I'm not even sure what to say - I can hardly fathom how incredibly beautiful and aching and brilliant this is.
Your writing is absolutely gorgeous. This - Instead he looked up and was crushed by the full weight of the vast sky, studded with shining nails of stars, for example - made me gasp. It's so small, so perfect. And this piece is just brimming with moments like that.
And the struggle - as they take the first tentative steps not only back to each other but to themselves is beautifully rendered. Raw, real. You feel the suffering, the struggle against madness and despair.