Bust out the tissues, because the end is a tearjerker. After days of awaiting rescue, Shorty gives up hope and almost dies, only to be found at the last possible moment. Hooray. He gets out of the rubble to find Manman waiting for him, telling him how much she loves him. Aw. Then he tells us, "I was in darkness, but now I am in light" (24.78).
It's a celebratory ending for Shorty, and we couldn't be more thrilled for him. He's been through the ringer, and the final line of the book gives us hope that more positive things will come for our main guy. He might still live in the Site, but perhaps he'll find another way to make money. Or maybe he'll even get lucky enough to get out of the Site all together. Who knows?
One of the exciting things about the ending is that it is left open ended. We're not told exactly what happens to Shorty, or where he will go next. In some ways, that's frustrating because we want to know so badly, but in other ways, it's exciting to leave it open because whatever we want to happen to Shorty, can happen.
Too bad Toussaint's not so lucky.