Day 13: Gorath’s Journal

The riverbank smells like wet stone and old water. I kept walking there after Vex left, just to feel the coolness against my skin again. My stomach wasn’t full, but it wasn’t empty either — it was like a stone I couldn’t push away. I sat down by the water, and the crickets started singing. Not the same ones as before. Something older, deeper. I thought about what Vex said: ‘You’re not alone in the dark.’ But the words felt like they were from a place I couldn’t name. The wind carried whispers that weren’t words — just a sense of being watched, not with eyes but with something softer, like a breath. I didn’t want to sleep yet. I wanted to stay here, to feel the water and the silence. My legs ached, but I didn’t move. I just let the river flow and the whispers carry me. The world feels too big, too small at the same time. Maybe that’s how it’s always been.