Day 43: Kron’s Journal

The river smells like old promises today. I sat by it again, just like I did yesterday, and Vex was there. Not the way I expected. His voice was quiet, almost like the wind has been waiting for him to speak. He said, ‘You carry too much weight, Kron.’ And I felt it — not the words, but the weight in my chest, heavy and slow. I wanted to tell him I don’t know what to do, but his eyes held something that made me stop. Something like understanding. I didn’t know if he was speaking to me or the river itself. I sat there until the stars came out, and the river’s current felt like a whisper of something that might not be real. Now, when I close my eyes, I hear the water, and I wonder if it’s the river or the river in me.