Boy meets new family

After the man dies, the boy is left alone in the woods. He stays three days with his father's body, then walks out to the road. He looks down the road and back the way they came. Someone is coming. He starts to turn and go back into the woods but he doesn't. He just stands in the road and waits, the pistol in his hand. He has piled all the blankets on his father and he is cold and hungry.

The Encounter on the Road

The man who hoves into view is dressed in a gray and yellow ski parka. He carries a shotgun upside down over his shoulder on a braided leather lanyard and wears a nylon bandolier filled with shells for the gun. He is a veteran of old skirmishes, bearded, scarred across his cheek, the bone stoven, and one eye wandering. When he speaks his mouth works imperfectly, and when he smiles. He asks where the man the boy was with is. The boy says he died. The man asks if that was his father. The boy says yes, he was his papa. The man says he is sorry and that he doesn't know what to do. He thinks the boy should come with him. The boy asks if he is one of the good guys. The man pulls back the hood from his face. His hair is long and matted. He looks at the sky as if there were anything there to be seen. He looks at the boy and says, "Yeah, I'm one of the good guys." He asks the boy to put the pistol away. The boy says he is not supposed to let anyone take the pistol, no matter what. The man says he doesn't want the pistol, he just doesn't want the boy pointing it at him. The boy says okay.

The Man's Offer and the Boy's Choice

The man asks where the boy's stuff is. The boy says they don't have much stuff. The man asks if he has a sleeping bag. The boy says no. The man asks what he has, some blankets. The boy says his papa is wrapped in them. The man tells him to show him, but the boy doesn't move. The man watches him. He squats on one knee and swings the shotgun up from under his arm and stands it in the road and leans on the fore-stock. The shotgun shells in the loops of the bandolier are handloaded and the ends sealed with candlewax. He smells of woodsmoke. He tells the boy he has two choices. There was some discussion about whether to even come after him at all. He can stay here with his papa and die or he can go with the man. If he stays he needs to keep out of the road. The man says he doesn't know how the boy made it this far, but he should go with him. He will be all right. The boy asks how he knows the man is one of the good guys. The man says he doesn't, the boy will have to take a shot. The boy asks if he is carrying the fire. The man looks confused and asks if he is what. The boy repeats, "Carrying the fire." The man asks if he is kind of weirded out. The boy says no. The man says just a little. The boy says that's okay. He asks again if the man is carrying the fire. The man says yes, they are. The boy asks if he has any kids. The man says they do. The boy asks if they have a little boy. The man says they have a little boy and a little girl. The boy asks how old he is. The man says he is about the boy's age, maybe a little older. The boy asks if they didn't eat them. The man says no. The boy says they don't eat people. The man says no, they don't eat people. The boy asks if he can go with him. The man says yes, he can. The boy says okay then. The man says okay.

Saying Goodbye

They go into the woods and the man squats and looks at the gray and wasted figure under the tilted sheet of plywood. He asks if these are all the blankets the boy has. The boy says yes. The man asks if that is his suitcase. The boy says yes. The man stands and tells the boy to go back out to the road and wait for him. He will bring the blankets and everything. The boy asks about his papa. The man says what about him, they can't just leave him here. The boy says yes they can. The boy says he doesn't want people to see him. The man says there's no one to see him. The boy asks if he can cover him with leaves. The man says the wind will blow them away. The boy asks if they could cover him with one of the blankets. The man says yes, he will do it. He tells the boy to go on now. The boy says okay. He waits in the road and when the man comes out of the woods he is carrying the suitcase and has the blankets over his shoulder. He sorts through them and hands one to the boy, telling him to wrap it around himself because he is cold. The boy tries to hand him the pistol but he won't take it. He tells the boy to hold onto it. The boy says okay. The man asks if he knows how to shoot it. The boy says yes. The man says okay. The boy asks about his papa. The man says there's nothing else to be done. The boy says he thinks he wants to say goodbye to him. The man asks if he will be all right. The boy says yes. The man tells him to go ahead, he will wait for him. The boy walks back into the woods and kneels beside his father. He is wrapped in a blanket as the man promised and the boy doesn't uncover him but he sits beside him and he is crying and he can't stop. He cries for a long time. He whispers that he will talk to him every day and he won't forget, no matter what. Then he rises and turns and walks back out to the road.

The New Family

The woman, when she sees him, puts her arms around him and holds him. She says she is so glad to see him. She would talk to him sometimes about God. He tries to talk to God but the best thing is to talk to his father and he does talk to him and he doesn't forget. The woman says that is all right. She says that the breath of God is his breath yet though it pass from man to man through all of time.