Six of Swords

The man beckons the passengers to board. Not a word is exchanged. Not a penny. The most precious thing they have brought with them weighs nothing. Even their hearts have the buoyant emptiness of the survivor. Victory would have only been the day before the work of learning to live with the people who had so hurt them. We learn it like children do. To share, or when we must, to surrender. To include, or when we must, to cede the territory. To fall silent. To listen. To comfort. To leave. To accept that loss is not defeat.