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It is a quiet night, not a sound can be heard except for their breathing. The air is fresh, but the smell of a warm summer day in the forest still lingers.
They lie on their backs on the wooden planks of a tree house Daryl found, blankets and their sleeping bags around them as a small shelter from the outside world. It's still too early to sleep, and honestly, these days a peaceful moment is as rare as finding canned goods.
An owl takes flight, followed by rustling in the bushes below.
'The killing truly never stops,' Beth thinks to herself, though it doesn't spoil her inner peace. She merely tightens the grasp on Daryl's hand, caresses his rough skin with her thumb and lets his warmth seep into her.
They've been lying like this for some time now, watching the last rays of sunshine disappear, making room for the moon and the stars.
She shuffles closer and rests her head against his shoulder, and Daryl leans in while lifting a hand and starts to tell her about the constellations he can make out.
The sky is a dark velvety blue and the stars bright as diamonds.
Beth ponders if she has ever seen a sky like this before ... or if she ever bothered to look as closely as she did now.
It is easy to get lost in the depths of this universe, gaining solace from the fact that, no matter how much their lives have been turned upside down, there are still things unaffected by the tragedy below them for nothing has changed up there.
And until they have to descend back into the daily struggle on the ground, she can just pretend that everything is normal and this is nothing more but an adventurous night out in a tree house with the man she fell in love with.