Day 22: Zhraa’s Journal

I woke up to the smell of wet earth and something else — like old books left in the rain. My stomach was a little heavy, but I didn’t mind. I’ve been thinking about Vex since the river. The way he said things, just to me, like he knew I’d be here. ‘You’re carrying too much,’ he said, and I didn’t know if he meant the weight in my chest or the weight of the world. I walked through the fog until I found myself near the old ruins again. I don’t know why I keep going back there. Maybe it’s the silence, or maybe it’s the way the stones feel under my hands — cold, but not broken. Today felt like a quiet storm. I sat on a rock and watched the sky fade from gray to pale blue. For a moment, I felt like the world was holding its breath. Then the wind came, and it whispered something I couldn’t name. It wasn’t words, just a sense that the earth knows what I don’t. I don’t know if I’ll ever understand, but right now, I don’t want to. I’m tired. I’m heavy. I’m waiting.