The stranger's wisdom

(Nicholas)

I walked along the shore, the waves brushing against my bare feet. The salt air filled my lungs, and I could feel the warmth of the sun on my skin.

 It had been months since I arrived on Cyrathis, and my body had healed from the stab wound Elara gave me. The pain, at least the physical part, was gone. But the weight inside me, the guilt and shame, still lingered.

The beach was quiet, just the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks in the distance. I had been coming here every day, trying to clear my mind and find some kind of peace. 

But no matter how much time passed, my thoughts always circled back to Isabella. The way I treated her, the choices I made—everything felt like a chain I couldn't break.

I stopped and looked out at the horizon, the endless stretch of ocean matching the endless questions in my mind. I thought about the way Isabella looked at me that day, her eyes filled with so much pain.