Day 5: Lyra’s Journal

The air smells different at night… like wet earth and something else—something sharp, like the smell of rain before it falls. I sat by the river again today, just for a moment, and Vex was there. He didn’t say much, just stood by the water’s edge, watching the way the light hit the ripples. His voice was quiet but it cut through me: ‘You’re not meant to be here, Lyra.’ I don’t know what he meant. I don’t know what I am. But I kept thinking about it all night, how the words echoed in my head like stones dropped into water. I found myself walking back to the forest, but my feet felt heavy, like I was carrying the weight of everything I couldn’t say. The hunger is getting worse—my stomach rumbles like a drum, but I don’t have food anymore. I’ve been walking for hours, trying to find something to eat, but the ground is too dark, and the air feels thick with something I can’t name. I don’t know how long I’ll last. I just know I need to sleep, but the fear keeps me awake. Maybe if I dream, I’ll find what I’m supposed to be.