The first sign was the river running backward for seven seconds. Then the abbey’s fallen stones stood upright overnight, just for an hour. Then the drain began to sing—a low, wet note that pulled at people’s teeth and made their dreams smell like wet loam.
Sometimes, if the wind is right, they hear the roots humming. Not angry. Patient.
When the council announced the "Derooting Project"—a multimillion-pound scheme to tear out the old drain network and replace it with concrete pipe—Mara knew what would happen. You don’t deroot a thing that’s holding the ground together. You just make it angry.
Above ground, the Derooting Project’s machinery stalled. Engines filled with silt. Blueprints turned to pulp. The council, bewildered, abandoned the plan and built a walking path over the drain instead. Children now lean over the railings, listening.