My uncle believed cities were healthier at night, the way that a wound is cleaner under the bandage. And for that reason, we always went to the park after eleven. I'd strap on extra sweaters to keep off the chill, and haul out the rubber boots. I'd meet him under the sodium lamp beside the arcade, where teenagers with torn jackets huddled, fluorescently lit ? like moths in reverse.

The Long Walk Back is a short story about a young man dealing with grief, and pain surrounding his uncle's illness. He muses on their relationship, and their shared love of walking together in the park at night, while he listens to his uncle telling him about his life.