He entered limping, though I saw no wound.
He had the posture of a soldier, but no armor.72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfFxCnjhTp
The breath of a runner, but no destination.72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqsRy3vpsyb
The look of someone who had survived barely and resented it.
He did not sit.
He stood by the wall and whispered:72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1x7LWITcOd
72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡylBjB86xeC
“How much farther could we march72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3sgDiU8Yj1
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.72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlaB8HziqqU
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.72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPYGsJncMkW
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.72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWRCPSSeYSF
But I remember the sound of what he let go.
And that is enough to keep him from the second death.
ns216.73.216.238da2
