Epilogue

This town is friendlier now. Apart from the occasional bad man, time has tempered the wildness, the law is established and the people are safe. Now I go once more to embrace the dust of the road.

All those years ago I was treated with suspicion, now I fade gently into history. One last tale has been told.

Back then, I was a potential saviour, the man who would save them and throw down the yoke of oppression that left them quaking in terror. Then I became another one of the hated. Killer, murderer, problem; take your pick.

Now, I live with a clean slate once more. Can forgiveness do that? Maybe.

Even as the blood of the fallen soaks into the sand and dries in the never ending prairie wind, I am aware of the gaze of one woman, despite the dust that colours the sky, but this time a look of understanding follows me to the south.

I was born fast, born skilled and endless practice made me the best: once upon a time. Sometimes age brings wisdom, sometimes love, perhaps forgiveness trumps all of those.

A brief rush of adrenaline: noise, the smell of cordite and then one of us crumples to the dust. This time it was him.

Gunslinger: I may be feared and admired, but I can call nowhere home. My guns and my skill define my existence.

I will leave nothing but blood in the sand...