Lost Mementos of the Past, Part 8

Caleb awoke just as the sun rose up into the sky. He emerged from his tent groggily and drank from his canteen as sunlight began to cast over the empty New York City. With the demolition imminent, everyone working in the city up to that point had been evacuated to a campsite a distance outside the city, which was where he was now. As he sat down and absentmindedly chomped on a piece of hardtack, he noticed Hope groggily emerge from her tent.

“How was it?” Caleb asked as she sat down beside him. “Working as a demolitionist, I mean.”

“Exhausting,” Hope replied as she stretched out her arms. “I thought knocking down buildings would be pretty easy work, but there's so much prep work to make sure nothing does more damage than is necessary.”

“So I guess you're not interested in continuing work as a demolitionist?”

Hope grimaced. “No thanks. I spent all day washing off the dust and grime from the rubble. I'd rather not do it again.”

“The demolition's today, right? That'll be exciting.”

“I guess. It might not happen right away, but it'll probably get blown up by the end of the day.”

“I see.” Caleb looked out at the city with a somber look. He hadn't known it for long, but he had spent so much time here over the last two weeks that he knew that he would miss it once it was gone.

“What about you?” Hope asked blithely. “I heard you'd had quite the adventure. You sure you're okay with how it all turned out?”

“Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?”

“I don't know. You just seem... a little listless, that's all.”

Caleb was surprised. He didn't think he'd have heard such an empathetic statement coming from Hope of all people. It was such a shock that he ended up being more honest than he meant to. “I guess it's complicated. It's not for me to butt in on.”

“What's that? You mean you've learned delicacy after all this time?”

Caleb smirked. Now she was cracking jokes. “Sure. Why don't we leave it at that?”

After a little more time, Hope got up and left to speak to the other demolitionists. Caleb, having finished breakfast for the day, made the decision to take a walk through the city one more time before the demolition began. As he approached the city limits, he noticed Kai standing to the side jotting down notes in his clipboard.

“Hey, Caleb!” Kai shouted out as he spotted him walking up. “You need something?”

“Just thought I'd go for one more walk through the city,” Caleb explained. “Is that all right?”

“Er, as long as you make it back in a couple hours,” Kai replied awkwardly. “Aside from a few last inspections, we're going to start blowing buildings up soon.”

“No problem.” A jolt of curiosity ran up Caleb's back. “Hey, have you seen Mina yet?”

“No. She should still be at the relay tower, right?”

“So she isn't back,” Caleb sighed. He gingerly took out the poster he had found and held it in his hands. It was laminated, so it wouldn't fall apart that easily, but he was still worried about something happening to it before he could hand it off to Mina.

“I wanted to ask you something,” Caleb said as he handed the poster to Kai. “This woman... she's related to Mina somehow, isn't she?”

Kai looked at the poster and raised an eyebrow. “I'm surprised you could tell. You're right, though. This is Mina's mother, back when she was an up-and-coming actress.”

“That explains it. I wondered why Mina would go so far for a movie, even if it was her favorite. You could have told me, you know.”

“What would that have changed? You were already willing to help her anyway. Besides, knowing that wouldn't have helped you find it faster anyhow.”

Caleb clicked his tongue. For some reason, he started to get the sense that Kai enjoyed being cryptic a little too much. Kai sensed his displeasure and gave him a wry smile.

“Cut me some slack. It's not like I'm all-knowing or anything. Everything I did was based on a hunch, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah. Forget it. All's well that ends well, right?” Caleb turned and began walking towards the city.

“Caleb!” Kai called out. Caleb turned around with a sigh, expecting another sarcastic jab, but to his surprise, Kai now wore a serious and somber expression.

“Thanks for this,” Kai said solemnly, bowing his head slightly. “Even if it's been centuries since we last talked, she's still my family. I'm grateful to you for being with her when she needed someone.”

Caleb turned around and sighed. “Instead of thanking me, next time you should be the one to help her out. What's the point of holding each other at arm's length anyway? I promise you Mina doesn't think of you the way you think she does.”

“Is that so? Well, I'll take your word for it.”

Caleb walked off into the city for one last trek through the ruins. It was a little emotional, but it wasn't as affecting as he thought it'd be, and before he knew it, several hours had already passed. He was slowly coming around to where he had entered, and so he decided to head out for the time being. As he did, he noticed Sean now standing at the city limits, checking the clipboard Kai was writing on.

“Hey, you finish looking around?” Sean asked without looking up from the clipboard.

“Pretty much. Is the demolition happening soon?”

“Won't be long. Why don't you head back to the camp? I heard Mina came back.”

“She did?” Caleb rushed off before Sean could give an answer. He knew she was probably looking for him, and he didn't want her to venture into the city out of concern.

Thankfully, she was under Rick's careful watch, which Caleb remembered the moment he saw him with Mina. She waved him over the moment she saw him, and Caleb jogged over to greet them.

“Are you fine?” Caleb asked once greetings were over and done with.

“Yeah, I guess so. Once I had some time to rest, it was like all the tension just dropped from my body.”

“That's good. Right, I have something for you.” Caleb reached into his pocket and pulled out the poster he had found. “Looks like whoever had this was also a fan. The laminate is probably the only reason it even survived this long.”

Mina gingerly took the poster from Caleb and nervously glanced down at it. She looked as if tears were about to well up in her eyes, but of course that wasn't actually going to happen. Nevertheless, she moved as if to wipe them away and gave Caleb a warm smile. “Thanks. This really means a lot to me.”

“That's your mother on the poster, right? Kai told me.”

“Yeah,” Mina replied with a shivering sigh. “I haven't seen her in centuries.”

“That's good. I'm glad you could see her again.”

“Thank you. And now, it's time to say good-bye, too.”

Caleb was surprised. “What do you mean?”

“I told you, didn't I? I had a lot of time to rest after repairs and maintenance, and I realized that Rick was right. As much as I hate to admit it, I was really reckless these past couple of weeks, and I caused a lot of trouble for a lot of people. You too, come to think of it.”

“I wouldn't say that,” Caleb said as he scratched his head. “I wasn't doing anything in particular anyhow.”

“Well, thanks for the sentiment,” Mina smiled. “But now it's time for me to let go.”

Caleb watched as Mina's face changed from one of uncertainty to one of resolve. “Hold on.”

“What's wrong? Don't stop me once I've made up my mind.”

“I won't stop you. Just... instead of throwing that poster away or whatever you plan to do, let me hold onto it.”

“Why?”

“Because... it's a precious memory, right? I don't think you should let go of those so easily.”

“But... if I know you have it, then I'll never feel like I've truly let go. I feel like I'll always be thinking of finding you whenever I want to see my mother.”

“What's wrong with that?”

“Huh?”

“There are some people I'd like to see too, you know. I could, too – more easily than you can, at least. But I don't, because just like you, I want to be able to let go of the past. Even so, I'd rather know that I can still see them every now and then rather than never be able to see them at all. Isn't that the case with you?”

Mina looked as if she was going to object, but then she just sighed. “You're quite the busybody, aren't you? Alright, you win. Here.”

Caleb took the poster from Mina and stashed it back in his bag. “Don't worry. I'll stash it somewhere safe.”

“Maybe you're the one who should hurry. If I get antsy, I might hunt you down, after all.”

“That's no problem. You can find me anytime, if you want to see her.”

Suddenly, a call rang out through the campsite. “The demolition's about to begin!” Kai shouted out through a megaphone. “Make sure no one's inside of the city!”

Mina and Caleb gathered up with the other remainers to watch as the demolition began. At first, it seemed as if nothing was happening, but then the sound of an explosion rang through the air. A large cloud of dust shot out as one of the massive buildings still standing began to collapse. Several explosions followed as skyscraper after skyscraper crumbled to the ground.

“Those people that left on the expeditionary ship,” Mina said as the demolition continued. “How do you think they'd feel if they came back to find New York City destroyed like this?”

“I don't know,” Caleb replied. “But I'm sure one day they'd be able to build it all back again.”

Mina smiled warmly. “You're right. It's only a matter of time, after all.”