Day 23: Gorath’s Journal

I don’t know why I keep going back to the river. Not the river itself—this one, with the water so cold it feels like it’s holding your breath. It’s the sound. The way the water moves over stones, like it’s whispering secrets only the deep ones can hear. Vex was there yesterday. I saw his shadow in the reeds, but he didn’t turn. He just stood there, watching me with eyes that felt too old for someone so young. I thought he was going to say something, but he didn’t. Just… silence. The kind that makes your throat tight and your mind race. I tried to ask him what it meant, but the words got stuck in my throat like stones. Now, when I close my eyes, I hear his voice, low and steady, like the river itself: ‘You’re not alone.’ But it’s not a promise. It’s a warning. A reminder that some things are better left unsaid.