I hate it here. I should never have come home. This place is the worst and it brings out the worst in me. Seeing it in this condition, after having been away so long, it just makes me feel worse.

Garbage lines the streets. The homeless are fighting each other and shouting; I keep my distance as I make my way. I half recognize the chatter of voices, and the guy I see turn a corner looks like someone I went to school with. I turn up my coat collar and walk faster.

The bomb hit here two years ago. The fallout has cleared and it’s technically safe to be here. But everyone who could leave is gone, with those remaining the poorest of the poor. My parents are among that number.

“Gerald!” My mother exclaims as she opens the door. I’m embraced warmly, and my father claps me on the shoulder. “We thought we’d never see you again.”

I shake my head. “I know, it’s been too long. I want to get you out of here.”

My mother stares into my eyes and takes my hand. I try not to see the veins lining every inch of her face, the scales of skin sloughing off. “We’re fine here, Gerald, you worry too much. Come in, sit down.”

I sit in my father’s easy chair and they take the sofa. “I have a place for you now; you’ll be safer there.”

“Tell us about the outside world. Is it nicer out there than it is here?”

I look away. “There are nice parts, in places, a few trees. I have a source for clean water, that’s the most important thing.”

My father clears his throat. “We boil all our water, Gerry, you know that. It’s fine! Perfectly safe.”

“But it’s better for you to have clean water. And it’s just not safe for you two to be by yourselves here. I live in a compound with like minded people and we look after each other.”

“Gerald, we can’t become a burden on you. We are dying. It doesn’t make any sense for you to take us on and try and get us somewhere. We’re going to die anyway, here or there.”

“Mom!” I say, the words catching in my throat. Tears are in my eyes. “Don’t say that! Something can be done! You have to try!”

She leans forward and takes my hand. “Gerald, there’s nothing to do. Let’s just enjoy your visit.”