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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3Pj6gPe8T
Touched the mug I had already placed before them.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2FWv1kLJW
Looked at me not to ask, but to listen.
They told their story slowly, in pieces, like someone offering stones to a river.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHfFQsXxV5
Not to be kept.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3hOmNH2XFI
Just to hear how the water moves around them.
And when they finished… they stayed.
Long after the drink was done.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡju3aLBWzs8
Long after the fire had burned low.
They did not ask for more.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1sQEMtkRzQ
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.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBuPqP1RLoL
But reverence.
And then they wrote:
I Was Orion's Missing Shoulder
They closed the ledger with both hands.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5znEyVHvgl
Pressed their forehead to it.
Then left.
I did not ask their name.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHqZJXoAEdW
They did not offer it.
But the tavern knew it.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8TCKyD0ML
And now, so does this page.
