He drew back as if struck, feeling guilty for not knowing something had been so wrong.

"Starla, I know what happened was terrible. We lost a lot of folk, an' the town took a huge blow, but she's comin' around again. We fixed her," I fixed her, "an' the people who survived are makin' Wheelsy what it was."

For a long time, from the rebuilding to now, he held onto this belief, hoping his conviction would be enough to make others believe, and now he needed Starla to.

"It's still a good place t'live."