Victor

Victor’s burial turns the destruction of the children’s home into a communal farewell: the children carry him to the bomb crater, lay a clay man beside him, and cover his grave with new growth before leaving the island.

Burial and Farewell

Bronwyn lifts Victor’s entire bed and carries it outside with him still lying in it. With all the children gathered on the grass, she draws back the sheets, tucks him in, and kisses his forehead for the last time. The boys then raise the bed’s corners like pallbearers and carry him down into the crater left by the bomb.

The burial makes the crater—an injury to the children’s home—Victor’s grave. The children climb out, but Enoch remains below. From his pocket he takes a clay man and lays it gently on Victor’s chest, saying, “This is my very best man,” he said. “To keep you company.” The clay figure sits up; Enoch presses it down with his thumb, and it rolls onto its side as if going to sleep. The small gesture gives Victor a companion while also placing one of Enoch’s creations within the grave.

The Grave and the Departure

Once the crater is filled, Fiona drags shrubs and vines across the raw soil and begins to grow them there. Adam, who had been in his old spot, returns to it by the time the others finish packing, now marking Victor’s grave. The planting and marking make the burial a continuing presence in the damaged ground rather than a farewell that simply disappears from view.

After saying goodbye to their house, the children set out across the island. Some take chips of brick or flowers from the garden as keepsakes. Their route passes through smoking, charred woods and the bomb-pocked bog, over the ridge and down through the small town, where residents linger on porches and in doorways, stunned and exhausted. Against that devastated landscape, the children’s departure carries both grief for Victor and the practical necessity of moving on.

The End of Stalled Time

The journey takes place on September fourth. The children have not slept, yet appear alert; for the first time in a very long while, the days are moving again. Some say they can feel the change in fuller breaths and faster blood, and feel more vital and real. Victor’s burial therefore stands at a threshold: the children leave behind their house and their dead companion as time itself begins to move forward once more.