It was late at night, she picked up a small blanket, feeling its familiar warmth that she’d known since infancy, smiling a little at the at the multicolored hearts thrown across it like confetti. She remembered the matching pillow her mother had tossed away,  ending up in the garbage with her discarded dreams. She looked over at her stuffed rabbit, his fur a bit ragged and worn but he looked the same as he always had. He’d been there like a teddy bear when she’d needed someone for so long. She wanted to give them to the daughter she wanted to have in the future.  As she sat in the dark of her room, running her fingers lightly over her only childhood comforts she closed her eyes and tried to imagine what her future might be like. It was still hazy but more vivid than she’d ever seen it. She could see herself in a beautiful white dress, a white rose standing out against her dark hair that was coiled around her head in a tiara-like fashion. She was dancing with the man she loved and she couldn’t help smiling a little, thinking of how handsome he looked in a tuxedo. She could hear their song playing, could almost feel his arms around her, leading gently as they danced slowly in a small circle. She couldn’t seem to stop the tears from falling now, but much as it seemed to taunt her she didn’t want the image to fade away. It was so much more vivid this time, she could almost smell the roses and she sighed as she reached up to brush the tears from her face and tried harder not to sob. It all felt so close  yet deep down she knew she still had a long time to wait. And when she opened her eyes she found that not even the comforts she had known as a child could bring any peace this time. As she cried silently into her pillow the music playing said for her what she wished she could express. She let the melodies carry the aching of her heart as they floated through the midnight air, a mask disguising the small sounds escaping her throat.