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.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyuFdknSy0W
Touched the mug I had already placed before them.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJfhKy83cK
Looked at me not to ask, but to listen.
They told their story slowly, in pieces, like someone offering stones to a river.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKHQCLyM5v
Not to be kept.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0gyWOpcD0i
Just to hear how the water moves around them.
And when they finished… they stayed.
Long after the drink was done.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYsA4xBTzp
Long after the fire had burned low.
They did not ask for more.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rHmGM1FkO
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.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4IvGjGsoDv
But reverence.
And then they wrote:
I Was Orion's Missing Shoulder
They closed the ledger with both hands.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVtdMUjqTq
Pressed their forehead to it.
Then left.
I did not ask their name.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4a9y8IPV5Z
They did not offer it.
But the tavern knew it.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yCbHxTGIL
And now, so does this page.
and then Add to home screen.