He was the one in chains. He was the one locked behind iron bars. He was the one who would never see the light of day. The one that will never know how it feels to have rain on your face or the warmth of the sun. Yet he is the freest man I have ever seen.

Even with his broken smile and scarred skin, he never once believed himself a captive. And he made everyone know it. "Take your shot stranger," He would laugh. The noise echoed through the cell. "You'll only get one."

As he hung from that tree, his body swaying with the breeze, I realized something.

All this time hidden behind my heavy armor, I was the true prisoner. Burdened by duty left unfulfilled and promises unkept. Now that the man was gone, now that it was too late, one question laid unspoken on my lips. It tugged at the little pieces that was my heart. So I whispered it to the wind, hoping it would carry the words across the heavens.

"I have a question for you." The man's lifeless body still swung with the breeze. A tear got caught in my eye. It felt impossible to speak. So, I shouted the words that embedded themselves deep into my soul.

"How can I be as free as you?"