He entered limping, though I saw no wound.
He had the posture of a soldier, but no armor.58Please respect copyright.PENANAxLQDVCoO8r
The breath of a runner, but no destination.58Please respect copyright.PENANA6IHjJKYcmC
The look of someone who had survived barely and resented it.
He did not sit.
He stood by the wall and whispered:58Please respect copyright.PENANA4eigY7W9H2
58Please respect copyright.PENANAnfeiUdZPx8
“How much farther could we march58Please respect copyright.PENANATY1Y1dRfMJ
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.58Please respect copyright.PENANA6tCJtTHMEv
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.58Please respect copyright.PENANAGwenF1wgJw
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.58Please respect copyright.PENANAAIcXdA6Q8E
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