Here in the Real World

The next day, Ware goes back to the ruins to observe the “enemy,” (Jolene) as she does her gardening. He watches as she carefully digs the dirt and counts her plants, and he gathers the courage to go talk to her. Ware brings Jolene a hose, which allows her to water her plants. He asks her why she cares so much about the plants, but the question seems to startle Jolene and she doesn’t answer. Instead, Ware goes off to climb the stairs up to the highest point and observe the area around him. He sees that it’s completely surrounded on all sides, and feels like he belongs there. Seeing Jolene watering her plants with his hose, he goes back to ask her about how to make holy water.

Ware asks Jolene what she knows about holy water, but she admits that all she knows is that a priest has to say some important words. She tells Ware about her compost heaps, which quickly bores him, and soon they both hear the sound of the rec center kids coming around the building. Ware decides that he has one more thing to do before he leaves.