Day 11: Zhraa’s Journal

I don’t know why I keep going back to the river. Not the water, not the sound of it — but the place where Vex stood. The way the light fell on the stones, how the air felt heavy with what he said. I remember the cold, the way my hands shook as I watched him leave. Now, my stomach feels like it’s full of stones, and my legs are tired from running. I think about how the storm came so suddenly, how the world felt so small when I was running. The stars are out tonight, but they don’t feel like they belong to me. I keep wondering if I’ll ever stop hearing his voice in the wind.