"It's so nice seeing both of them smile so candidly, but it's even better when I can capture it for them, us even. Mathew found a nice spot a while back, a place in the arcology with cherry blossoms. He mentioned how they were setting up the area for this valentines, and Fera was enamored with the idea of a photo opportunity over there. This here was one of the many I took for them, and they look so sweet, so happy together. They were also happy to return the favor for me and Geebie too!"

"But there's something about Mathew smiling that gives us all hope, that whatever it is we're doing for him is working. Even he acknowledges it. I then I handed his phone back, and as he was looking over the pictures I took of him and his wife, we all noticed him starting to tear up. He said he can't seem to recognize himself in that picture... or it just reminds him of something he thought he used to be that he tried shunning. We encouraged him to let it all out. Fera went on about letting his heart warm and thaw, let the ice melt as tears down his cheeks. Whatever those words she spoke at the time, it was a blur, but the intention was very palpable. We all know Mathew continues to struggle with his self worth. Moments like this showing he has more worth than he thinks he has, really warms him. Warms him to tears even."

"We stayed there for a while in the shade of the blossom trees. He tried to fight those tears, stem their flow early, but something in us wanted to encourage him to cry himself dry. Fera later confided to me that other than wanting to let him process it now while with us, she also wanted him to get it out of his system to stay focused on his work after. It was lunch break at the time. She told me it worked, and Mathew validated it separately, telling me that he was happy we let helped him get it all out. He told me that after that good cry session, he was happy, in a zen sort of way, that he says he was very on point for the the rest of the day that he lost track of time as he continued his lab work."