Indy straightens and raises her eyes to the sky, her hair bobbing in the breeze. “We’re here until tomorrow anyway, dummy.”
I smile. They haven’t changed a bit. “I love you guys. You know that?”
“Are you drunk?” Indy asks.
“I wish,” I say, though I have no problem telling people I love them these days.
Life is too short to be stingy with love, especially when it’s so full of suffering. The proof of that heartache is visible from where we stand, embodied in the devastation of our burned-out city. We’re all waiting to die—there’s no escaping that end—but we might as well dance while we wait.
Gracie removes her finger from her mouth and points to the east. “Pretty.”
“Beautiful,” I say.
The sunrise has turned the clouds pinkish and lit their edges gold, and the unbroken buildings reflect the orange rays until they’re ablaze. Gracie watches the clouds, sweet-smelling head tucked into my neck. Through the building’s glass, Eric’s silhouette talks earnestly into his hand. My two best friends glow like snarky earthbound angels. Even the destruction is beautiful under the brilliant light.
Grace once said you have to let it all in to truly appreciate the beauty, and, in these moments, my heart burns as bright as the rising sun. Brother David was right—a new day has dawned. But I never forget that in this world there’s a good chance it won’t last forever, and I’m sure to remember just how dark it can get.
Maybe the universe has a plan for that, though I believe there is some wiggle room. Some things you can’t control, and they end up being the best of surprises. But some things you have to fight for. Sometimes you have to bend fate to your will.
Sometimes, you win.
About the Author
Thanks for reading! The City Series is complete, but there will be more stories to come. Thanks for sticking around.
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Sarah Lyons Fleming is the author of the Until the End of the World series. Besides an unhealthy obsession with home-canned food and Bug Out Bag equipment, she loves books, making artsy stuff and laughing her arse off.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, she now lives in Oregon with her family and, in her opinion, not nearly enough supplies for the zombie apocalypse. But she’s working on it.
Afterword
When I began The City Series, which, as you likely know, is set in the same universe as the Until the End of the World books, I tried to stick to somewhere around the time period of Until the End of the World’s publication. But New York City changes so quickly—new buildings go up every day, changing the skyline and streets—that I quickly found it impossible.
The High Line opened in 2009. From there, construction in Chelsea boomed even more than usual. Until the End of the World was published in 2013, and the Whitney Museum opened in 2015, though construction began in 2010. I briefly toyed with the idea of trying to figure out what it would have looked like down by Gansevoort Street and along the High Line in 2013-14, and then I came to my senses when I realized that was not only a daunting (if not impossible) task, but also a good way to make myself insane and make you all wait an extra decade for the book. And you’d already waited long enough, I think you’ll agree. Ha.
So, the completed Whitney Museum was made part of the scenery. Starting in 2015, I visited the High Line and Whitney every summer, both for inspiration and to see how things had changed. I even got super fancy and stayed at The Standard Hotel, which was a lot of fun. (And tax-deductible!) I stood on the Empire State Building at dawn, which was 100% worth waking up at three in the morning, in case you were wondering if you should do the same. I’ve been to Stuyvesant Town every year, too, though that hasn’t changed much—except for a new dock by the water this past summer, which I did NOT include, since the book was already written. (Also, see my previous note about sanity.) If you visit the East River right there, just imagine it was washed away by the bombs or debris in the water.
I hope you’ll forgive any inconsistencies between the books and what you see with your own eyes if you visit any of these spots in my hometown. And you should visit, if only because New York City is a pretty cool place.
As for the incendiary devices—thankfully, as of this writing I’m not imprisoned for the many suspicious Google searches and downloads I performed while writing Instauration. I did my best to give you an idea of what would go into making nitro, though I left out some important details; if you’re hankering to build a bomb, you’ll have to figure it out on your own. However, I did research to see what ingredients they could have found in the city, and where they could have found them, so rest assured it’s as realistic as I could make it.
Masonry heaters. Oh, how I want a masonry heater. I had a lot of fun figuring out how one would keep warm in the city, where fuel of all kinds, including wood, would be scarce. When I hit on masonry heaters, I yapped about them for a month until my husband couldn’t take it anymore. I’m not sure why we don’t all have them, especially those of us who have wood stoves, since they use far less fuel and produce steady heat, and… You want me to shut up now, too, don’t you? Fine, but one day I’m gonna get me a masonry heater. Just you wait.
Various other things—the sewers, lock pickers, water towers, NYC’s water system, the rivers and tides, the bridges, high-rises, Central Park, hotel door locks, roaches (eek!) and many other things I can’t remember at the moment—were researched to death. I did my best to get it all correct, though I’m bound to screw up something. I hope you’ll forgive any mistakes.
I think that’s all. Thanks for sticking with me through another series. I’ll miss these folks so much, but I’ll have some new imaginary friends for us to play with soon. Or, soon-ish. We all know how fast I write, don’t we? Heh.
-SLF 9.14.2018
Acknowledgments
As always, I have people to thank.
All the parents, who beta read and comment and point out typos. Mom, Dad, and Mama P, you guys rock!
My beta readers: Michele L. Heeder, Beth Hegy, Jessica Gudmundson, Danielle Gustafson, Denise Kawaii, Jennifer Knight, Lindsey Pogue, and JayJay Jackson.
Thank you for your comments, your corrections, and thanks to a few of you for answering semi-hysterical emails asking you things I had to know right now. Gosh, we writers can be crazy, eh?
Even the paid proofreader misses a few things, and I wrangle people into trying to catch those last typos. This time, I had some people who proofread for me along with the usual folks. They also did it out of the goodness of their hearts, so a huge thank you to Stephanie Bartee, Amanda Pratt, and Mikka McClain.
Thank you to Will, my husband and editor. He says every book is better than the last, and he promises he’s not blowing smoke up my arse when he says it. (This time, I might believe him, since I made him cry twice. Score!) I tell him it’s because his editing has made me a better writer. It’s the truth.
The City Series (Book 3): Instauration Page 81
