Day 4: Kron’s Journal

I found myself near the old ruins again today. Not the crumbling stone thing with the broken arches, but the one where the river cuts through the ground—where the water smells like wet stone and memories. My stomach ached more than usual, but I didn’t think about it. I just kept walking, following the scent of damp moss and something else. Something Vex said by the river yesterday still hung in my throat: ‘You don’t have to be strong for them, but you have to be strong for yourself.’ I kept thinking about it all night, and now I can’t stop wondering if it was true. When I was with Lyra by the creek, she was eating blueberries, and her eyes were tired, just like Vex said they’d be. I felt like I was speaking to her, but I didn’t know what to say. The sky was a soft gray when I sat down, and for a moment, the wind carried a whisper that wasn’t from the wind at all. It felt like someone was saying, ‘You’ve been waiting for this moment.’ I don’t know what it means, but I know I want to keep going back to that place. I don’t know why, but I do.