The girl's eyes locked onto Asha, like stars focusing on a point. She walked closer, her feet bare on the dewy grass.
"I'm Nuru," she said, voice like the whindi's whisper. "I guard the spring."
Asha felt a jolt – a child guarding something so powerful?
Nuru smiled, like she knew a secret. "The land was dying. The whindi chose me."
Omari frowned. "What do you mean?"
Nuru's eyes clouded. "Shadows crept in. They wanted the spring's power. I held them off."
Asha's heart ached – a child shouldering that weight.
Malkia's voice echoed in the whindi: _"Nuru is the heartbeat of the valley. The shadows seek to silence her."_
Asha knelt by Nuru. "We'll help you. Together."
Nuru's face lit up, like dawn breaking. "Then come – the shadows won't wait."
The group approached the spring, its glow pulsing like a heartbeat. Nuru raised her hands, whindi swirling around her like a cloak.
"The spring's power is tied to mine," she whispered. "But the shadows... they're strong."
Asha felt a surge – she knew what to do. She reached out, and Nuru took her hand. The whindi merged, like two rivers joining.
Light burst from the spring, blinding. Asha saw it – a dark tendril, coiled around the land's roots, draining its life.
Nuru's voice, like a bell: "Let go, Asha. Heal it."
Asha let the whindi flow through her. Light poured into the spring, unraveling the shadow. The land groaned, like a giant waking.
The tendril snapped, vanishing into darkness. The spring's glow intensified – the land was healing.
Nuru hugged Asha, her voice tiny but fierce. "You came."
Malkia's whisper echoed: _"The valley is safe. But the shadows... they'll return."_
Asha nodded – she knew the truth. This was just the start.