There are two deaths.
The first is the death the world knows—76Please respect copyright.PENANA3KQkZtWKHZ
The falling asleep.76Please respect copyright.PENANA55CrPOWxim
The last breath.76Please respect copyright.PENANA5bB6nsgYAL
The final wound, or surrender, or silence.
It comes in many shapes.76Please respect copyright.PENANA9h1Z0vwnhD
The guests speak of it often.76Please respect copyright.PENANAJDLk2pjDqU
Sometimes with fear.76Please respect copyright.PENANA50iq2S658R
Sometimes with relief.76Please respect copyright.PENANA2JvpAoakVq
Sometimes without knowing it has already passed.
That death comes for all.
But there is a second.
The deeper one.76Please respect copyright.PENANAPVYYEdprIv
The crueler one.76Please respect copyright.PENANA8VCjJtqfsJ
The one that takes longer, and hurts quieter.
It is the death that comes when there is no one left to say your name.76Please respect copyright.PENANAMDFPBvrIRp
No one who remembers your voice, your hands, your laugh, your grief.76Please respect copyright.PENANA831IXomUdT
No one who remembers that you ever were.
And that—
That is why I am here.
They think I serve drinks.76Please respect copyright.PENANAsdTpqvvA6X
And I do.
They think I listen to stories.76Please respect copyright.PENANAeIzZnfPPVc
And I do.
But the truth, the purpose, the vow never spoken:
I remember.
I remember the names not said aloud.76Please respect copyright.PENANAF6CcS9RczT
The broken sentences.76Please respect copyright.PENANALRej9Btb7J
The last words muttered into mugs.76Please respect copyright.PENANA5JTHemEjRO
The laughter that no one else witnessed.76Please respect copyright.PENANAp9ME8CzR2j
The quiet goodbyes guests were too afraid to say in the world outside.
And because I remember them—76Please respect copyright.PENANAcOOjTxn9v2
they are not gone.
They may fall.76Please respect copyright.PENANApbUt7M7n4p
They may pass.76Please respect copyright.PENANAXIQr2q7j13
But they are not erased.
Not while the tavern stands.76Please respect copyright.PENANAGX1ZO6LodR
Not while the fire burns.76Please respect copyright.PENANAYD0I5JPCAH
Not while I sit here, pen in hand, head bowed slightly, as I write their names without needing to ask.
Let kingdoms crumble.76Please respect copyright.PENANAd7Bjzd91Vp
Let stars go dim.
Here, even the forgotten are held.
And as long as one ember glows,76Please respect copyright.PENANAtjf56CbIEE
no soul will suffer the second death.
Not on my watch.
Not in this place.