Chapter 12: Reclaiming the Night
For a long time, the night had been an enemy. Darkness meant vulnerability. But as their balcony garden flourished, Sarah decided it was time to take back the night. She bought a telescope, setting it up in the living room facing the large window. One clear evening, she turned off all the lights and called Lily and Leo over. Instead of hiding from the dark, they looked into it. They found the craters on the moon, traced the rings of Saturn, and identified constellations. "The dark isn't just for hiding," Sarah told Lily softly as they gazed at the stars. "It's also where the stars shine the brightest." Lily looked through the lens, completely mesmerized. The night was no longer a canvas for their trauma; it had become a space for wonder and discovery.
