I listened to them on the way home, cast against a pink sky. The Christmas lights are on now, blue and white and gold, and the reds, oranges and greens of traffic lights punctuated my journey. Colours everywhere, and they were the perfect soundtrack for showing me that the world can simply be a wonderful, beautiful place. As they always have been. And, I like to think, as it always has been.

I see them again tonight. Last time I saw them, two weeks or so ago, I made my way through a storm to where they were playing, and when they finished and I left and went outside into the real world again, it took a while to realise the storm had gone away. There's no storm tonight, not even a hint of one, and so whilst last time I had needed the shelter and a place to gather myself, tonight I'm going not because I need respite and warmth, but because I want to celebrate the fact that all the things I tried to find, I did, two weeks ago, and now I can find beauty in whatever I choose, because it is a choice and I know this again for the first time in a while.