The Ashes That Remain

We're at war against the aliens that have invaded Earth, fighting the only way we can—by surviving. I have more than most people do, but although I know it's stupid to hold on, I can't let go of what might have been—can't help dreaming of something more. No matter how I tell myself it would be easier to do what everyone else wants me to, there's a part of me that can't give in.
Making the best of the situation is one thing. Settling, even to make other people happy, is something else.
Then we hear the alien mother ships have disappeared. Of course we have to go and investigate. What we find lands us in a huge mess that we somehow have to clean up and, as our little enclave is rocked to the core with even more changes, I'm learning a hard lesson.
The more things change—for the better or the worse—there's no fighting human nature, and building on the ashes that remain will take everything we have. And maybe more.