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ONCE MURPHY FINISHED her meeting with Deanna, Aaron decided to take Rick, Carl, and her to their new homes. As they walked down the street, Murphy smiled at the people she passed. They seemed kind and genuine. Kids biked and adults chatted with each other. It was as if the apocalypse never happened. The notion itself began to disturb Murphy. Had these people not experienced the trauma of the breakout? Before Murphy's thoughts ran rampant any longer, the four had reached the houses.
"Here you go," Aaron gestured, a wide smile on his lips. "They're both yours."
The two houses that stood before them were huge. Larger than anything Murphy had seen for years. They were practically mansions with their sprawling porches and pristine decor.
"Both of 'em?" Rick asked in shock.
"At your disposal," Aaron replied. He pointed to the slightly larger one with a green door. "I'd call dibs on that one. It's got more... curb appeal."
The three of them didn't reply. They couldn't reply. Who knew that they'd be given two homes with no expense, simply because a community wanted to help them? It was unbelievable.
"Listen, I know you're still feeling us out, but I'm glad you came. Anyway, Deanna's asked everyone to give you your space so they aren't all coming at you at once. Take your time. Explore. You need anything, you call me. I don't - we don't have phones. I meant... I'm four houses down," Aaron finished shyly, keeping his head down as he walked past the trio.
"Thank you," Carl responded.
At first, Murphy almost laughed at the fact that the child was able to handle all of this better than the adults. But then she realized... it made perfect sense. She had lived in the real world. She had grown up, gone to university, and gotten engaged in the real world. And now, they were expected to go back to that. It was harder than she thought it would be. But Carl, he'd done nothing but adapt his whole life. He hadn't known anything else. So this was nothing new. It was the way it went, and that broke Murphy's heart.
"Murphy?"
Her eyes snapped to the young voice who spoke her name. It was Carl.
"You good?" He asked, his eyes showing concern.
"Yeah," Murphy responded with an affectionate smile. "Don't worry."
Rick watched the two, happy that his son was letting her in. It had been a long time since he'd seen that. Not since Michonne. So he set a hand on Carl's shoulder and locked eyes with Murphy, "C'mon. Let's check it out."
The three slowly made their way up the sturdy stairs. The green door came before them and Rick opened it, revealing the grandeur of the interior. The home was spotless and untouched. Empty picture frames were set on a bench by the entrance, as if they were supposed to fill them with pictures of their own. Murphy entered more slowly than the two boys, who quickly made their way into the kitchen. Carl stepped toward the island sink and turned the faucet on in disbelief. They had running water.
