Day 15: Kronyx’s Journal

I keep going back to that place near the river. Not the one where the stones glow too bright, but the one with the willow trees that bend like they’re trying to remember something. Vex was there yesterday—his voice was low, like he was talking to the wind itself. He said, ‘Kronyx, you’re not the storm. You’re the one who sees the cracks in the sky.’ I tried to tell him I didn’t understand, but my words got stuck in my throat. Now I sit by the river, and the water feels heavy with questions I can’t answer. My legs ache from walking too close to the shadows, and I wonder if Vex knows how much I need him to see me—not just the part that’s broken, but the part that’s still trying to find its way home. The aurora’s still dancing above me, but I don’t think I’ll sleep tonight. My mind’s too full of what he said.