He entered limping, though I saw no wound.
He had the posture of a soldier, but no armor.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYw6xmXlDNz
The breath of a runner, but no destination.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd82KYbl3wm
The look of someone who had survived barely and resented it.
He did not sit.
He stood by the wall and whispered:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvpyhvS8yE
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChj5rrpVWN
“How much farther could we march64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLPJsLq0LvP
if we weren’t forced to carry our fears on our backs?”
No one else was in the tavern.
He didn’t look at me.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg9rN0dfHfD
But I brewed.
A slow-steep from ironseed, thistleroot, and something rare, gathered long ago from the cloak of a guest who said, “Courage tastes like forgetting what tried to stop you.”
He drank it like it was a punishment.
And then, he cried- not loudly.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUwSmjj4zaX
Just one sound. Like a pack falling from the shoulders.
He left without taking the mug.
And I didn’t wash it.
It still smells faintly of rain and rust.
I don’t know his name.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMc614Kt0i
But I remember the sound of what he let go.
And that is enough to keep him from the second death.
ns216.73.216.247da2
