August 5th

What a day! There's just so much that happened.

A couple of hours after I finished writing yesterday's entry, May practically lost all of her steam and went to sleep at what I felt like was eleven at night. Mom and Dad spent most of the night preparing the wedding, both of them sleeping sometime after midnight, which was when I went to sleep.

They woke up early in the morning to just set everything up and move furniture around to make space. It was snowing outside, small gray flakes of ash from volcanoes hundreds of miles away were falling on the dead grass. Who knew that a summer wedding would turn into what feels like a winter wonderland? Who even expected that a wedding would happen?

Mom and Dad cleared out an empty space in the middle of the living room and brought the dining room chairs for us to sit in. We had some string up lights for Christmas that haven't been used since second or third grade when we stopped setting up the Christmas tree, partially because the last time we did this, no one bothered to take down the Christmas tree until the middle of summer.

May and I also cut out flowers from paper and pasted it onto a banner that would be behind where Mira and Leon would exchange their vows. I also found some green yarn and twisted it around the chairs and pasted the remaining paper flowers on the chairs because we might as well make use of our resources. We were going to have a very floral wedding, which was pretty ironic since all the flowers are dead from the ashfall.

Grandma and Grandpa did all the cooking in the morning for the wedding, taking out cans and bags of flour. "But what about the whole conserving food thing?" I asked Mom.

"We'll figure it out later," Mom said. "It's a wedding. We can figure out how we're going to make it past afterwards."

The delicious aroma of what Grandma and Grandpa were cooking wafted through the air as they cut scallions and scattered them on flat cakes of flour before pan-frying them, and all of a sudden, I thought of something. "Is it alright if I bring a friend over?" I asked.

"You'd probably have to ask Mira about that," Mom said. "She'll probably say yes though but ask her just in case. You don't want to mess up her day."

Dad called Mom's name after that, probably to help him with finding some wedding gifts for Leon. We've got a mountain of old vintage things in and around the garage, hiding in old cardboard boxes. Dad moved some of them around and into the closet by the garage when we made space for the greenhouse and wood storage pile, so that's probably why Dad was calling for her.

I walked towards Mira's room. It was closed, and I didn't want to catch her off guard, so I knocked on the door.

"If it's you, Leon, I told you that visiting the bride before the wedding is bad luck," she shouted.

"Well, luckily for you, this is not Leon," I said. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah," she said. "Just wait a sec."

There was some shuffling of footsteps before she opened the door. She was dressed in a long, white gown that swept across the ground, trailing a couple of feet behind her. Her hair was done all fancy and she was smiling.

"So, how do I look?" she asked.

"You look fine," I said.

"Only fine?" she asked.

"You look great," I said.

"I feel terrible," she said. "And this dress is so long that every time that I stand up, I feel like I'm going to trip over it and my makeup is smudged and—"

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

She sighed. "I'm so nervous."

"You'll be fine," I said. "You've done scarier things before. How bad can a wedding be compared to bungee jumping at one of those amusement parts? A wedding should be a piece of cake."

"But that's bungee jumping," she replied. "All you're doing is just taking a chance at a moment. You don't have to think about what comes after. You just close your eyes and fall. You can't do this with a wedding because things happen afterwards, and it's just stressful to live with the consequences of what happens afterwards."

"What's the worst that could happen afterwards?" I asked.

"I could mess everything up," she said. "Maybe I'll forget my vows or—"

"You won't," I said. "And who cares about forgetting your vows? None of us will hold it against you—"

"I care," she said. "I don't know why, but I care a lot."

"This is about Leon leaving, isn't it?"

There was silence in the room. She looked down at her engagement ring.

"This day might be the last time I'll ever see him," she said. "I just want everything to go perfectly today because I want his last impression of me to be good, not embarrassing or anything."

"And everything will go alright," I said and leaned against the door frame.

"Oh, yeah," she said. "Sorry for putting all my stress and anxiety onto you. You came here to talk to me about something."

"Uh, yeah. I was just wondering if it'd be alright if I invited Charles over," I said. "If you're not alright with it then that's totally fine—"

"Bring him over," she said. "If this is my last wedding, I might as well make it big."

"And his family?"

"Sure," Mira said.

I turned towards the door and looked back. Mira was fidgeting with her dress.

"You're going to be fine," I said.

"Thanks," she said with a little smile. "Make sure to get them quickly."

So I put on my mask and told Mom that I was going out to see if Charles wanted to come to the wedding. The ashfall that buried our backyard in the morning had stopped, and the sky was merely a dark shade of gray. I had wished for the Moon to disappear, but did the world have to take the Sun along with it?

The trees had shed all of their leaves and with the ash laying on top of the bare branches, it looked like it had been snowing. If I took a picture of that tree, you'd probably think that it was from some state in the Northeast, not here in coastal California where it never snows, and the sun is usually shining.

When I reached Charles' house and looked at it, I thought they had moved out. There was no light inside, not even shining through the thin curtains, and it was almost like nobody was there anymore and that they had moved on. I nearly didn't knock on the door because it'd be awkward knocking on the door for an empty house, but I did so anyway because I knew that Charles wouldn't leave without telling me.

There was movement behind the door, but not the frenzied footsteps that I heard from a couple days ago, but more subdued and tired. The door opened, and I saw Charles. He looked pretty bad, deep bags underneath his eyes that made me feel his tiredness.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey."

"You alright?" I asked even though I knew the answer.

"We're making it through," Charles said. "So, do you have the, you know?"

"No, but I've got something better," I said. "My sister is getting married—"

"With everything that's happening?"

"Believe me. I'm pretty much as surprised as you are," I said. "Anyways, our family is making a bunch of food for the wedding, and it'll be fun, and I was wondering if you or your family would be interested in coming."

"Yeah, I can come," he said. "I don't think my parents can though. They've—"

He took a deep breath. "They've sacrificed a lot."

"We can bring some food back," I said. "My grandparents always make too much food anyways."

"And your family won't mind?"

"Of course not," I said.

The sky had begun to lightly snow ash again, little flakes of it drifting onto the patio and through his door. Charles stepped out and closed the door. "Do you think it's snowing now?" he asked. "Actual snow, not ash."

"Probably not," I said. "Maybe in the future, though. Who knows what's going to happen after?"

"Yeah," he said, and there was a silence between us before continuing. "You know what I just realized, I don't have any suits or any formal wear for the wedding. I used to, but—"

"I think I've got a spare one," I said, knowing what had happened with his suit. "My dad definitely has a spare one, so you can take mine, and I'll take my Dad's one if things don't work out."

"Okay," he said and nodded. "Are we leaving now?"

"Yeah, yeah," I said. "My sister told me to hurry back, so we'd probably want to do that."

"I'll be out in a minute," he said. "Just need to grab a mask and tell my parents."

I waited for about a minute for him, and then once he appeared, we began to walk back. There was this awkward silence between us as the ocean gusts kicked up small clouds of ash, which skittered around before fading away. We talked about stuff for a solid minute or two during the twenty-minute walk, but it was more to fill the air with sound than to actually hold a conversation.

When I reached home, I knocked on the door, and Mom answered it. She looked at me.

"What took you so long?" she asked, and then looked at Charles. "Oh, hey Charles."

"Sorry my parents couldn't make it," he said. "They send their congratulations to Mira and her fiancé."

"Thank you," Mom said. "Come on in. Sorry if it's a bit of a mess."

We stepped into the house. I smelled marinated canned pork and canned shrimp dumplings, and my mouth began to water. When I looked at Charles, I could see something dancing in his eyes, the flickering flame of hunger. It was so primeval and so alien at the same time.

"Hey, Mom," I said. "We have to get dressed for the wedding, right?"

"Of course," Mom said. "It's a special occasion."

"Do we still have my extra suit?" I asked. "I don't remember wearing it, but—"

"I think I donated it to your cousin," Mom said. "It was too small anyways. The suit was barely fitting over your shoulders."

"Dad has an extra suit, right?" I asked.

"Maybe," she said. "Go check the closet. It'll probably be there."

We walked down the hallway and into Dad's room. "Everything is pretty wild out there," he said.

"Weddings are pretty wild," I said and looked through the closet. There were piles of formalwear, but none of these were suits. "Especially in my family. I mean one of my Dad's cousins literally brought an elephant—"

"And elephant," he said. "Man, your family really hardcore."

"Well, that's my Dad's side of the family for you," I said and rummaged through the piles of clothes. "Go big or go home."

"Still can't find it?"

"Yeah," I said and scratched the back of my head. "I'll go get my suit for you, and I'll search through one of the drawers because it's probably in there."

I went into my room's closet and grabbed my suit and the pants and button-up shirt that came with it. There was dust coating the top of the suit and I shook it off, watching it flit in the soft afternoon night. I don't know why, but at that moment, it reminded me of a moment in my childhood when I'd stare at the air in front of the windows in the morning, watching the small flecks of dust drift up and down in the golden light.

I went back to Dad's room and gave Charles the suit and pants. "You need a belt?" I asked.

"Probably yeah," he said. "Never liked to wear belts, but I think I'll need one."

I tossed him the belt. "You can dress in the bathroom. I'll keep trying to find my dad's suit."

He nodded and closed the door while I dug deeper into the closet. After a solid five-ish minutes of searching, I found the suit vest, buried behind a mound of old shirts and pants that haven't been touched for a solid year or two, and then, I went back to my room to grab some pants and a dress-shirt

When I entered Dad's room, Charles emerged from the bathroom. The suit hung limply from his body frame and his pants sagged a little, even with the belt wrapped around it tightly.

"I look awful, don't I?" he said.

"You look great," I said. "You probably want a tie, right?"

"You mean a choker," he said and for a second, I could feel a little bit of the old him. "Ties are basically legal stranglers."

"Well you're lucky that my dad agrees with you on this," I replied and looked through the closet. "And also, he's really lazy when it comes to ties, which is why he has clip-on ties."

I pulled his collection of them out. "Pick and choose whatever you want."

"There are a lot of choices here," he replied and stared at the collection of ties.

"And thus, the paradox of choice has been proven again," I said. "I'm going to get dressed now, so take all the time you need to choose."

I went into the bathroom to get dressed. When I took off my t-shirt to put on the dress-shirt, looking in the mirror, probably for the first time in a long time, I realized that even I had lost some weight, much less than Charles, but enough that I'd notice. The small amount of fat that gathered itself in front of my stomach was basically gone, and my skin clung to my body frame. If I'm losing so much weight from a two can diet per day, who knows how long I'm going to even survive when the food runs dry?

Anyway, when I exited the bathroom, Charles was holding up two ties, a red and a deep blue one. "Which one?" he asked.

"Red," I said. "That was a completely random pick by the way. No clue about anything relating to fashion."

He handed me the blue tie, and we both put them on. "How long is the wedding going to last?" he asked.

"You have a curfew or something?"

"No, I was just wondering," he said, and there was an awkward pause. "I've never really been to one. Probably won't ever be in one with the whole world being the way that it is."

"What would you want your wedding to be like?"

"Tropical island," he said. "Beach sand on my toes. The soft waves rumbling in the distance. Palm fronds rustling above me. Warm air and sunlight everywhere. Plenty of food to go around. It would be paradise."

"It would be," I said. "And once the volcanoes stop erupting and the skies clear up and the tides and beaches stabilize, you'll be able to have this."

"If only that could happen," he said and sighed. He looked like an old man at that moment, just tired and worn out with the whole world and everything that is happening. Is this what hunger does to you, sapping away all your energy and lust for life until you're just a shadow of your former self?

At that moment, Mom burst into the room. "Wedding is starting soon. You both look great."

"C'mon," I said. "Probably don't want to miss anything."

We walked down the hallway into the living room. The dining table chairs were arranged in rows. Grandma, Grandpa, and May were already sitting down on one side, and Charles and I sat on the other side. I'm pretty sure there was some special way that we were supposed to sit, but I'm almost certain that that seating arrangement is religious and no one in our family is remotely religious.

Leon was standing on the end of the living room, in front of the wedding banner that May and I made, fidgeting nervously. Dad was probably with Mira, and Mom was standing next to Leon, probably because she was the officiator for the wedding. I could see flurries of ash outside of the window. We were truly going to have a winter wedding in the middle of summer.

Then, I heard footsteps behind me, and I looked back. Mira and Dad were walking up towards Leon and Mom. Mira has a smile plastered onto her face, but you could see her hand trembling and how concentrated she was, not on Leon, but on not tripping on her dress. Dad was beaming through, oddly enough with pride even though a couple of days back he completely opposed the whole marriage. I guess things change quickly in the apocalypse.

When Mira reached Leon and Mom, Dad took a seat, and Mom opened her folded paper filled with notes and began officiating.

"Welcome everyone," she said. "Today we are gathered here to celebrate the marriage between Mira and Leon. We all hope that they will have a happy marriage filled with joy, even if they may spend some of it apart."

"Before Mira and Leon recite their vows, I'd like to talk about what marriage is," Mom said. "For some people, marriage is what happens when two people kiss each other during the ceremony and sign a piece of paper declaring that they're married. But for your father and I, marriage is about more than that."

"For us, marriage is about compromise. Marriage is about empathy. Marriage is about making sacrifices for each other. Marriage is about love. Marriage is about moving across the country, so that your husband can get a better job. Marriage is about changing your job to help take care of your children while your wife is at work. Marriage is about trust and understanding and knowing that everything won't be perfect."

"That's what marriage is," Mom said and looked down at her paper. "Now, Mira and Leon, you may recite your vows."

"Do you want to go first?" Leon said. "Or should I?"

"You can go first," Mira said.

"Okay," Leon said and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket.

"We could write down our vows?" Mira asked.

"That's what I thought," Leon said. "Wait, we aren't supposed to?"

"That's what I thought, but—"

"Okay, can you guys just get on with it?" May asked. "No need for pointless arguments."

Leon opened up his crumpled piece of paper and tried to smooth it out. His hands were trembling, and the edges of the paper were fluttering with every tremble. He cleared his throat. "Before I get started on my vows, I'd like to tell the story of how we met—"

"No," Mira said. "God, no."

Leon smiled mischievously, and his hands stopped trembling as much. "It was on a hot summer day, one that was so hot that even our infamously cold beaches were warm. The smell of the ocean was strong, and the breeze was nice that day. It felt like paradise."

"I don't really remember what I was doing on the beach that day. It was some journalism project, probably for some beach cleaning program or something along the lines of that," he continued. "But the thing I remember was you, Mira. You were by the tidepools, standing on one of those rocks covered with red and green algae and staring into one of the pools. I guess I was curious about what you were doing. I had never seen anyone observe the tidepools before, and certainly never seen anyone do it so intensely."

He took a deep breath. "So I went up to ask you about what you were looking at, but I don't think you saw me because when I came up to you and said something, I forgot exactly, you jumped up and fell onto the beach, just as the waves came in and drenched your clothes."

"I thought you'd be crying or something, but instead, you were laughing. Laughing of all things as sand clung to your hair and seawater soaked your pants," he said. "When I helped you up, you said—"

"Cheap move," Mira said. "And then, I pushed you into the ocean, so we'd be even."

"I know it sounds cliche," he said. "And it probably is, but I felt something with you. Not love because that'd come later on, but this something that felt like possibility, like there was something for us in the future. And three years later, look where we are."

"I'll be here for you, always," he said. "Even when we might be a thousand miles apart, I'll be here for you. I'll always support your decisions, even when I may not agree with them sometimes. We might have fights and stupid arguments, but I'll always love you. Always."

There was a pause, and then Mom looked at Mira and nodded.

"I don't think I've ever told you what I was doing at the tidepools, have I?" Mira asked.

"I don't believe so," Leon said. "It's still one of the great mysteries of life."

"Well, then I should get a Nobel prize for telling you this," she said. "I was looking at a crab, scurrying from anemone filled pools to empty rock pools to pools filled with algae and limpets. I don't know why I was fascinated, but it was just entrancing."

"And that's the thing about this is that it's the little things in life that I remember the most," Mira said. "The coffee shop meet-ups, the dinners at the local restaurants, the movies that we watched in the movie theaters. All of those were sweet, and I cherish them deeply."

"But the moment I knew I loved you was a small one," she said. "Two years back on the fourth of July. The night was warm, and the sky was bursting with colors. You were staring at the sky with this mixture of wonder and excitement, and as we were sitting there, somehow, our hands got closer and closer to each other until our fingers were around each other."

"And when you turned your head towards me, I could see your eyes filled with anxiety and hope and possibility and just everything in between," she said. "It was that moment where your hand was holding mine and your eyes were looking into mine that I knew that there was just something deeper between us."

"And every moment after that, you've just deepened that connection. All the birthday parties, staying up late to study, the cheesy jokes and puns that you've shared with me," she said. "All of those just helped build up our love for each other. But that one moment, where everything felt possible. That moment is one that I'll always remember."

"So for my vows," she said. "I'll be there to support you whenever you need me. I'll be here to inspire you to live your life better. And when the world gets better and the sun starts shining, we'll come back together because I'll always love you."

Mom then turned to Leon. "Do you take my daughter, Mira, as your wife?"

"I do," Leon said, the beginnings of tears glistening in his eyes.

Mom then looked at Mira. "Do you take Leon to be your husband?"

Mira took a deep breath, and I could see her push down her anxieties, before beaming. "I do."

"And now," Mom said and looked at her paper. "It's time for the ring exchange."

Leon pulled out a ring from his pocket while Mom handed Mira a ring. Those were Mom and Dad's wedding rings. Leon gave Mom's ring to Mira, sliding it onto her ring finger, and then Mira did the same to Leon. They were both smiling.

"And now," Mom said. "I proclaim you husband and wife. And now, you may kiss."

Mira and Leon leaned in towards each other, and if this were a movie, you could hear the swelling of music, as they kissed each other. When they pulled apart, May shouted from the audience stand, "It's time to eat!"

Leon laughed even though Mira was less than amused at first, but the sound of Leon's laugh teased a smile out of her. Mom brought out the polaroid camera to take pictures of Mira and Leon while the rest of us filed into the dining room to grab food.

The dining table was crammed with all the delicious foods that Grandma and Grandpa had made. There were scallion pancakes, steamed and pan-fried pork or shrimp dumplings that they made using canned spam and shrimp, egg noodles from the dried egg yolk and ramen packages in the pantry, and fried rice with canned mixed vegetables. There were also smaller dishes around, like spicy pickled cucumbers, glass noodles and carrots, and red bean buns along with some others that I can't remember.

"That's a lot of food," Charles said.

"Yeah," I said. "But you know my family and weddings. There's plenty of food here, so go wild."

Mom then burst into the dining room. "Before everyone eats, I want to take one big family photo with Leon and Mira, so everyone has to go back out now."

"Seriously, Mom?" May said. "I just started eating."

"It'll only be a couple minutes."

"Totally," May said and rolled her eyes. "You guys always take an hour to take these photos."

"Hurry up," Mom said. "You're now wasting everyone's time."

"Fine," she said. "Just make it quick."

"It'll be quick if you stop dragging your feet," Mom replied. "Let's go."

So we all shuffled together to the living room. Mom lined Grandpa, Dad, and I into the back of the photo because we were the tallest in the family. May stood next to Mira, plastering a fake smile on her face while Grandma was next to Leon.

"Is there a way we can make this take a photo with a timer?" Mom asked.

"It's a polaroid, Mom," May said. "What do you think?"

"I don't know how these things work," she said.

"Weren't you born in the seventies? This is your generation's technology."

"So can you do a timer or not?"

"Of course not," May said. "Someone is going to have to take a picture manually."

"I'll take it," Charles said. "You guys are a family, anyways."

"Thank you," Mom said. "You know how to take a photo, right?"

"Yeah. Just press this button over here," he said and pointed to the photo button with his finger. "And it takes a photo."

"Also, make sure to take two photos," Mom said.

"Will do," Charles said.

"Okay everyone, gather around," Mom said.

So we all gathered around Mira and Leon, curling around the both of them like a crescent bay around the ocean. Once we had all shuffled into place, Mom gave Charles a thumbs up to tell him to shoot the photo, and he began a countdown. "Three. Two. One."

And then the photo snapped, and a small piece of film slid out of the camera.

"Second photo," he said. "Ready guys? Three. Two. One."

And at the last second, just before the camera flashed, Mira led out a huge sneeze, throwing her arm in front of her face. A startled Leon stumbled into Mom while May turned her head towards Mira. Only the back row of us along with Grandma maintained our composure. And all of that was caught on film.

"Uh, guys?" Charles asked. "Do you want to take another photo?"

"I don't think we have any film left," Mom said.

"That's alright," Leon said. "I call dibs on the second photo. Mira, you can have the first one."

"Nope," she said. "I'm taking the second one."

"You're not going to burn the second photo, are you?" Leon asked. "Because of the whole sneeze debacle."

"No," she said. "Probably not. Depends on how bad it is."

"Are you serious?" he asked. "'Cause I can't tell if you're joking or not."

"I just want your last physical memory to be the best there is," she said. "You know what I mean?"

"I do," he said. "Which is why you should take the first photo because I want you to remember me as your pretty cool, very perfect—"

Mira playfully elbowed him, and Leon smiled. "And I want to remember you as my beautiful, strong wife who can make even the most serious occasions feel funny."

"Why are you so good at this?" Mira asked and smiled.

"So does that mean I get the second photograph?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "As long as it isn't too bad."

Charles came up to me, with a plate filled to the brim with food. "They look happy together," he said.

"Yeah," I said. "They really do."

He took a fork and picked up a piece of scallion pancake and ate it. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"They should be together, you know," I said.

"What do you mean?"

"Leon and his family are heading south," I replied. "Mira is staying back. My mom and dad wouldn't allow all of us to go because it was too risky, so she decided to stay."

"So?" he asked. "I mean she made that decision—"

"But I think I made her make that decision," I said. "Or maybe all of us. I don't know. I guess she's just staying back because she wants to make amends with all of us—"

"But what do you have to do with all of it," he said.

There was a bit of silence between us. Mira and Leon were still chatting in the distance while May was grabbing tons of food. Mom and Dad had popped out the last bottle of wine in my house, and they were sipping it and talking with each other.

"Let's just say that I messed up bad," I said. "And I guess I feel that she's staying because we've kinda grown apart, and she wants to know me better now. I don't know if this is the full reason that she's saying, but I feel so guilty that I'm a part of the reason that she's staying."

Charles exhaled loudly. "That sounds complicated," Charles replied. "I wish I knew what to say to you."

There was another silence between us, and I gazed out of the window, where ash blanketed an old sycamore tree.

"Sorry about that," I said. "You probably didn't want to talk to me to hear me talk about myself."

"No," he said. "It's good to let it all out."

"Yeah," I said, but I wasn't sure. It just feels weird trusting someone, even if that someone has been my best friend since elementary school, with something important to me. It feels dangerous, for some reason, and I wish I could take back that conversation right now.

"Oh. My. Gosh," I heard May say as she held a photograph.

"What is it?" I asked and went over to look at the photo.

It was the second photo. Mira has her face all scrunched up with her hands flying while Leon was practically leaning on Mom with the deer in the headlight face. May and I both started laughing. They did look completely ridiculous.

Leon walked over to us. "Let me see it," he said and looked down at the photo and then started suppressing his laughter.

"What are you guys laughing about?" Mira asked as she shuffled forwards in her wedding dress.

"Nothing," May said. "It's just an inside joke."

"It's the photo, isn't it?" Mire said. "Let me see."

"You know, it's not that bad. We both look pretty funny in the photo," Leon said.

"Well I'll be the judge of that," she replied. "Give it to me."

Leon handed Mira the photograph. "Please don't burn it."

Mira started at the photograph, at first with a serious face and then her face loosened up and a smile emerged.

"You sure you want this photo?" she asked.

"Of course," Leon replied. "What better way to remember our wedding during these dark times than a moment of humor."

"Where do you come up with these?" Mira asked as she handed him the photograph.

"I probably plagiarized this from some movie," he said and laughed. "Thanks for giving it back."

"Well, marriage is all about sacrifice," she replied. "I'm sacrificing a little bit of my dignity for your joy."

"That sounds pretty toxic," he replied. "Is there anything I can do for you to make it up?"

"How about grabbing me some of Grandma's red bean buns for a start," she said.

"Anything for you," he said and went over to the food table.

We spent the rest of the afternoon eating and talking and having fun. Charles and I talked a bit, but most of the time, we were just stuffing food into our mouths. It wasn't until today, when food was just abundant, that I realized how hungry I was on the two can diet. It's like all the hunger that I suppressed with the two cans just roared back to life. I probably ate more food this afternoon than I had eaten all day before all of this happened.

"You should probably calm yourself down with all the food eating," I said, but Charles ignored me and grabbed some dumplings.

"You know what I forgot about?" Charles asked while stuffing himself with dumplings. "The bucket-list."

Some of the color had returned to his face, and he looked a lot livelier.

"Yeah," I replied. "I guess with the whole situation at home, I haven't really thought about it that much."

"Any ideas?"

"Well," I said. "It's kinda unrealistic, given the whole apocalypse situation, but I wish I could, I don't know, travel somewhere."

"What do you mean somewhere?"

"Like Hawaii or something," I said. "I don't know. This feels kinda stupid."

"No," he said. "I think I have an idea—"

All of a sudden, he grabbed his stomach. "You alright?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Just feeling light-headed."

He was scrunching up his face and taking deep breaths. All of a sudden, he lurched his head forwards.

"Can you point me to the bathroom?" he asked.

"It's down the hall. First room to the right," I said.

"Thanks," he said and shuffle-ran to the bathroom.

There was something obviously wrong, but it took me a while to recognize what happened to him. The deep breaths to calm himself down, him grabbing his stomach, him stuffing food in his mouth for a solid hour or two. I knew that he ate too much and was going to throw up.

I put down my plate of food and went down the hallway and knocked on the bathroom. "You alright?"

"Uh, yeah," he said. "No, not really. I'm sorry."

"Can I come in?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "The door's unlocked."

I opened the door, and there was a big mess on the floor. Partially digested remains of food dripped onto the floor, and there was this acidic stench in the bathroom. Charles was kneeling in front of the toilet. "Sorry about all of this," he said.

"It's fine," I said. "Probably shouldn't have eaten that much."

"Yeah," he said and sighed. "Hunger takes over your mind."

I grabbed a cloth towel and a pair of rubber gloves from underneath the cabinet and wet it before attempting to mop the vomit on the floor.

"I can help," he said.

"No," I said and looked at him. There were dribbles of vaguely brown-ish fluid on the tuxedo and tie. "What you need to do is get changed back into your old set of clothes."

"Just take everything and dump it in the bathtub," I added. "I'll go get your clothes for you."

I exited the bathroom and went to my bedroom to get Charles clothes streaked with a bit of ash. When I went back, Charles had already taken off the tuxedo vest and tie and dumped them in the bathtub.

"Should I go to another room to change?" he asked. "Since you're busy cleaning up this one."

"No," I said. "I don't think my parents would want little vomit bits everywhere. I'll just wait outside for you."

"Okay," he said and added. "Sorry about all this."

I stood in the hallway, still wearing rubber gloves tinted with a light shade of brown. There was a soft chatter in the living room and for a moment, everything felt normal, like the world hadn't ended and it was just another summer day. But then, my eyes caught sight of the gray skies outside of the window and the cold-ish air inside our house began nipping at my legs, and this illusion that I created just crumbled. Charles exited the bathroom. "I'm going to help you clean up."

"You sure you're up to it?" I asked.

"It's my mess," he said. "And you've done a bunch for me, and I feel pretty guilty for just standing here and watching you do all the work."

"Alright," I said. "If you insist so."

"Don't want to leave you alone cleaning up this," he said. "It's what friends are for."

So we wiped the floor down, wrung out wet towels, re-wet them and continued to try to clean up. I turned on the bathtub to soak the clothes with water. There was something, I don't really know how to describe this, but something special about this. Crammed together, cleaning up vomit with my best friend. It felt so ordinary and yet so unordinary.

"You still want to stay?" I asked.

"I think it's probably better if I leave," he said. "All this food is making me crazy."

"Okay," I said, and we walked to the kitchen. Everyone was in the living room and sitting and talking and no one was really inside the kitchen. I took out some aluminum foil and a plastic bag and we both packed him some scallion pancakes, some dumplings that were beginning to get cold, and a couple of other smaller foods.

When we walked out of the kitchen, Mom was standing in the hallway, talking with Mira. Mom turned towards us. "Charles, are you leaving so soon?"

"He's got curfew," I lied. "You know what these times are like."

Charles gave me a weird look before turning to Mom.

"Thank you for everything," he said to Mom and then turned to Mira. "Congratulations on your wedding."

"Thank you," she said, but I could feel an undercurrent of sadness behind her smile. It looks like Leon is really going to be gone tomorrow.

"Well, I should probably get going," he said. "You know, curfew and all."

"Goodbye," Mom and Mira said before walking back to the dining room.

Charles put on a worn sneaker. "So, you want to tell me about what the whole lying about me having a curfew thing is about?"

"If I said you threw up in the bathroom, my mom would probably think that the food had gone bad or something," I replied. "It'd lead to way too much chaos. It's better this way."

"Okay," he said but looked very skeptical.

"So, what were you saying about the idea for my bucket list?"

"Oh, yeah," he said. "Meet me at the library on Tuesday,"

"The library?" I asked. "What does that have anything to do with my traveling dream?"

"You'll see," he said and opened the door. The ash flurries had calmed down, but the whole street was caked with this cool, gray snow.

"You need me to walk you back or something?" I asked.

"Nah," he said. "You've already done too much for me."

He turned and walked down the porch, carrying a bag filled with food for his parents. A small gust blew ash into the air as he seemed to disappear into the distance, fading away into the greyness as the sun began to set and the sky became darker. I turned and went back inside, where everyone was sitting and talking. Dad was talking with Leon. "I'm sorry for being such an idiot," Dad said to Leon. "And the way that I treated you."

That was the second apology Dad gave in two days to someone in our family. I think that's a new record for any of us.

"Don't worry about it," Leon said. "It's what you guys do. Worrying about your kids."

"And you're sure that you can't stay?"

"I wish I could," he said. "But I've got people to take care of too."

There was an awkward sigh. Dad sipped a bit of wine and put the glass down on the counter.

"Well, when all of this ends, you better pay your father-in-law a visit," Dad said.

"I'll bring the whole family over," he said. "You know, go big or go home."

"That's a great idea," Dad said and smiled.

"I think you and my dad would make great friends," Leon added.

They continued to talk as I made my way over to the other side of the living room. Mom had turned on a lamp and lit a couple of candles for this occasion and the room was bathed with a blend of warm amber light and the harsh fluorescent light of the lamp. "

Hey, Neal," someone said and tapped my shoulder. I turned back to see May.

"What?" I asked.

"What happened in the bathroom?"

"Charles spilled food on his shirt," I said.

"So you dumped his, no wait, our clothes in the bathtub?"

"It was the noodles," I said. "It practically instantly stained the shirt. I just dumped everything in the tub and soaked them in water so that the stain wouldn't be permanent."

"Well, the bathroom smells a bit weird," she said.

"Is that the only thing that you came to me to talk about?"

"We're moving out all our pillows and blankets to the couch."

"Isn't Leon sleeping on the couch?" I asked.

"Well, obviously," she said. "So if we're taking his place on the couch, that means that he's taking our place—"

"In the bedroom," I said.

"Yep," May said. "It's probably the last time that they're ever going to see each other unless some miracle happens, and they're a newly married couple, so you know, we should give them a night together that's a little rough and rowdy, if you know—"

"I know what you mean," I said. "No need to continue describing it."

"Well, grab the pillows," she said. "And no stealing my fluffy pillows. I'm watching you."

So we grabbed out pillows and comforters and moved it to the couches while moving Leon's items into our bedroom. Mom and Dad were too busy talking to each other to notice, and I think Leon and Mira were in the kitchen. At that moment, the sky had fully darkened and the air inside our house was chilly, and today felt like the first day of winter.

The rest of the evening felt like a blur. Mira and Leon had their first dance, though admittedly it was awkward because there was no music. But you could feel the intimacy, both of them leaning against each other, knowing that this could possibly be their last embrace, gently swaying as the candles flickered. And you could feel Mom and Dad's gaze, watching their daughter grow up right in front of them, and the rush of emotions going through their mind, like an erupting geyser.

Everything felt so poetic. The flickering candle lights, the aroma of dinner wafting through the air, the flecks of ash drifting outside the window, the hearty laughing echoing in the rooms, the smiles of everyone who was drunk on food and our last vestiges of normal life. The thoughts about what's going to come after today faded in everybody's minds. At that moment, all we were doing was just enjoying the present.

Just before everyone went to sleep, we all gathered together, sitting on the couch. Mom and Dad were finishing up the last of the wine, and Mira and Leon were talking with each other.

"Our first dance was so awkward without music," Mira said.

"Awkward and perfect," Leon said. "We can redo it once everything gets better."

"No," she said. "I liked it. I loved it."

May elbowed me in the ribs. I said, "What?"

She eyeballed towards Mira and Leon. "This is so sappy."

"Well, love is weird," I said.

"At least this is something we can agree upon," she muttered. "What do you think is going to happen tomorrow?"

"That's tomorrow's problem," I said.

Before May could respond, Leon stood up. "I just want to thank you guys for everything. Despite the ups and downs, these two weeks have been the best of my life."

His voice started to crack. "And I just want to thank you all for making that happen."

Dad leaned forwards. "My wife and I have something to give to you."

Mom handed Leon a wrapped gift.

"It's a music box," Dad said. "The one I gave to her when we got married."

"This— This seems pretty important for you guys," Leon said. "I'm not sure if I could take it."

"We haven't touched that thing in years," Mom said and laughed. "It'll be better with you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Mom said.

Leon held the wrapped music box in his hands and then put it to the side. "Thank you. Is there anything I can—"

"You've already done enough," Mom said. "The food that you gave us will help us get through."

Leon put his hands on his face and seemed shaken up. Mom then stood up and picked up the glasses of wine and dumped them into the sink.

"Maybe it's time for us to head to bed now," she said. "Mira, come with me. Let's make sure the dress doesn't get torn. Everyone else, get ready to sleep."

Mira turned to Leon and whispered something into his ear, and he nodded back, and Mira stood up and walked with Mom, looking back at Leon. May and Dad went up to the bathroom to begin brushing, leaving me and Leon as the last two people in the living room. There was an awkward silence between us.

"Sorry for being such a mess," he said and ran his hands through his hair.

"I'm guessing that you're leaving for good," I said.

He sighed, and there was another silence. "Do you think the world is ever going to get better?"

"I'd like to think that it would," I said. "But the way everything is going, I don't know."

"It has to get better, you know," he said. "It just has to."

"Have you ever tried writing for Mira?" I asked. "Just so that she'd have something to remember you by in case it takes a long time for the world to get better."

"Mira and I talked about it. She's got one written down, but I don't know what to say," he said. "It's like nothing I'll write will be perfect enough for her."

"Mira thought about this the same way," I replied. "Not for this thing, but for the wedding. She was so nervous this morning because she just wanted everything to be perfect. It's why she was so annoyed by the photo. Everything was going along perfectly until that imperfect photo, but in the end, Mira found some joy in that imperfection, and everything worked out as best as it could."

"So, just pick up a pen and write," I said. "It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be honest. Here let me get you a pen and paper."

I stood up and pulled a sheet on binder paper out, along with a black pen, and placed it in front of Leon. "Just write whatever comes into your mind," I said. "I have to go brush, so I'll leave you here and give you some privacy."

He picked up the pen and looked at me. "Thank you," he said.

"No problem," I said. "And also, you're, uh, kinda not sleeping on the couch today, and May and I moved your stuff to Mira's room, so yeah, you'll be sleeping over there."

I could see him blushing in the lamplight, so I quickly walked away to the bathroom because the conversation was getting too awkward. When May finished brushing and announced that she was sleeping, he picked up the lantern and went into Mira's bedroom to continue to write.

Personally, I couldn't sleep tonight, so I stayed up, writing in this journal under a lamplight, as May softly snored on the couch. Even though the world around us is collapsing, today felt perfect. Someday, I'll probably look back at this day differently, maybe more negatively or bitterly even.

But for now, I wish that today would never end.