Elbibâs life began with a mysteryâa baby left on a doorstep with a note reading, âHis name is Elbib. Take care of him. Fate is watching.â Raised in the quiet embrace of a mountain village, his world is shaped by love, loss, and the unshakable feeling that he is destined for something greater.
When tragedy forces him to leave home, Elbib ventures into a harsh and bustling world where survival is a daily struggle. Itâs here he meets Monica, a sharp-witted and enigmatic woman who becomes both his anchor and his greatest puzzle.
As their bond deepens, Elbib discovers an extraordinary gift: the power to heal and change lives with a touch. But every miracle has its price, and the ripples of his choices begin to disrupt the delicate balance of past, present, and future.
As secrets unravel and Monicaâs true role in his life comes to light, Elbib must face the ultimate questionâare we ever truly in control, or is Fate always watching?
Elbib: Fate is Watching is a sweeping tale of love, resilience, and the cosmic forces that shape our lives. With twists youâll never see coming, itâs a story that lingers long after the final page.
Elbibâs life began with a mysteryâa baby left on a doorstep with a note reading, âHis name is Elbib. Take care of him. Fate is watching.â Raised in the quiet embrace of a mountain village, his world is shaped by love, loss, and the unshakable feeling that he is destined for something greater.
When tragedy forces him to leave home, Elbib ventures into a harsh and bustling world where survival is a daily struggle. Itâs here he meets Monica, a sharp-witted and enigmatic woman who becomes both his anchor and his greatest puzzle.
As their bond deepens, Elbib discovers an extraordinary gift: the power to heal and change lives with a touch. But every miracle has its price, and the ripples of his choices begin to disrupt the delicate balance of past, present, and future.
As secrets unravel and Monicaâs true role in his life comes to light, Elbib must face the ultimate questionâare we ever truly in control, or is Fate always watching?
Elbib: Fate is Watching is a sweeping tale of love, resilience, and the cosmic forces that shape our lives. With twists youâll never see coming, itâs a story that lingers long after the final page.
Chapter 1: The Baby at the Doorstep
The air in the mountain village was still that nightâtoo still. It wasnât the kind of peaceful quiet that lulled one to sleep but a silence that carried weight, as if the universe itself were holding its breath. The moon hung low in the sky, its silver glow draping over rooftops and cobblestone streets like a forgotten blanket.
Isabel stirred in her sleep, muttering softly. Next to her, Arturo snored a deep, rhythmic sound that had comforted her through countless long nights. She turned over, pulling the threadbare blanket tighter around her shoulders, hoping for rest.
Then it came.
A knockâsoft, almost hesitant, but firm enough to cut through the nightâs unnatural stillness.
Isabelâs eyes shot open. Her heart skipped. She sat up, holding her breath, listening.
Itâs just the wind, she told herself. Just the wind.
Then it came again. Knock-knock-knock.
âArturo,â Isabel whispered, shaking her husbandâs shoulder. âArturo, wake up.â
Arturo groaned, his eyes bleary as he blinked at her in the dark. âWhat? What is it?â
âSomeoneâs knocking,â Isabel whispered urgently, her voice trembling.
Arturo sat up, rubbing his face with rough hands. The knock came a third time, louder now, insistent. His brow furrowed. âAt this hour?â
âI donât know,â Isabel murmured. âItâs strangeâŚâ
Arturo sighed, groaning as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached for his boots. âStay here,â he muttered, grabbing the old oil lamp and striking it to life. The warm, flickering glow cast long shadows across the small room.
âBe careful,â Isabel whispered, clutching the blanket to her chest.
Arturo grunted in response, shuffled to the door, and unlatched it. The heavy wood creaked as it swung open.
At first, he saw nothing. Just the empty street bathed in silver moonlight. A cold wind rolled past him, biting at his face and carrying the faint scent of damp earth and pine. Arturo frowned, holding the lamp higher. âWhoâs there?â
The wind howled softly in response. He was about to close the door when a glint of white caught his eye, something at his feet.
His heart stopped.
There, swaddled in rough linen and tucked neatly against the doorframe, lay a baby. A baby with dark, curling hair and a face as still and peaceful as the moonlit night.
Arturo stood frozen; his mind was unable to comprehend what he was seeing. Slowly, his hands trembling, he crouched down and lifted the lamp closer. The baby didnât stir, though its tiny chest rose and fell in gentle rhythm.
âIsabel!â Arturoâs voice cracked, loud and urgent. âIsabel, come here!â
From the other room, Isabelâs footsteps thundered across the wooden floor. She appeared in the doorway, the light from Arturoâs lamp casting her face half-shadow. âArturo, what is it? Whatââ
Her words faltered when she saw the bundle in Arturoâs arms. âDear God,â she whispered, her hands flying to her mouth.
âSomeone left him here,â Arturo said, his voice low and strained. âAt our door.â
Isabelâs wide eyes darted from the baby to Arturo, to the empty street beyond. âBut⌠who? And why?â
Arturoâs gaze landed on something tucked into the folds of the babyâs blanket. A scrap of paper. He plucked it free, holding it close to the lamp. The ink was uneven, the handwriting jagged, as though written in haste.
âHis name is Elbib. Take care of him. Fate is watching.â
Silence hung heavily in the air. Isabel stared at the note, then at Arturo, then back to the baby. âElbib?â she whispered, testing the name on her tongue. It felt strange and heavy, as though it carried more meaning than it should.
Arturo swallowed hard, glancing up at the empty road one last time. He could feel something in the air, something unseen but present, watching them from the shadows. It sent a chill down his spine. âWhoever left him is long gone.â
Isabel stepped forward, reaching out with trembling hands. Arturo gently placed the baby in her arms. The moment his tiny weight settled against her, something inside her shifted. The fear melted, replaced by an overwhelming warmthâa tug at her heart, gentle yet unrelenting.
She looked down at the babyâs face. His eyelids fluttered, and for a brief moment, his dark, curious eyes opened and met hers. Isabel gasped softly. There was something unnatural about themâsomething knowing. A spark of recognition flickered there, as though this child, this Elbib, understood far more than an infant ever could.
Isabel tore her gaze away, her pulse quickening. She turned to Arturo, clutching Elbib closer. âWhat do we do?â
Arturo let out a heavy breath, rubbing the back of his neck. âWhat choice do we have?â He looked at the baby, then his eyes softened. âWeâll take care of him. The note said so.â
âAnd⌠Fate?â Isabel asked cautiously. âWhat does it meanâFate is watching?â
Arturo glanced out into the night one last time, the wind brushing past as though it carried secrets it refused to share. âI donât know,â he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. âBut whatever it means, weâll figure it out.â
The oil lamp flickered as Arturo closed the door, locking out the night.
Inside the small house, Isabel cradled Elbib, rocking him gently. The baby slept soundly now, his tiny hands curled into fists. But even in sleep, his presence filled the room like a quiet humâsomething Isabel and Arturo couldnât name, but felt deep in their bones.
Outside, in the shadows beyond the village, a figure stood. Her skin pale as moonlight, her wide eyes gleaming gold in the dark. She watched the house, unblinking.
The wind stirred around her, and then, as suddenly as she had come, she vanished, leaving nothing behind but the faint whisper of the wind and the silent promise of a story just beginning.
There was a lot to love about this story, but there were a few things that irrked me and almost made me abandon the book at mid-point.
ELBIB is an orphan, left on the doorstep of his guardians who raise him to adulthood. Whilst growing up in a small village, his community used to tease him and wonder why he was always so dreamy and looking to escape the tranquility of home. Unable to explain it, ELBIB feels a pull to do more with life but is unable to see clearly what his future should look like. When his family circumstances change, he decides to take a leap of faith and head for the big city. It is here that with the help of someone instrumental to his future that ELBIB starts to see the future with more clarity. With a higher destiny, what is ELBIB purpose, and how will he realize this?
I found it strange that the narrator would always refer to ELBIBâs father figure by his name, whilst the maternal figure was always called, âhis adultâ. Having taken him in as a baby in arms, it would have been more realistic to call them mum and dad or something more endearing than their names. I also tired of the overuse of a nickname a particular character had for him. Considering they do not appear until halfway through the book, there was really no need to use the nickname forty-two times!!! I wouldnât even mind, but the nickname was not even an accurate portrayal of the character and made little sense until much further down the line.
I enjoyed the plot which involved fantasy elements, loss, yearning, and various types of love, some of which transition from one type to another. There was an air of predictability to the story, but it kept an even pace throughout and was written well for a late teen+ audience. There is mild profanity, hence not suggesting it for a younger crowd.
When I started the book, I was half expecting it to be part of a series so I was quite pleased to find that the novel worked well as a standalone, although I can also see the potential to develop these characters further. I would be interested to know what comes next for ELBIB in a story that takes us maybe 10 years into the future. I was satisfied that the book answered most wormholes in the plot, although I am curious and would have liked to have known how the characters avoided deportation.
Overall, I would give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. It wasnât wow, and as explained, there were a few little niggles that almost put me off. However, there was a steady plot, told at a steady pace, the editing was carried out well and I liked the fact that it was kind of giving Harry Potter meets the Dursleys versus Aladdin vibes. That said, I also think the book is better for a younger demographic than what I fall into. Garrido did well to work with such a small cast of characters that were styled in a way to keep our interest.