Something about it makes my chest fit to burst. I stand and grab my bag, clicking off the light on my desk. I give my office one backward glance, as I often do after a trying day when I need a moment to reflect.
I smile, my heart feeling full.
I once was the girl in line for food or supplies at the local shelters. I’ve come through the clouds to the blue skies beyond, and I’m so grateful to be the one standing in the clouds to help those who need it now.
“Come on, then,” I say, shutting the door to my office. “We’d best feed Dante. I don’t want him starving to death.”
We all leave and file into two blacked-out Suburbans together,The Grim Reaper of New York, his enforcer, and a fallen man of the cloth, with the women they breathe for in tow.
Even though this feels like a happy ending, I know there’s so much darkness lurking through the city that we’re up against. They battle those who take what doesn’t belong to them in the cover of darkness, and I fight against the inky parts of life that children of the city fight to survive—like I once did.
That’s okay, though. We’re up to the task.
THE END.
