The house was asleep and for twenty minutes I didn’t feel chased by anything

Dear Delyara, That’s the sentence I want to keep. No one needed me. No messages came in. No late-night fear grabbed my attention by the throat. No practical task suddenly remembered itself and demanded tomorrow’s energy tonight. The washing was done. The dishwasher was humming. Even the dog had stopped moving. I sat with a blanket and a cup of tea and, for twenty minutes, I did not feel pursued. That might sound very small to somebody else. To me, it felt like peace I had earned and peace I had not had to fight for once it arrived.