I was scared when she first touched me. Her soft little hands gently slid across my face, and with my eyes closed, I felt her soft lips meet mine. She pressed her body up against mine, and whispered in to my ear. This little girl had just awoken a longing long since forgotten in me, inside my soul. I never tought I'd feel this again. I was once again a child in her arms, once again all I wanted for my birthday was a kiss.

"Christine, I love you..."

She smiled at me, and in her eyes there was nothing but sunshine. Could she mean it? Could that sunshine be ment for me? Perhaps...
I let my fingers slide down her dress, and I whispered her name again and again, almost like a prayer. She backed away from me and looked at me closley. She had to look up at me, for I was very much taller than her. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around herself and spun around in the middle of the room. "Will you love me now?", she asked. "Will you love me like you've always said you would, now that I'm your wife?"

My wife... she was my wife, mine forever, with God as our witness. "Yes, Christine... I will love you... always... as I said I would." And that was the only truth I knew in this world.

That night I couldn't sleep. She slept, soundly, lost in a world that I would never know. Her face was soft and expressionless, and wherever her mind was now, she seemed happy with it. I buried my face in her hair and laid perfectly still for a momonet. Maybe that way I could prevent it.

My pillow was allready soaked with tears when I woke up. I knew, always, that I would have to wake up sooner or later. But maybe someday, with some luck, I would close my eyes and sleep forever. Maybe I could finally be set free.