She stood by the water's edge, a faint mist enveloping the world in a breathable hush. The waters were dark and serene, reflecting the sky's evening lament.
Footsteps hastily approaching, then retreating, merging into the night's whispers. Each step, a heartbeat; each heartbeat, an eternity compressed in time.
Beyond the whispers, a flicker of light, or was it a memory?
Breath by breath, she let the echo unfurl:
"Once upon a ripple they whispered my name, and I, too, became an echo—an ephemeral wish upon the tide."
The lines between the seen and the unseen blurred, each ripple a story. Her hands stretched to gather the fragments of transient time.
From the abyss rose questions with no answers, and yet... answers woven with silken threads of starlight.
Under the moon's gaze, another ripple. And again, she murmured into the void.