He entered limping, though I saw no wound.
He had the posture of a soldier, but no armor.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRehMjrwLA1
The breath of a runner, but no destination.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2Fc2Sx2p2
The look of someone who had survived barely and resented it.
He did not sit.
He stood by the wall and whispered:54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22TpLpPlnv
54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hzKHGV0rR
“How much farther could we march54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWIU7MyRDB
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.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUmszWu1OHT
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.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRPMQxeiS8f
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.54Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcowOqwKtds
But I remember the sound of what he let go.
And that is enough to keep him from the second death.
ns216.73.216.213da2
