A double drabble... I've left the POV open to interpretation :)

Nightfall

There’s something about the night air. The cool breeze ruffles his hair, carrying the scent of woods, grass, smoke, and a peculiar freedom that he cannot define; but it’s there, in the moonlight and shadows, rekindling a flame that he has long tried to smother for his family’s sake. He longs to walk out of the door and vanish into the night, pausing only for a deep breath and a lingering glance at the small points of homely, golden light dotted amongst the darker shapes of rising hills. He wants to feel the wind in his hair, to sleep beneath the stars, and to roam across this silver landscape until there is no beginning or end in sight.

But these wishes all belong to the past… to overnight expeditions and overactive imaginations. He is older now, and memories temper the wild thrill of being alone with the darkness and whatever it hides. Memories of innocence, and memories of loss.

He turns away from the open window and seeks his wife’s soft embrace, knowing the secret smile she hides in his shoulder, as he breathes in the scent of her hair, reminding himself once more of warmth and love, and home.