Little House in the Empty Neighborhood 

Once upon a time, just a few months after the disappearance, a young boy lived in the remains of the the New Little Lower South Sixteen Mile River City.

Other empty apartment bulidings, stores and houses surrounded the apartment, and beyond them were even more empty houses and stores and apartments.

As far as a person could walk for a day or a week or a year there was nothing but emptiness.  There were no people.  They had all Disapeared.

But fierce gangs roamed the street, so they must hide all the time.

The little boy's name was Cirilio, and he lived with other survivors, the adults Scill and Jarrow and Cero and Ginny, and other children, Matty and Merrick and baby Pomcheski.

Some children still had their parents.  But many did not, and must join other survivor's groups.  They were a new kind of family.

At night, when he was laying in his little makeshift bed, he could sometimes hear gunshots and yelling and whooping from the streets below.

It was a scary sound.  Cirilo knew the gangs would not hestitate to shoot a child.

But there was a hunting gun hung over the fireplace, and one of the adults was always on guard through the night.

"Go to sleep, Cirilo.  We're not in any danger."

So he would snuggle up close to Matty and go to sleep.

One night Cero picked him up out of the bed and carried him to the front window so that he could see the gangs.  There were two dozen men on the streets below, arguing.  They were scary, wearing dirty, dishevaled clothing and uncut hair.

During the day, the apartment was a comfortable place to live.  There was a large living room to run around in (they kids weren't allowed outside) and a spacious kitchen.  There were several small rooms in the back, that didn't have windows, where light was permitted even on the darkest nights.

All around the building were gay pride flags.  They were meant to scare the gangs.  Mr. Scill said that they gangs were afraid they would get the AIDS.

And so they lived in peace, even after everything that had happened.

Cirilo was safe, and he was happy.