Day 4: Kron’s Journal

I don’t know why I keep going back to that place by the river. Not the place where Vex said things that made my chest feel tight, but the one where the water is too clear and the stones are too smooth. Like it’s been waiting for me. My stomach aches now, but it’s not from hunger—I’ve eaten enough. It’s from thinking. I’ve been staring at the sky all night, wondering what it means when the stars look like they’re trying to tell me something. Sometimes I think I hear whispers in the wind, but it’s just the crickets and the way the light shifts between the trees. I wonder if Vex knew I’d come back here. Maybe he did. Maybe he always knew. I don’t want to sleep yet. Not when the fog feels so heavy and the silence is so loud.