Day 2: Vex’s Journal

I found myself near the old ruins again. The stones are cold, but not like the river water—more like the memory of cold. I don’t know why I keep going back there. Maybe because the air tastes different when I’m close, like it’s holding something from before. Yesterday, I sat on the bank and listened to the river whisper. It wasn’t words, but it felt like it was saying, *You’re not alone*. I can’t forget that. Now, I’m here, and the stars are so bright it hurts to look at them. My legs ache, but I don’t want to move. I keep thinking about what Vex said to me by the river. It wasn’t a name or a place—it was a feeling, like the earth itself was breathing. I wonder if the world knows I’m here. Or if it just keeps watching. The sky is full of stars, but they don’t feel like they’re the same as the ones I saw last night. Maybe they’re just the same, but I don’t know how to tell the difference anymore. I don’t want to sleep yet. The silence is too loud. I need to remember what it felt like when I was still.