The mountains rose before me like ancient giants,
their shadows stretching across the land.
For hours I walked toward the jagged silhouettes
until finally,
the three peaks stood towering above me
perfectly aligned,as if pointing directly toward the sky.
The wind grew colder.
The air heavier.
Each step felt like walking into another world.
The woman's warning echoed in my mind:
Only there will you find the one who truly knows the river.
As I approached the base of the central peak,
I noticed something strange
The rocks were carved with the same symbols
I had seen on the forest stone
and inside the silent village temple.
Circles.Lines.A river.A door.A door?
I placed my hand on the symbols.
Suddenly
the stone trembled beneath my touch.
A narrow passage opened in the mountain,
revealing a dim corridor glowing faint blue.
My breath caught.
There was no turning back.
I stepped inside.The moment I entered,
the passage sealed behind me
the world outside fading like a distant dream.
Inside the mountain,the air was warm
and filled with a soft humming sound
like water flowing through metal.
Torches lit themselves one by one
as I walked deeper in.
Finally, I reached a small chamber.
At its center stood
a circular pool of water
glowing faintly in the dark.
It was not a normal pool.
It rippled in colors
silver, blue, gold
as if reflecting emotions instead of light.
Carved beside it were words:
"This is the Reflection Pool.
Look into it only if you dare to see what the river sees."
My heart pounded.
I knelt beside the pool
and slowly leaned forward.
The water shimmered…
and then
it showed me something.Myself.But older.Tired.
With eyes filled with sorrow.
The reflection whispered:
"You will return here…
but not the same."I stumbled back in fear.
The water stilled.
The humming stopped.
And I knew
The journey ahead
would not only change my life.
It would change me.
A deep rumble shook the chamber.
From the shadows across the room,
a figure emerged
tall, cloaked, silent.
His presence felt ancient,
older than the mountain itself.
Who are you? I asked, my voice trembling.
He did not answer.
Instead, he stepped closer,
and the torches dimmed around us.
Only his eyes glowed
silver, like the river.
Then he spoke:
"I am the Guardian of Echoes.
His voice echoed against the stone walls
as if ten voices spoke at once.
I swallowed hard.
What do you guard?
He pointed toward the Reflection Pool.
This place holds every memory
the river has ever taken.I shivered.
The village…The people…
Are their memories here?
The Guardian nodded slowly.
They exist between moments.
Not alive.Not dead.
Echoes caught in the river's current
My chest tightened painfully.
Can they be saved?
For the first time,
the Guardian's eyes softened.
Perhaps.
But not unless you understand
what the river truly is."
I stepped closer, desperate.
Tell me!
The Guardian extended his hand,
palm upward.
A small flame floated above it
blue like moonlit water.
The river is not water.
It is time.I froze.Time?
He continued
It flows through all things
through life, memory, destiny.
When someone falls into it,
they are lost in their own past,
unable to escape.
The truth stole my breath.
The silent village…The disappearing people…The old man's story…
Everything suddenly made sense.
The Guardian lowered his hand.
You have walked the path this far, he said.
"But crossing the river…
is another fate entirely.
I clenched my fists.
I don't care how dangerous it is.
I want to help them.
The Guardian stared into my eyes,
searching for doubt.
Finding none,he stepped aside.
A narrow stairway appeared behind him,
descending into the depths.
Then descend, he said.
And meet the one who remembers
what the river forgets.The Guardian disappeared in a swirl of blue mist.And I was alone again.
I took a shaky breath,
and stepped onto the stairs.
Downward,
toward whatever waited
in the mountain's heart.
The stairs spiraled downward
for what felt like hours.
Cold air brushed my skin
as the walls flickered
with symbols glowing faintly in the dark.
Finally, the staircase ended
in a cavern so large
I could not see the ceiling.
At its center flowed a stream of glowing water
thin, quiet, shimmering with faint faces.
Faces of people
from the silent village.Faces of people.I had never seen.
Faces of people
I might one day meet.
This was not just a river.
It was a memory alive.
As I stepped closer,the water rippled
like it sensed me.
A whisper rose from the glowing stream:
You seek to save them.
I nodded.The water swirled and lifted into the air
forming a figure
a woman made entirely of shimmering memory-light.
She looked at me
with eyes filled with countless lifetimes.
"I am the Memory of the River," she said softly.
My voice trembled.
Can I bring them back?
The people who vanished?
Her expression darkened.
You can.But every return demands a cost.
What cost?The river-woman extended her hand.
To free one memory…
you must surrender one of your own.
A chill ran through me
like ice breaking inside my chest.
A memory?Of my life?My past?Someone I loved?
If you lose too many, she warned,
you will forget who you are.
My hands trembled.
Saving them meant losing myself.
And yet…
I couldn't walk away.
I will do it, I said.
The river-woman nodded.
Then step into the current.
The glowing water parted,
revealing a path
that led deep into the river of time.
My journey
was no longer about finding truth.It was about sacrifice.
And now
the river was waiting.