pounding in her chest. She looked around frantically — the figure was gone. The river was calm once more, as if nothing had ever happened.
She paddled back to shore with shaky hands, her heart still racing. The river felt wrong, like it was watching her, waiting for the next time.
---
Shahina never returned to the river.
Her uncle's body was found days later, floating near the shore, his face contorted in horror.
But no one dared to speak of it. The river remained as it always had — silent, watching, and waiting.
And somewhere, beneath its murky depths, the figure still waits.