When you live in the middle of an apocalypse, the only thing that can really get you through each grueling day is the embracing of the simple things.

Things like watching Joel comb his hair. Things like making your bed. Things like sharing a glass of water, or a drive around the quarantine zone, or the slow sound of Joel’s breaths as he falls asleep.

When you live in the middle of an apocalypse, the only thing you live for is Joel. You’d like to think, although he doesn’t talk about it much, that he feels the same way. And sometimes you hope that he relies on more, so that when something happens to you, he will have the strength to carry on without you.

The simple things: cutting Joel’s hair as he sits in a wooden chair in the kitchen. This is the thousandth time you’ve done this. It never loses its significance.

“And so Tommy and I took off running towards the river…” he is lost in thought, a vague smile on his face as he recounts some memories from before the outbreak.