He entered limping, though I saw no wound.
He had the posture of a soldier, but no armor.301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtt3RQ9kX5V
The breath of a runner, but no destination.301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICW0HARRmD
The look of someone who had survived barely and resented it.
He did not sit.
He stood by the wall and whispered:301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLertRYwgJ
301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MJ42LAl1P
“How much farther could we march301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7pJnqKvhMG
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.301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24O3oEM8l7
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.301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxcTYurG1Gg
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.301Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0gDqNB1Rja
But I remember the sound of what he let go.
And that is enough to keep him from the second death.
ns216.73.216.250da2
and then Add to home screen.