Hope's POV:
So this... This is truly Urinetown.
If death really is Urinetown, well, I guess I've arrived at the front door.
Strangely enough, it looks like our town. Before I took over and made it better, of course. Bleak skies and a yellow tinge to the air.
It doesn't smell as bad though. And for the first time in weeks... I'm not thirsty.
I guess that's just a perk of being dead.
Dying of dehydration is no joke. And after the unpleasantness of slowly withering away, watching the people of the town suffer right along with me...
It changed me.
I don't think I'll ever quite be the same again. I thought I was different after hearing the love of my life's last words. I thought I was different after sentencing my father to death.
But it turns out we're all really the same, no matter how hard we try to change.
Until we're not.
This must be some form of hell. It's certainly not heaven, and I'm alone.
Not that I expected anyone to come.
I hope they don't, honestly. With all the people I've watched die, very few would I like to see again.
The sun is somehow still hot even here, in this lonely afterlife. I wonder if I'll ever get used to-
"Hope?"
I freeze.
I can't feel my muscles. My arms, legs... Everything is broken. I can't breathe. I almost can see. There's no way I can turn, and yet I don't need to, because I know.
I know exactly who it is.
I know by the way my heart cracks. I thought it was shattered already... Clearly, it still has more to go. I know by the way my entire being begins to him with an energy I never thought I'd have.
After the sudden death, I had to make peace with myself. I led a revolution for crying out loud. I couldn't afford to waste time on feeling sad. I just couldn't.
And over the years I got so good at tuning out my pain- at forgetting it ever existed -that it hardly mattered anymore.
Reality was reality. I will never see him again, so why waste a breath when there's so much work that needs to be done?
But I failed. In the end, nothing mattered. We all died, parched and silently screaming, wishing for better days that would never come.
I failed the people.
He died believing I could carry on, and I failed.
In a moment my stuff muscles all collapsed, and I nearly topple over as I turn around.
I don't even see him. I just know that strong arms are suddenly holding me up, keeping me from falling. Tears openly flow down my cheeks. I couldn't stop them if I tried.
For a moment, there's silence.
Just us, his fingers carefully stroking my hair as he lets me sob. Sob for an eternity of pain that I've caused.
"Bobby..."
It's all I can manage. I never thought I'd see him, EVER, and now here he is, holding me in his arms.
I blocked out my pain because this can't be real. It can't be.
I lift my head, needing to see his face. And the second our eyes meet-
It's like the rebirth of the universe, the explosion of all the stars in existence and the shattering blow of matter being destroyed and created all at once.
Those chocolate brown eyes hold a lifetime of pain, and yet gloss over with tears of happy and sad, forgiveness and regret.
"I failed. Everyone died, everyone suffered because I couldn't-"
"Shh," he says gently, holding my chin with one hand while the other arm stay wrapped around me, keeping me upright. We've sunk to our knees and I hardly notice anything but his face- his beautiful face- I never thought I'd see again. "You couldn't have done anything better. Neither of us were prepared for what happened."
"It's my fault though," I whisper, unable to stop the tears again. I love him too much for this to be real. It can't be. I don't deserve a happy ending.
He cups my cheek with his hand, wiping away a tear with his thumb. Another takes its place, but it doesn't matter. What matters anymore?
"You made it." He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear as a whistle of wind rushes past us. The warm breeze of a perfect summer's day. "I kept hoping. For years, that you wouldn't. That you'd keep living an amazing life." Bobby pauses, holding my gaze as his eyes begin to water. "But secretly, selfishly, I always wished the opposite. Each morning, I'd get up, and walk around every gateway and wonder if you'd make it here. If you moved, or did something awful to end up anywhere else, I'd never see you again."
"Are we in heaven?" I ask, lacing my fingers behind his neck, hardly able to get words out. Emotions flood me so fast it's like a rollercoaster on ten times speed.
"Something like that," he sniffs, and his tears fall as well, mixing with mine as he continues. "I had to tell myself that the chances I'd see you again were next to nothing. Every day I didn't see you, I'd convince myself I never would. Try and ease the pain for an eternity."
My heart splits like a hammer to fragile glass. "Bobby."
"I just... I can't believe you're here," he hangs his head, crying just as hard as I am now. "You did everything right, Hope. And now you're done. Now we can spend an eternity, just us, with nothing to worry about."
"How can it be that simple?" I ask. I was oblivious and happy for many years, but I've grown enough to know that unlimited happiness is too good to be true. Unless you're an idiot.
"You've changed," Bobby whispers, leaning in closer to me. His hand tilts my face up to almost meet his. "I'm sorry you had to. But I promise you, now and forever, that we can just be us. Happy."
"Promise?" I echo, feeling as fluttery and lost as the girl in the alleyway, meeting him for the first time. The girl I hardly recognize anymore,
"Promise," he whispers, bringing his mouth to mine. And suddenly I'm okay again, if only for a moment. I pull him closer and wonder if I deserve this happiness.
I might not, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.
