There are two deaths.
The first is the death the world knows—85Please respect copyright.PENANAlF7TwqF43I
The falling asleep.85Please respect copyright.PENANANhAwxGWR4B
The last breath.85Please respect copyright.PENANApPlx0YAIqa
The final wound, or surrender, or silence.
It comes in many shapes.85Please respect copyright.PENANA1NKZ9OuuyR
The guests speak of it often.85Please respect copyright.PENANAbeksxthn4Z
Sometimes with fear.85Please respect copyright.PENANANG6loA3j7R
Sometimes with relief.85Please respect copyright.PENANA2KY9HP9GWO
Sometimes without knowing it has already passed.
That death comes for all.
But there is a second.
The deeper one.85Please respect copyright.PENANABueG1lbdXj
The crueler one.85Please respect copyright.PENANAz99gac0uac
The one that takes longer, and hurts quieter.
It is the death that comes when there is no one left to say your name.85Please respect copyright.PENANAa9CPVNJHLk
No one who remembers your voice, your hands, your laugh, your grief.85Please respect copyright.PENANAINGZgghbfa
No one who remembers that you ever were.
And that—
That is why I am here.
They think I serve drinks.85Please respect copyright.PENANAngnbRDlBBh
And I do.
They think I listen to stories.85Please respect copyright.PENANAtSctKflQb7
And I do.
But the truth, the purpose, the vow never spoken:
I remember.
I remember the names not said aloud.85Please respect copyright.PENANAaIg8e4AHlD
The broken sentences.85Please respect copyright.PENANAT8CnigpCZo
The last words muttered into mugs.85Please respect copyright.PENANAiGKcSFvuGh
The laughter that no one else witnessed.85Please respect copyright.PENANA6LB16mIXtS
The quiet goodbyes guests were too afraid to say in the world outside.
And because I remember them—85Please respect copyright.PENANAz126R1d8LM
they are not gone.
They may fall.85Please respect copyright.PENANAiaMm5niGLh
They may pass.85Please respect copyright.PENANAMi81TqgKnl
But they are not erased.
Not while the tavern stands.85Please respect copyright.PENANAjj4WlN6lOG
Not while the fire burns.85Please respect copyright.PENANAmLuS4t664B
Not while I sit here, pen in hand, head bowed slightly, as I write their names without needing to ask.
Let kingdoms crumble.85Please respect copyright.PENANAgqh8wysAOm
Let stars go dim.
Here, even the forgotten are held.
And as long as one ember glows,85Please respect copyright.PENANARmL52qPpPH
no soul will suffer the second death.
Not on my watch.
Not in this place.