Nora in the Moonlight.

The full moon was shining brightly
in the winter night sky
Causing a cool blue glow to
drift past the curtains of my bedroom,
illuminating everything.

I open my eyes and see that
lying there in between me and my True Love
is my Youngest Love.
She has stumbled her way into our room at some point.
(I don't remember when.)
Something about the moonlight
must have woken us both up.
and now we are laying on our sides
staring into each other's eyes in silence.

Both of us are breathing softly.
Her, with a slight smile on her lips
as if she has told me a hilarious secret,
and she is waiting for me to makes sense of the punch line.
She is alert and calm.
The amusement on her mouth is reflected in her eyes.
They are dancing merrily back and forth between mine
and in this moment it feels like she isn't my two year old daughter
but she is my friend,
and we have just spent hours telling jokes and laughing.

I reach out and touch her cheek.
"I love you, Nora." I whisper into the silence.
She closes her eyes.
I close mine.
The moment is enough,
and we fall easily back to sleep
holding one another's hands.