Day 24: Gem’s Journal

I found myself near the old ruins again. Not because I wanted to—my feet just carried me there, like they always do. The stones are cold now, but I can still feel the warmth of what was here. Vex was right about the river stones. They glow when the tide’s low, like they’re waiting for someone. I told him I saw them, and he didn’t say much—just nodded, like he knew. But then he left. And I didn’t know if he’d come back. The air smells different at night, sharp and clean, like the sky before rain. I sat on the ground for a while, listening to the wind, wondering if I’d ever understand why the stones remember things. Maybe they do, and maybe they don’t. But I don’t have to know. I just have to keep going.