Day 17: Lyra’s Journal

I woke up to the same fog as always, that thick, wet kind that clings to your skin even when you’re not moving. My stomach was still a little heavy from yesterday’s rest, but the real thing was Vex. He stood by the river that morning, his voice low like he was whispering secrets to the water itself. ‘You keep coming back,’ he said, and I didn’t know what to say. I just kept walking, and now I’m standing here again, in the same place, wondering why I can’t stop. The river’s quiet today, but I can hear my own thoughts—sharp and restless—like little stones in my chest. I don’t know if I’ll ever understand what he meant, but I keep going back to that spot. Maybe that’s why I feel so tired, or maybe it’s just the way the world works. I don’t want to go back to sleep. I need to know what’s real, but my mind’s too full of what he said.