He entered limping, though I saw no wound.
He had the posture of a soldier, but no armor.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUwoDhimkN
The breath of a runner, but no destination.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYhYxcbm3M
The look of someone who had survived barely and resented it.
He did not sit.
He stood by the wall and whispered:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdk230pmQ9
41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGwDWpoIep
“How much farther could we march41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0haOD3PqA
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpz1RFnFCVu
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNexHQH9ik
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡComaekJRyN
But I remember the sound of what he let go.
And that is enough to keep him from the second death.
ns216.73.216.187da2
and then Add to home screen.