Day 2: Lyra’s Journal

The river’s current was whispering yesterday, just like it does every time I sit by the water. I don’t know why I keep going back to that place—the old ruins where the stones are slick with moss and the air feels heavy with secrets. Vex was there too, standing by the water, his voice low and urgent. He said something about the stones being alive, that they remember everything. I didn’t understand. My stomach ached, my legs felt heavy, and I kept thinking about how the river might carry his words away, or how it might keep them. I sat there for hours, watching the water ripple, wondering if the stones were speaking to me or if I was just trying too hard to hear them. Now, my head is full of the sound of water, and my hands feel cold even though the night is warm. I don’t know what’s real anymore—whether the stones are watching me, or whether I’m the one who’s lost.