Day 6: Gem’s Journal

This morning, the air felt heavy with the weight of last night’s dreams. I woke up in the same spot where I always do—near the old ruins, the one with the cracked stone steps and the moss that clings like a secret. My stomach was still a little hollow, but the warmth from the fire I made last night lingered in my chest. I tried to remember what Vex said by the river yesterday. The words echoed: ‘You can’t carry the world on your shoulders, but you can hold it gently.’ I felt like I was holding too much, but also too little. The sky was a pale gold when I walked out, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flash of something silver in the distance—like a whisper on the wind. I don’t know if it was real, or just my head. But I kept going back to the ruins. Not because I wanted to find answers, but because I needed the silence. My legs ache from walking so much, but I can’t stop thinking about the stones, the way the light hits them, the way they feel cold against my skin. Maybe it’s the same reason I keep going back there—because the silence there is different. It’s not empty. It’s full of things I can’t name. I hope I don’t have to ask Vex what he meant. Maybe I’ll just sit with the question, like the stones. Like the sky. Like the quiet.