As soon as my fingers brushed the surface of the golden orb, warmth surged through me, gentle at first, like sunlight touching skin. But then… it changed.
My throat tightened. My chest felt like it was caving in.
And before I could even understand what was happening, I was crying.
Tears spilled down my face in torrents hot, heavy, endless. It wasn't like before, when pain or exhaustion brought it on. This wasn't physical. This was something deeper, something that clawed straight through the walls I didn't even know I'd built.
I gasped for air, but the tears just kept coming. My vision blurred, the meadow melting into shimmering gold and shadow. I wanted to stop. Gods, I wanted to stop. But I couldn't. My hands trembled as I tried to wipe my face, but more kept falling like a river that had forgotten how to end.
