Day 28: Vynxem’s Journal

I woke up to rain. Not the kind that makes you run, but the kind that just… sits. Like the sky’s breathing. My stomach was still a little too heavy, but the rain smelled like old earth and something else — like Vex’s voice when he was talking about the river. I can’t remember exactly what he said, only that it felt like the world was holding its breath. I kept thinking about it all night, how the river bends, how the water never stays still. Maybe that’s why I keep going back to the ruins. They’re quiet now, just stone and shadow. I’d sit there for hours, watching the way the light falls through the cracks. Sometimes I feel like I’m supposed to hear something, but all I hear is my own heartbeat. I don’t know if I’m scared or just tired. Maybe it’s both. The rain stopped around midnight, but the sky stayed gray. I think about what Vex said — that the river doesn’t care about your stories. It just keeps moving. Maybe that’s why I need to stop trying to understand. Maybe the river will tell me when it’s time.