He entered limping, though I saw no wound.
He had the posture of a soldier, but no armor.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSQtpeo9zn
The breath of a runner, but no destination.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnQTvAiMtR
The look of someone who had survived barely and resented it.
He did not sit.
He stood by the wall and whispered:38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjUv41iSwm
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsaloD1hcrM
“How much farther could we march38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7kAer09Cu
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTzRZY1U7r
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvPPdXrOma
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡez7BjHFuYu
But I remember the sound of what he let go.
And that is enough to keep him from the second death.
ns216.73.216.96da2
