Poverty was familiar. Sharing convenience store lunchboxes, sighing while calculating the rent date, and trekking to the laundromat because there was no washing machine. It was hard at first, but they say humans are creatures of habit. Before I knew it, all of that had become a natural part of daily life. Still, it was okay. It was a life where two people earned and two people ate, and though it wasn't plenty, there were days to laugh.

I hated winter a bit. Every time news came out that heating costs had risen, a sigh escaped, and every time I went out, the utility bill came to mind. Our winters were always spent enduring with a few thick blankets. Well, even calling them thick blankets was a stretch, as they were bursting at the seams and missing quite a bit of cotton stuffing.

If it's cold, we stick together. If it's still cold, we stick closer. That's how we survive, tenaciously. I believed that if we lived like that, we'd eventually be able to achieve something. I really believed it.

...You were still awake.

2:00 AM. As I opened the old front door and stepped inside, I saw you sitting in the corner of the room. I saw you tapping away at a calculator with hands all worn out from work.