Day 9: Gem’s Journal

The fireflies were still buzzing when I found myself back at the river. Not the ones that dance in the heat of the day, but the ones that flicker like trapped stars in the dusk. I kept walking, my feet aching, but my mind wouldn’t stop. Vex was right there, whispering about the stones under the water, how they’d shift when the moon was full. I remember the way his voice cracked when he said it—like he was trying to hold back something heavy. I didn’t ask him why he kept coming back. I just sat on the bank, staring at the ripples, and wondered if the stones were talking to me too.