...
If you'll be my star
I'll be your sky
You can hide underneath me and come out at night
When I turn jet black
And you show off your light
I live to let you shine
I live to let you shine
~Gregory and the Hawk, Boats and Birds.
...
In his dreams, Tom catches glimpses of her. Sybil's gaze is radiant.
Even then, she is so full of life, bright edges and playful smiles-like heaven and earth collided in a kaleidoscope of colour. Tom catches her gaze over the yellowed and curling pages of Marx and Connolly...the politics that brought them together. He can feel Sybil's hope, her fire and her optimism.
Even in the darkness...
It radiated from her naturally. Effortlessly. She was the brightest star in the sky. Even then, Tom could still see the light bursting from Sybil.
The light he'd lived for.
He follows Sybil through the gallery and down the grand staircase, the whispy train of her turquoise evening gown vanishing around corners before Tom can even begin to catch up.
She was always there, several steps ahead of him, just out of reach.
Until she wasn't...
It happens quickly, before Tom can say or do anything. Sybil disappears into the night, melting into the heavens. His dearest darling wife; gone.
When he awakes, the pitch black emptiness of his and Sybil's bedroom is far too much for him.
Tom feels the weight of her absence like an empty gaping hollow at the centre of his chest. The photograph of Sybil beside the bed, her hairbrush and jewellery still piled neatly on the dresser...it's all too much.
He never really believed in heartbreak before now. Well, he did...but not as a real ailment one could suffer from. Heartbreak...Nothing else could explain the dull ache that Tom carried with him wherever he went.
Before he knows it, his feet have carried him to the nursery. To Sybbie.
Tom's eyes fall upon the sleeping infant. His sweetest sweetest daughter.
Bundled up in her crib and snoring softly, Sybbie twinkles like stardust scattered across the night sky.
She reminds him of her mother.
...
But you can skyrocket away from me
And never come back if you find another galaxy
Far from here with more room to fly
Just leave me your stardust to remember you by
~Gregory and the Hawk, Boats and Birds
...