You amble over to the bench and take a seat. One of your favourite spots - perfect for a clear winter’s day, the low sun coming through the bare branches warms you slightly, and being here always warms your heart.

You wait.

It’s not long before you are stirred. But the sounds disturb you, the sounds of distress, and crying reach you. Unusual for here, you worry.

The sounds don’t last for long, and then it is quiet again.

Waiting, your anxiety grows. You hope for something further today, before the night arrives and the curtains close.

She appears in the window and you can calm down again. You don’t know how you could have forgotten, it had been so long since you last saw them. In her arms is her baby, happy and smiling.

Her look has changed, you can see in her eyes a deeper understanding and joy, bound with love and untouched by the clear tiredness.

Her eyes brighten as he enters, and they exchange a kiss as he takes the child. He beams, energised by the new being in his arms, and begins to play. You cannot see them any more, but you stay seated, elated by the sounds coming from the house, and the love that is washing over you.

Before the sounds have died away you leave, keeping this in your memory.