What does the last line of Nalo Hopkinson's "Shift" mean?

Question

I've finished reading Nalo Hopkinson's short story "[Shift](http://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/shift/)", and I'm baffled by the ending.After the protagonist's encounter with his family, and his girlfriend tells him to find out who he is, the story ends with this:> And she leaves you standing there. In the silence, there’s only a faint sound of whispering water and wind in the trees. You turn to look at your mother and sister. “I,” you say.What does this mean? Why is "I" relevant here? Why is he saying this now, and what does he mean by it?

Answer 1

I think there's a couple of possible explanations here.

1. The author is leaving you with a sense of the main character's as-of-yet undetermined nature. He has the will and the desire to answer the question, but all he can get out is the word "I" before he stops. He hasn't yet completed the process of finding out " who you really are. Who you think you’re going to become," as the girlfriend asked of him before leaving. The fact that he looks to his mother and sister before answering (for support? reassurance? guidance?) further underscores the fact that he is not yet independent and capable of answering this question. He is completely alone at this point save for his mother and his sister and this emptiness - as well as perhaps the emptiness inside of him - is weighing on him, so he doesn't have a clear idea of what he actually wants to do or say to the world at this point, beyond the initial desire to say something and prove that he's not completely useless.
2. The opposite of answer 1: It is actually a complete answer. This latest fiasco with his sister, mother, and girlfriend has made Caliban realize that his family is the strongest, most enduring thing in his life. Yet again another girl has left him, and what is he left with? A pile of shattered glass, embarassment... and his mother and sister. His looking to them before answering in this interpretation underscores this bond - the pride! - he feels towards them, and the fact that he thinks that a one word tautological answer is sufficient (not to mention that he announces this after the girl has left, so he is voicing this thought, whatever it signifies, solely for his own benefit and that of his mother and sister at this point.) This interpretation gives Caliban almost a bit of a rebellious teenager vibe at this point - it's the classic, "BECAUSE" answer to an annoyed "Why did you....?" question. He's coming into himself and decided that he doesn't need to explain himself unnecessarily to anybody. "I didn't need you anyway," he might as well have finished.

Personally, I think 1 seems more likely, but I think the beauty of this kind of story is that the author has left it deliberately open to multiple interpretations!