They came in quietly, like many do... dust on their cloak, dusk in their eyes.
But they didn’t speak right away.
They warmed their hands by the fire.70Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tNNvLLK9O
Touched the mug I had already placed before them.70Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ62zNbxT1lV
Looked at me not to ask, but to listen.
They told their story slowly, in pieces, like someone offering stones to a river.70Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQrAzPin0zO
Not to be kept.70Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIDs0EDxS5
Just to hear how the water moves around them.
And when they finished… they stayed.
Long after the drink was done.70Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpGMRkR6A3
Long after the fire had burned low.
They did not ask for more.70Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCxPZXB9Ho
They simply looked at the ledger and whispered:
“Where do the stories go, once they’re written?”
I answered for the first time in years:
“They become the tavern.”
And then, I did what I had never done.
I turned the ledger toward them.
Offered a quill.
They hesitated. Not out of fear.70Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhj5uglj43C
But reverence.
And then they wrote:
I Was Orion's Missing Shoulder
They closed the ledger with both hands.70Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFLGU5eJDb
Pressed their forehead to it.
Then left.
I did not ask their name.70Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRh2FDfPAn
They did not offer it.
But the tavern knew it.70Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAKEBvmR1JV
And now, so does this page.
and then Add to home screen.