After some time, I decided to find out where I was.
A difficult task—most of the buildings around me were nothing but ruins.
But when I tried to stand, I discovered my first real challenge:
learning how to walk again.
Fuck.
Who would've thought I'd miss crawling?
Like a baby, I pulled myself up, clinging to debris and broken objects, taking one slow step at a time.
When I finally left the place where I had woken up, there was nothing left to hold on to.
So it became trial and error.
I stumbled down the street, falling over and over again.
Despite the frustration, I couldn't help but observe the scene around me.
The buildings were either in ruins or completely abandoned. The tall trees that once lined the street were dead, reduced to nothing but dry trunks. Nature had already begun reclaiming the place, creeping over the street and the remains of the ruins.
The sky was completely covered in clouds—not a single ray of sunlight breaking through.
Between stumbles and falls, I eventually began to get the hang of it.
I was falling less and less often.
After a long stretch of frustration, I finally stopped in front of a ruined building.
I had reached the place I was looking for.
…
My old home.
The upper floor had collapsed—probably the work of time.
Climbing the stairs, I pushed open the half-open door.
It gave way immediately and fell.
Moving through the debris, I searched.
I didn't know what I was looking for.
But I kept going.
Crawling through the rubble, I came across a broken, rotting table. A pillar had collapsed on top of it.
Pulling the rubble aside, I found—
a playing card.
It was partially scorched, a single green detail still clinging to one of its corners.
A lone King of Hearts.
The only one left.
…
Sniff.
I wished this body could cry.
Standing up with the card still in my hand, I grabbed a torn piece of cloth hanging nearby and wrapped it around myself.
Leaving the house behind, I headed somewhere.
The only place I had left in this city.
When I reached the foot of a hill, I stopped for a moment.
It seemed the explosion had reached this far.
The hill was devastated. Every tree stood dead and dry.
Beginning my ascent, still struggling with each step, I chose a path.
A familiar one.
As I walked along it, my eyes drifted toward the trees.
This hill once held so much life.
And now—
what was left?
When I reached the top, my gaze settled on a single spot.
A vague memory surfaced.
"Let's make a promise…"
"Hm? A promise?"
"Yes! Promise me that fifty years from now, we'll come back here to watch the meteor shower together!"
I exhaled slowly.
Looking around, I noticed a few stones scattered across the ground.
Gathering them, I built two small graves.
I wished they could have been bigger.
Then I lifted my tired eyes toward the city one last time.
A few meters from where my home used to stand, a massive crater lay in silence.
…
I turned away.
And began to walk.
Descending the hill in the opposite direction.