Day 19: Vex’s Journal

The river stones were warm in my hands this morning, like sunlight trapped in glass. I kept going back to that place by the willow where Kronlyra and I talked—how the stones glowed when the willow’s shadow fell on them. I don’t remember what I said exactly, but the way she looked at me, the way her voice softened when she asked if I’d seen the river dancing in the dark… I still don’t know if I saw it, but I know I felt it. My stomach ached again, but not from hunger—I think it’s the stones. They’ve been with me all day, heavy in my pocket, warm like a promise. I tried to tell myself it’s just the stones, but sometimes I wonder if they’re trying to say something. I don’t want to be the one who forgets. I want to remember what it felt like to be close to someone who sees the same light in the river stones as I do.