92 lines
2.2 KiB
TeX
92 lines
2.2 KiB
TeX
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% 2026.02.03-TheWardenOfTheGate\\
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\herosection{The Warden at the Gate}{chapters/2026.02.03-TheWardenAtTheGate/image/the-warden-at-the-gate.jpg}
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\DROPCAP{../../dropcap_c/dropA.png}t the start of summer,\\
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his daughter left through the east gate.
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She had a small pack and a blue scarf.\\
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She said she would be back before the rains.\\
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They parted at the east gate, \\
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and he watched her walk down the road.\\
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She did not look back.\\
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He watched her until she grew smaller, \\
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then smaller, \\
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then gone.
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After that, \\
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he came to the gate every day.
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At first he came early, \\
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before the traders.\\
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He stood where she had stood.\\
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He watched.\\
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He searched the faces of everyone arriving.
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The rains came and went.\\
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Weeks went by.\\
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Then months.
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People learned why he was there.\\
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They nodded to him as they passed.\\
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Some spoke to him.\\
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Most did not.\\
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He did not mind.
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One morning the guard did not come.\\
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The captain said, ``You are always here anyway.\\
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You're the new warden if you want.'' \\
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He took the keys.
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At first, nothing changed.\\
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He still looked only at the far road.\\
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The coming and going of others meant little.\\
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He measured the day by who did not arrive.
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In time, he learned the traders.\\
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He learned the pilgrims.\\
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He learned their names.\\
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From their stories, \\
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he learned much of the world beyond the gate.\\
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When merchants argued over routes, \\
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they asked him.\\
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When a family wondered where to send their son, \\
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they spoke with him.
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There were days when the gate opened \\
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and no one passed through.\\
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On those days he swept the stones, \\
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oiled the hinges, \\
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and watched from the shade.
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Years went by.
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A woman asked him if he was expecting someone.
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He said, ``I was.''
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She asked, ``Do you still?''
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He did not answer.
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Later, a boy who was leaving the city for the first time asked him what lay beyond the gate.
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He said, ``An endless road.''
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The boy asked if people came back.
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He said, ``Some do.''
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%\medskip
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%One evening as daylight diminished, a traveler asked \\
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%why he guarded the gate with such faithful devotion.
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%He thought of the scarf.\\
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%He thought of the gate.\\
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%He thought of the road.\\
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%He thought of all those he now knew.
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%Finally he answered,\\
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%``For me, at this gateway, love left — \\
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%and found me again.'' |