Heroes

Back in the Albany train station, Francis looks around him, taking in the crowd of civilians, soldiers, and veterans. Remembering his words to Nicole about no longer understanding what constituted a hero, he begins to think of all the soldiers he had known: the men in his platoon that had lived, those that had died, Enrico, Arthur Rivier. He remembers then, Arthur’s drunken proclamation about the war: “we were only there,” scared children not meant to fight or kill.

Francis realizes, finally, that to him, those were the true heroes: the scared kids who stayed anyway, trying “to fight the good war” and now never talk about it. While those men were never the ones who received medals, Francis decides they are heroes all the same.

Thinking about his future for the first time, Francis runs through the list of things he could and should do. He muses, maybe he should write about the “true heroes” of the war; maybe he should track down Enrico; maybe he should go to Dr. Abrams clinic to have his face reconstructed.

One last time, Francis thinks of Nicole, and then of the gun in his duffel bag. Slinging his bag over his shoulders, he finds himself comfortable with its familiar heft and heads towards the next outbound train.