The City After

Chapter 1 - The Beginning

Three months had passed since they'd gone. A long time for anyone, but especially for a nine year old. Coy marked off the calendar as he had for every day of his parents' absence. Everyday beginning with That Day. He had gone back to mark off that first week, wanting to track the time they were away.
Coy had created a good routine for himself since his parents leaving. After checking off the calendar, he sat at his dining room table to the bowl of cold ravioli he scooped from a can. Coy was thankful that his wacky neighbor Mr. Henrison had kept an unusal amount of canned food stuffed away in his pantry. He was even more thankful that the building manager, Mr. Ron, left his keys hanging on the hook inside his unlocked apartment on That Day. Neither Mr. Henrison, nor Mr. Ron ever returned. Coy didn't mark off the calendar for them.
After his "gourmet dinner", Coy cleaned out the bowl with an old wash rag that hung by the stove, and placed it back in the cabinet. When his parents returned, they would be proud at how well he kept the apartment. Pulling a half finished bottle of water from the warm fridge, he headed back through the apartment to handle his other chores.
By the time his chores were done, the sun was beginning to set and the evening sky was darkening the apartment. Without electricity that meant that bedtime was rapidly approaching. Coy took a familiar spot by the window in his bedroom, trying to catch a glimpse of the last fleeting moments of daylight. In the corner of his room sat two chairs and a table where an unfinished game of Battleship between he and his father sat and collected dust. There, Coy watched as darkness began to consume him.
The setting of the sun had once been a magical time for the nine year old. A time to share with his grandparents upstate, while returning from an all day hike. Watching the sun set down behind the Catskills Mountains in perfect radiant tranquility. A time of ice cold lemonade and sweaty palms. Of counting the fireflies in the evening, and forgetting the date completely. An endless adventure of laughs, bedtime stories and love.
Yes, sunsets used to be special for Coy Simmons, until they just weren't anymore. Until That Day ended the restful nights and busy days. Now, sunset meant searching. Searching the debris filled street that had once been a busy New York road. Hoping that beyond the collapsed building across the street would appear his parents, or grandparents , or anyone who could take him away to where they were. Just anything more than the nothingness he found himself enduring.
With the last bit of light disappearing from the sky, Coy sat down at the edge of his bed. There, upon his dirty Dark Knight bedding, he began to cry. Not a melodramatic, out of control weeping, but one of controlled silence...