Novel & Cerita After The War I Went Back To New York

I fought hard not to let them fall. "You have always shown me kind gestures. I pray you get more than this in return." I hugged him too. We exchanged meaningful glances, and then I had to let him go back inside. I held the flower tightly. I boarded a cab and went back home—back to Greece. ********* ## BACK IN GREECE "Girl, don't tell me you fought World War III for them," Maggie mocked. "Are you going to welcome me back, or are you going to sit there and say things that don't even matter?" I shrugged.

The world would remember. *** ONE YEAR AFTER THE STORM The world was quiet now. A whole year had passed since the war ended. People were finally healing. The pain and sadness were not as heavy anymore. Some days were still hard, but most days felt lighter. In the human world, people started smiling again. Shops reopened. Schools were back. Families gathered more often. There were lights in the streets at night, and laughter filled the air. The fear that once covered every home had slowly gone away. Now, there was hope.

Just like it took weeks to re-learn how to sit through dinner without jolting upright at the sound of the air conditioner clicking on or the fridge making ice—certain it was the sound of some kind of attack. Now, a full month after the war had ended, I stood on the rooftop deck, gazing out over the city. At times, in places, I imagined I might still see the scars of the war—a soot-blacked streak here or a pile of rubble there, an abandoned car, what had once been a park now a flattened empty lot. Even the streets still felt too quiet, like people had grown accustomed to staying inside to avoid the constant danger of war. But even as I saw the ache of loss, I saw too the fresh buds of new lif

On our final evening, we sat on our hotel balcony, watching the waves crash below. “You ready to go back?” I asked, my voice quiet. He looked at me, eyes soft. “I’ll go anywhere, as long as it’s with you.” I leaned my head on his shoulder. “New York feels like a whole different world now.” “Let’s carry this peace back with us,” he whispered. “No matter what’s waiting there.” Three weeks had passed in a blur of laughter, sunsets, and lazy breakfasts. Now, luggage sat by our hotel door.

I contemplated for a short moment, before deciding to tell her. “Actually, I’m just getting back to the hotel”, I said quietly. “Really? Where did you go?” She asked. “So… I met this guy…” “Oh my God!” Grace gasped. “I didn't know how it happened. One thing led to another and… I hooked up with him”, I said the last part very low.

Coming back to New York felt weird. The bland welcome they received from the helps and the home that lacked the warmth of an actual home was a jarring push to reality. They weren't in Paris anymore. They were in New York. The place that reminded them of everything that they wished not to remember.

“To ISMARA New York. And to the woman who made it happen.” I clinked my glass against hers. The wine was good, rich and smooth. I took a long sip, letting the tension drain from my shoulders. “Can I ask you something?” Lucia said after a moment. “Always.” “Do you ever regret coming back?” I considered the question. Six years ago, I had fled New York broken and with nothing but the clothes on my back and a burning need to survive. Coming back had meant facing everything I had lost. Everyone who had abandoned me.

I stepped into the limousine, and a wave of cold air from the AC gushed over me. As the limo drove through the familiar streets of New York, memories flooded back. I couldn't help but recall the challenges, pain, and heartache I endured during my time here. However, I was determined to focus on the positive changes in my life. My decision to pursue the scholarship and move to Italy had been a turning point, and now, returning after five years felt like a triumphant homecoming. “Where to, Ma?” My driver, Steven, asked. “The main workshop, please.” I replied to him.

It always does. “I’m fine. It was a long time ago. I could’nt stay in southern Vegas, not after everything that happened. Vanessa and I decided to start afresh, get a new start.” ”So you decided to come to New York?” My ear is directly above his heart, so I enjoy the sensual, low rumbling of his voice against his chest as he speaks. ”Yes. I came to New York fresh from grief, looking for something better, but everything just seemed to get worse and worse.”

It was over for me. .... Months and days had passed since the Long War had ended. I wandered the cities of the Empire, searching solace in drink, in women and in food. Money was plentiful. The war had made sure of that. My brothers had both made investments and I was their sole collector. So I did exactly that, investing and binging, enjoying life as I drowned the sorrows of my memories. Then I met him, he was a strange man. Boisterous, glutonnous and too lecherous for my hypocrisy to tolerate.