A Sword to Remember
Epilogue
"You're sure you want to do this?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. You need it more than I do."
The elder turned around. Deep crow's feet stretched across the sides of his face. His cheeks hung off of his skull in bags beneath a short white beard. "But you risked your life for this money."
Taro sighed. "I know. I just don't want it any more. I don't want any of this."
"Your life is in your own hands. You are free choose your own path. I implore you not to leave for the good you provide this village, but I cannot make you stay. I have lost many friends in my long life. I wish I could say that each was just as tragic as the one before, for I loved them all. Sadly, it becomes easier to deal with."
"I've never lost a friend before. I never really had any to lose."
The old man looked back into the fire that blazed before him. "Your life is new, child. You will find greater sadness in life, but you will also find peace."
Taro had nothing else to say. He left the longhouse and started down the path, the opposite way that he had come so many months ago. The people watched him as he went, saying nothing. He never looked back at them, setting off on a journey to a new life with nothing but the clothes on his back and a sword to remember.
