tree in the square in front of it. The thousands of sparkling bulbs made the whole scene look like it had all been showered in colourful jewels. Oh, how beautiful he found it all. It was so beautiful it hurt.

Rob noticed the sentimental look on his brother's face, a look Rob himself was no longer capable of making - at least not in earnest.

"No, Sam..." Rob whispered as he took his brother's hand and held it tight. "You can' have regrets now. You know this is the only way."

"I know. I know..." Sam sighed longingly "But, maybe if we…"

"You know we can't." Rob cut him off firmly. "It could not be recreated. We tried. We failed. We tried it all Sam! We lost it, and there is no going back." Rob paused for a second to let his words sink in.

"You know this has to be done." Rob then continued. "We love them. Remember this: We. Love. Them. Let's not make them suffer the same fate as us!" Rob was all but pleading with his brother to remember.

Rob's voice and eyes were full of conviction and as he held Sam's hand tighter, Sam could feel his doubts rapidly fading. Rob was right; they had tried everything to find their way back, to recover what was lost so long ago. But it was irreversibly lost just the same. As they had grown from young boys to grown men, it had all faded away along the way. Sam could feel the desperate sorrow and longing in his chest each day now, this desperate need never to be fulfilled. Constantly craving, but never satisfied.

The longing had torn heavily at both their hearts for years. It had made the two brothers detest this grey dreary world full of lies. They had sought solace from this desperate yearning in therapy, hypnosis and even heavy drugs. But none had helped, the world had only turned darker and hope had been lost.

Then, unexpectedly, hope had been reborn in its full glory! Finally Sam and Rob had come closer than they had ever been to finding what they so desperately searched for. There it was, shining in the eyes of their sons!

But it would soon fade; it would all