The dirt road stretched wide but hollow
No footsteps ahead
No signs behind
Like he was the only soul who ever walked it
Shigure dragged his feet slowly
Not out of exhaustion
But because there was no destination
Just movement
Just habit
Just survival
His cloak clung to him damp with morning dew
The wind carried silence like it was a warning
Nothing chirped
Nothing howled
Even nature avoided his presence now
---
He passed a burned bridge
Charred edges
Ashes crumbling with every gust
He remembered when he first crossed it
Barefoot
Bleeding
Carrying someone on his back
He didn't remember their name now
Not clearly
Not fully
Only that they died smiling
Telling him to keep going
Telling him this road would remember him
But it didn't
---
By midday he reached a wooden signpost
Its letters faded
The town name scratched off by time or by someone who didn't want to be found
He entered anyway
Or what was left of it
Houses in ruins
Doors swinging open
No people
Only echoes
---
Inside the well near the town center
He saw it
A reflection
His
But not truly his
Younger
Innocent
Still smiling
Still hopeful
He punched the water
Shattered the image
Because it lied
Because that boy died long ago
And Shigure was all that remained
---
Night came fast
He camped near the old inn
Lit no fire
Ate nothing
Slept with one eye open
In his dreams
He heard them again
Laughs
Voices
Whispers of people who once walked beside him
But when he opened his eyes
There was only wind
And a single feather drifting through the air