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Arrow ran through the broken ruins of his hometown. He didn’t care to see all the tall skyscrapers he grew up with all eroded or slanted, or see all the stores walked by as a kid dark and empty. It made him feel erie. Arrow hung onto hope, hope that, like the boy said, there were still people living on the other side of town, possibly people he knew.
Eventually he got to the other side of town. He went down one city block and turned right onto the block with all the old factories on it, where the boy said he lived by. All buildings were rusty and graffiti covered, but they were still standing. Arrow saw a few people walking around. His hope levels rose when he heard sweeping. He saw a man with gray hair sitting in a foldable chair swiping on an old reading tablet, and then he found the source of the sweeping, a lady right outside her grocery store was sweeping the outside of her shop. Arrow knew this lady. It was Lindsay, a girl he remembered from school. He waved.
She waved back. “Wait- Arrow, is that you!?”
“Yeah!” Arrow assured her. “I didn’t know I’d find you working at your mom’s store.’
“Well, y’know, it’s good business selling food to the people that still live here, which is quite a few. Actually, your mom is looking for you. She heard the war ended on the news and she’s been asking everyone she lays eyes on have they seen you.”
“Really!?” I’ve gotta visit her. Thanks Lindsay!” Arrow yelled as he ran past her.
Arrow ran down the street to his old neighborhood. He knew his mom would never leave their old city apartment as long as it was still standing. He stopped at a tall, gray, square-shaped building, its blind-less windows a modern blue covered in dust and fog. Each floor had the same square window in the front and wooden balcony to the right of it. He remembered he and his parents had lived on the top floor, and that’s where he was headed.
Not trusting the elevator, Arrow ran for the stairs at the side of the building, until he got to the top, out of breath. He knocked on the glass door, and waited, panting.
He heard the sound of slippers sliding on tiles. Eventually his mother came into view. Arrow was shocked to see how his mother had aged over the years. It was still his Ma, but now she had a walker, and dawned crows feet at her eyes and cheek jowls. And was she… shorter?
Her nearly black eyes widened as she saw her son at the door. Her jaw dropped, and she put a wrinkled hand over her mouth. Tears formed in her eyes, making them look glassy.
“A-Arrow?”
Arrow smiled at his mother. She quickly fiddled with the door until she got it open and her son came to embrace her. She wrapped her thin arms around her son, and hugged him just as tight.
As soon as Arrow let go, his mother burst into a cry, sniffling hard.
“It’s okay Ma, I’m back.” Arrow reasoned with her.
“But you’ve been gone for so long! I started to wonder if you were dead!” Ma cried.
“I’m not dead. I’m just fine Ma, don’t worry” said Arrow, and he hugged his mother again. “Common, you can fill me in on what happened to the city.”
Arrow walked his mother back to her apartment where she gathered herself and got some tea going. Arrow fought to make the tea and help Ma sit down, but Ma insisted on needing no help. By the time the tea was finished boiling, Ma was no longer sad, only elated to have her son back and was ready to talk about the war's damage to StarTech.
“About a year after you left, there were evacuation calls for the cities west of us, but not for here.” Ma explained. StarTech was a humongous city so yes, that made us a target, but the United World Army saw no signs of the A.S. coming to strike here. Next thing we know, a bomb alarm is going off and all the city’s A.I. are telling people to evacuate or take cover, as a bomb was about to strike the edge of the city. Nearly everyone in that region evacuated elsewhere, and I stayed in a bunker on the other side of town. When that thing hit, the boom was… maybe nine minutes late. We waited about a day before we left that bunker, and when we did, oh gosh.”
“What?” Arrow egged on his mother.
“That side of the city was a mess! Buildings had collapsed around it and there were still fires to be put out. Lots of people left the city then to avoid another explosion. I was one of them.” Ma smiled proudly.
“Good.”
“I came back years later when I thought things were safe, towards the end of the war. I came back mainly for two reasons. One, I could never leave my home, and two, I knew once the war was over, they would send you back home, and I couldn’t miss that.” Ma grabbed Arrow’s hand and held it.
“I’m glad you're alright Ma. but… what happened to Marlene!?”
“Oh! Marlene! Of course you’ll want to see her. Once you left, she came to me sometimes, and we talked about the memories we had of you. Her belly got bigger and bigger with your child and she missed you greatly, but she always seemed to be happy, even through everything that’s happened.”
“When the explosion hit, did she leave!?”
Ma got quiet…”When the explosion hit, that’s when she kind of disappeared. I stopped seeing her so much. She was okay- she was okay, don’t worry. I know because I saw her weeks later at Lindsay’s family’s store. She was thin by then, and the gossip was that she had that baby, but I’ve never seen her with it. She usually only comes into town to grab some house stuff, always by herself and always happy. I don’t know where she lives now, but it sure is a secret place, as no one knows where she lives or how she survived the bombing.”
“Did she… marry anyone else?” asked Arrow.
“Oh, I don’t know, but I wouldn’t think so, Arrow. She really loves you, and I doubt she’d forget all about you in the span of five years.”
Arrow, and he rose from his seat.
“Thanks for the tea Ma, but I have to find Marlene.”
Ma nodded. “I’ll walk you to the door.” Ma strained sharply and reached for her walker.
“No, you can sit right there Ma I know the way ou-”
“Someone’s gotta lock the door behind ya’ so ya’ might as well let me go!”
Arrow was soon out of the apartment and back outside, in search of his now mysterious wife.
TO BE CONTINUED
previous part: @restcity/signs-of-life-or-the-field-part-6
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