She smiled to herself as she slowly disconnected the modem. A long night ahead. Silence surrounded her which seemed so comforting. Suddenly the glare of the computer was gone and she was plunged into darkness. The familiar sense of the dark overwhelmed and she continued to smile. She closed her eyes and imagined the stark difference in what life had thrown her way. Black and white. A bright light emanated from her soul and for once she didn't crave for the darkness...

The phone beeped into the night and she just gazed at the blinking light but did not move to either answer or cancel the call. It would stop eventually. The name flashing on it made her smile some more. She probably should answer it but for once she'd give it a miss even though perhaps this was the call she was waiting for, for so long. The light stopped blinking... it beeped once more indicating a text message. She put out her hand and read it. The service providers obviously did not believe in the concept of sleep at night. Just like her. It beeped again. This time she was not disappointed. She smiled and went to hit delete. Something stopped her. She thought long and hard about what to reply with. In the end...she would succumb. Best to hold out while she still could. She put the phone down and looked to her left and smiled. She bent down and kissed his forehead. She loved him... of that there was no doubt. She'd given up so much for him and have never regretted any of it. He stirred in his sleep and sighed. She'd always thought he looked almost angelic when he was asleep. She could have sat there all night watching him sleep. Infact she had done so on so many occasions. Just to hear him breathe. Watching as with every breath and every twitch he was dreaming about the perfect world. She dreamt too. But she'd always believed she has her perfect world. There was nothing more she could ask for. She had it all. She kissed his forehead again and that familiar flipflop in her stomach happened all over again. There was such a strange feeling in her heart. She could feel how much she loved him and how much he loved her and it was truly enough. She reached out and picked up her shawl and draped it over her shoulders and got out of bed. It was 3am.She walked to the verandah. The december air slapped her face but she didn't feel the cold at all. She stared out into the darkness and it struck her how dark it truly was. Ordinarily the moonlight, even with the moon behind the clouds, was enough for the tall buildings to cast a shadow. But tonight it was pitch black and deathly silent. She turned and walked in. She stood at the foot of the bed and watched him breathe, watched him dream about his perfect world. She went to the front door and opened it and stepped out. She stood there for a moment, and looked back inside. She smiled. This was her perfect world, where everything was exactly how she wanted it to be. She shut the door behind her and the darkness of the night engulfed her...