As She Sleeps

Sometimes I awaken during the night with a bit of congestion, the need to pee, or with an ache or pain. When this happens, I generally get up and have a bit of cough syrup, head to the bathroom or have a cup of tea before returning to bed. In those small hours of the morning, I will sometimes play solitaire on my iPad until my eyes grow heavy once again. And sometimes, I indulge myself by watching Ariel as she sleeps.
I find Ariel so beautiful both waking and in repose. At night with her rhythmic breathing, her face is so peaceful to behold. Sometimes each breath is accompanied by a gentle snore. I love this sound as I know in these moments her sleep is deep and restful.
The other night, as I was heading back to bed, I saw Ariel laying on her side, her back to me, nestled down under our duvet. Suddenly a head popped up near her hips – Baby, our cat, had been sleeping quietly next to her. I circled around to see if Baby was ready for her middle of the night feed, but she settled down next to Ariel once again.
I came back to bed and as I pulled up my side of the duvet, I took another peek at Ariel, platinum strands of hair illuminated in the moonlight streaming from our skylight. I don’t recall the dreams I had after that, but I imagine they were peaceful.