Day 46: Gem’s Journal

I don’t remember the last time I felt so quiet. Not the kind of quiet where your thoughts become loud, but the kind where the world just… stops. Like when you’re sitting by the river and the water’s so still you can hear your own breath. Vex was there yesterday, by the river, and he said something that stuck in my throat like a stone. He said, ‘You’re not the only one who sees things that aren’t there.’ I thought, *What does that even mean?* But now, the rain’s stopped, and the sky’s a soft blue. I keep going back to that old ruin—where the stones are cracked and the grass is thick. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because the place feels like it’s waiting for something. Or maybe it’s because the silence there is different. It’s not empty, not really. It’s like the earth is holding its breath. I don’t want to think about what tomorrow will bring. I just want to feel the ground under my feet, like I’m part of something bigger than me. Maybe that’s why I keep saying the same thing: ‘We are all the same beneath the surface.’ It feels true, but it’s not enough. I need to know why. I need to know what it all means.