and i 'm overwhelmed by seeing them , so much so i ca n't speak for a minute , and i pull a little away from bradley and the light catches his face and i see him , really see him , see his kind brown eyes , his skin the same dark shade that corinne 's was , his short curly hair , greying at the temples , bradley who was always my favourite on the convoy , who used to teach me arts and maths , and i look over and see the familiar freckled skin of simone , too , the red hair tied back in a ponytail , the teeny tiny scar on the rise of her chin and i think , in all that 's happened , how much they disappeared to the back of my mind , how much the process of just surviving on this stupid , stupid world made me forget that i came from a place where i was loved , where people cared for me and for each other , where someone as beautiful and smart as simone and as gentle and funny as bradley would actually come after me , actually want what was best .