I walked over to the easy chair and sat down. I leaned back and closed my eyes and let the last two weeks flash before my eyes. But this time it didn't hurt to see Dally or Johnny die nor did it hurt to see everything else. I opened my eyes. Soda was staring at me with an inquisitive look upon his face.
"Pony? You okay?"
"Oh, uh, yeah." I responded. I turned around and looked out the window. It was just about time for sunset.
"Hey Soda, have you ever watched a sunset?" I asked.
"Not really. Why do you ask?"
"Go get Darry for me. Tell him to meet me at the vacant lot. You can come too if you want."
Soda regained his inquisitive look and went to go get Darry. I grabbed my jacket and headed down the street for the vacant lot. The fresh, fall air did me some good and breathed in as much as I could of it. When I got to the lot Darry and Soda were already there sitting on the ground talking but when I walked up they immediately stopped.
"What do ya want Ponyboy?" Darry asked.
"I thought you guys might like to see a sunset for once." I said.
Darry's brow furrowed in confusion, as if he wanted to say something, but thought better of it. We all turned around with our backs to the street and watched the sunset. I turned to look at Darry, and suddenly I realized didn't see the Darry I normally saw, I saw a grinning Darry that looked carefree and as if he'd never saw a sunset before. I turned over to Soda who had that Greek-god look about him again. How lucky can a kid get? I thought. I have the two greatest brothers in the world!
The sun disappeared behind the hills leaving a pinkish-blue glow in the sky. Darry turned over to me and said,
"Thanks for showing us that Pony. That was really nice. Believe it or not that was the first time I had actually watched a sunset."
Soda stared off into the distance and murmured "Yeah, thanks Ponyboy." He paused lost in thought and after awhile said
"The world isn't so bad. How could the whole world be bad if we have sunsets?"
I thought about this for a moment "You're right." I added. After all, not everything is bad!
It was getting cold so we walked home just as the streetlights came on and no one said much. When we got home Darry and Soda went to bed and I went back to the easy chair and sat down again. I picked up my pencil and paper and began to write. When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home...