Finally, she made it home... Exhausted both mentally and physically
from the long, hot days before.... Exhausted...
Too worn out to take anything out of her car,
she drags herself
and her purse
inside her house, down her hallway to her bedroom door.
She can't see anything, because the change from beautiful, bright, life-giving sunlight to cold and hollow darkness
is sudden and drastic.
Yet...
Somehow she manages to unlock her door....

Everything is in order,
the way she left it.
His picture
still hanging above her bed.
The one she knew she could get lost in...
She drops her bag onto her bed, steps up on the stepping stool and then drops herself down next to it..

She turns to face her wall..
To see him...
His smile...
His eyes....
His beautiful soul still shining through....
Even in a picture...
She smiles.
Grateful and happy that he's smiling and she can see it...
It didn't matter that he was no longer physically in her life.....

In this moment..
He was there...
And she felt safe in this moment...
The last thing she seen before she closed her eyes...
Was his smiling face.....
As she drifted off, she kept his smile vivid in her mind's eye...
And in the precise moment before his image faded into the dark abyss..
she heard him say,
"Goodnight babe. I love you."

..... And that was ALL that she wanted.