He entered limping, though I saw no wound.
He had the posture of a soldier, but no armor.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRE4exL1kXJ
The breath of a runner, but no destination.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4WdPR3E6vv
The look of someone who had survived barely and resented it.
He did not sit.
He stood by the wall and whispered:82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHJr3O5X6r
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsw2zxVtjbX
“How much farther could we march82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqD2KiBOw6S
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.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ55bJDPKtSN
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.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuM7FLmb10o
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.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTktIdDl6VE
But I remember the sound of what he let go.
And that is enough to keep him from the second death.
ns216.73.216.9da2
and then Add to home screen.