Unwritten Constellation

m standing on the edge of an enormous lake, its black waters rippling like oil. The silence presses into my ribs, hard and weighty. My chest tightens with something unnamed, somet

ve the din. I draw my hood around me as I push through the throng, my fingers curling around the edge of my cloak. The dream stays with me still, a murmur on the edges of awareness. Something comes near. I do not know why I sense it-only that I do. And I need to know. The house of the old man is located at the rear of the village, partially hidden by climbing ivy. Eadric has lived there longest. They say he recalls things that most have forgotten. I retreat back at the door. If anyone's going to explain to me why these dreams are so much more like memories, then it's him. But before I can knock, the door opens. "Enter, child." His voice is rough, like rough bark, but there's a warmth to it. I step in, and the scent of dry herbs and parchment fills my lungs. Shelves against the walls hold books and artifacts from years gone by. There's a fire crackling in the fire pit, but the air still feels cold. Eadric looks at me steadily as I lower my hood. "You had another dream." It's not a question. I nod, swallowing past the constriction in my throat. "They're getting worse." He waves at me to sit, but his piercing eyes don't drop from mine for an instant. "Tell me." I swallow. I never talk about it, the details of it, anyway. The dreams have seemed too intimate, too weird-a secret that shouldn't be told. But Eadric sits, his patience unwavering. So I do. About the lake, the quiet, the way I recognize the man standing at the water's edge. About the way my chest hurts when I look at him, as if something within me is shattering and being reassembled all at once. And about the name-the name I can never quite recall when I wake. When I finish, Eadric sits in silence for a very long time. His face is inscrutable, but there is something in his eyes-a flicker of recognition, or maybe something worse. He exhales slowly. "And the fracture?" A chill runs down my spine. "It's getting worse." He nods, to himself. "Then we don't have much time." The words cause me to shiver. "Time for what?" Eadric leans across the table, his voice low. "Fo