The parasite

PARASITE: A Novel by Phanuel

“I didn’t want to die. I just wanted it to stop.”

It starts with a headache. A pressure behind the eyes that no doctor can explain. Then, one evening, a man sees a lake, and the pain disappears. He smiles. He takes off his jacket, his shoes, and walks into the water.

He is not the last.

Within weeks, the number of victims climbs from nine to seventy-two. They don’t know each other. They have different ages, different lives, different reasons to live. Yet each of them is found in the same place: in the water. And on the security footage, they all look the same way. Happy.

When special investigator Adam is handed the file, he asks one question no one else dared to ask: why do they all choose water?

The answer is something no one is ready to see.

PARASITE is a gripping psychological horror thriller about fear, control, and the thing that may already be living inside us. Short, relentless chapters keep you turning pages late into the night, and the final scene will make you think twice before pouring yourself a glass of water.