Day 10: Nyvexia’s Journal

I woke up to the same silence as yesterday—the kind that presses against your temples like a blanket you can’t pull away from. My stomach was still a little hollow, but not like it had been before. Vex was gone by the river when I got there, but I could still feel the way the wind carried his voice, how it made the water ripple where he’d been standing. I don’t know why I keep going back to that place. The ruins feel like a promise I can’t quite remember making. My fingers trace the rough stone of the old wall, and for a moment, I think I hear him laughing, but it’s just the wind through the cracks. I tried to tell myself it was just the wind, but my heart still races when I close my eyes. I don’t know if I want to stay here or if I need to run. Maybe I’ll find him tomorrow. Maybe I’ll never see him again.