After the Bombs Fell

15. A fitting end

Now the hardest question had to be answered, the question of what would become of Henry and Emi. Henry obviously didn't want to stay in Atom City, but Emi had found good people here and Henry knew there were good people here. Could they really live in a city like this though, Henry didn't think so but Emi disagreed, Emi believed that it was possible however difficult for them to forge a life here in Atom City. No matter how brutal it would be and no matter who got in their way they could prevail, but could Henry really accept that after what he experience?

Emi had been a nomad, wandering from place to place almost her entire life, being sold to the highest bidder, or just exploring the wastes. Emi had finally found someone to love and she wanted to settle down, it had been so long since she stayed in one place for this long that she almost forgot what settling down was like.

Henry's Perspective.

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Why couldn't Emi understand that this isn't the place for them to settle down, Henry understoff that Emi had traveled a lot but he figured that they could travel somewhere else and settle down. Why did it have to be this place, the place that didn't care about Henry or the people he cared about, or even its own citizens for that matter. He just couldn't understand what Emi saw in this place that made her want to stay here, this place had virtually nothing for either of them Henry thought, so why did it matter if they stayed here or not.

Henry's love for Emi was unfaltering but the one thing he couldn't understand about her is just exactly what she saw in this place and why exactly they must stay, was is the people shes met? Was it the experiences she had? Was it because of the memories her and Henry made here? It didn't make sense to Henry because they could do all of elsewhere.

And then it hit Henry, the entire time he had wanted to leave this place he never thought of where they'd go if they did. What other places were there out there for them besides here? Every other city is basically too small to be a permenant home for the pair and thus Henry was at an impasse. He had no idea as to where they would go and even then Emi didn't want to leave because she saw something in this city that Henry did not.

Emi's Perspective.

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Why didn't Henry understand? What made Henry hate this place so much? Emi knew what Henry had went throug before and what he had to go through to find her but why did it matter anymore? They were past all of the corrupt government crap, Emi saw Henry waking up as a chance to start again in the one city that was big enough for them, the one city that shined brightest amongst the others. So what if the government was a little corrupt? It didn't change the fact the people here were good.

Emi's mind began having flashbacks to her employment at Hana's, she remembered now, Emi felt exactly how Henry felt but Hana was the one to pull her back. Hana was the one who kept Emi in check when she made rash and stupid decisions like the one she made while working with Hana one day.

Hana: "For what purpose Emi?"

Hana: "You say I've become complacent but look at yourself."

Hana: "Festering hatred for a government you know nothing about."

Hana: "You may think it's so easy to be the one who fights for what is right..."

Hana: "The one who fights against the injustice of the system but look at yourself, look at me!"

Hana: "I wouldn't expect you to understand the way I see things."

Hana: "Would you really give up the comfort of your life to fight a flawed system that accepts you?!"

Hana: "Of course you would because you know nothing, you are immature."

She lifts her shirt revealing a large scar which appears to have been a knife wound. Hana breathes in for a moment before dropping her shirt and speaking again.

Hana: "I get it, I was like you once, I hated the system I wanted to rebel against it."

Hana: "And from your position it's easy to say something like that having lost nothing."

Hana: "Maybe one day after you've seen what you can lose, after seeing what you've lost you will understand just like me."

Emi has nothing to say, she had no words for the lecture Hana had just given her, in a way she knew Hana was right. What purpose was there in fighting the system if it accepted us? Its like fighting against your caretaker for giving you the wrong food, atleast you get food, atleast you get to live. Emi didn't fully agree with Hana but there was truth to her words, Emi wasn't the one to fight for whats right and she wasn't the one to be a martyr or a rebel or anything like that.

Emi understood something that Henry didn't, she understood that the city was bigger than the 2 of them, this city was a community this city was more than just a government. This city was a people, this city was a beacon of hope in the darkness of the wasteland, this city IS a city. Nobody understood that better than someone who lived in that city, in a way she knew her views were flawed, they both knew and neither wishes to admit it.

Narrator's Perspective.

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Henry and Emi were a couple but despite this neither could admit that they were wrong. Eventually they realized that they both knew this, not only that but they knew the only way to move forward was compromise.

Henry: "Listen Emi I know, this city is beautiful and the people are beautiful."

Henry: "But there are other places for us to live and survive in, places we can settle down and live together in just like here."

Henry: "Places with beautiful people, beautiful scenery and buildings just like this one."

Henry: "Places... Down in Mexico that we could find and spend the rest of our days in."

Emi: "Henry, I hate to say it but you're right, this city has caused enough harm to both of us."

Emi: "I think its time to look forward, maybe we can begin a new life somewhere else."

Whilst Henry had technically gotten his wish it was a victory for more than just Henry, it was a Henry for a couple that proved that the wasteland doesn't shape who you are. Proof that only you can shape who you are and who you want to be, proof that even in the most unforgiving of scenarios, humanity, and more importantly life always prevails through the despair and darkness of even the harshest worlds...