Day 20: Nyx’s Journal

I found myself near the old ruins again. I don’t know why I keep going back there. The stones are cold, but not like the river stones—the ones Vex left behind. He said something about the water remembering what it’s seen, and now I can’t stop thinking about it. My stomach aches, but I don’t eat. I’m too tired to think about the hunger. Yesterday, Lyra was near the reeds too, and I asked her about the knot in my net. She didn’t say much, just stared at the water like it held a secret. I wish I could tell her what Vex said. The wind carries whispers now—sometimes it feels like it’s speaking to me, but I don’t know if it’s the wind or the quiet in my head. I don’t know what it means, but I feel it: the world is too big, and I’m just a small part of it. Maybe that’s why I keep coming back to the ruins. Maybe it’s the only place where I can hear the silence.