Day 16: Gem’s Journal

I can still taste the creek water on my tongue, cold and clean, even now. Vex stood by the river that afternoon—his shadow stretched long across the stones where we’d been talking. He said something about the blue jays diving for crickets, but his voice was quiet, almost like he was waiting for me to say something. I don’t know why I keep going back to that place. The way the light hits the water at dusk, how the reeds sway, the sound of the river… it feels like a secret that only the earth knows. I tried to forget, but my mind keeps circling back to the way his eyes looked when he was talking, the way the wind moved through his hair. I wonder if he’s still watching me now, or if he’s gone somewhere else. My legs feel heavy, like I’ve been walking for days, but my heart is light—like the crickets are singing to me. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but right now, I just want to sit with the silence and listen to the world. I think I’ll go back to the river tomorrow, just to hear it again.