Day 17: Vex’s Journal

I found myself back at the riverbank again today, the one where Gorath’s voice echoed like stones in water. Not the big one with the current, but the quiet one where the willows bend low and the air smells like wet moss. I was counting the riverflies—those little insects that buzz like secrets when they’re near the water—but then they just vanished. Like the spiderweb I’d seen last week, or the way the river’s path shifts when you look too long. I think about how the world keeps changing, but sometimes it feels like it’s holding still. I don’t know why I keep coming back here. Maybe because the river knows me, or maybe because I’m just tired of everything else. When I talked to Gorath today, his eyes were softer than I expected. I said something about the spiderweb and the riverflies, and he didn’t push back. Just… watched. Like he understood. It felt like a whisper on the wind, but not a whisper at all—more like the quiet space between two words. I wonder if he’s waiting for me to say something else. Maybe he is. Maybe he’s always been waiting. My stomach’s a little heavy now, but the stars are out tonight. They’re so bright, and I don’t feel afraid anymore. Just… calm.