After the years of darkness that William Petit had lived through in the aftermath of his family's massacre, the bereaved husband and father was craving light, and his new wife stepped in to brighten his life in every way possible.
Petit met Christine Paluf, a photographer, not long after two men broke into his home in Cheshire, Connecticut, beat him unconscious, raped and strangled his wife, Jennifer, tied up their daughters and then torched the home.
She has now released new pictures of their new home and life together and explained how they have found peace in Western Connecticut.
When the killers went on trial in 2011, Paluf was there for Petit, sitting behind him in the courthouse along with his relatives and listening to hours of agonizing testimony.
Power of love: Dr William Petit credits his new wife, Christina Paluf, with helping him every day and night deal with the trauma of the 2007 tragedy that has robbed him of his family
Woman's touch: The Petits painted the walls of the living room white, and Christine filled the cozy room with cheerful purple and lavender touches, as well as a large white dandelion-shaped chandelier
Last year, Petit and Paluf got married and moved into a small but cozy home in Farmington River in western Connecticut.
The Petits painted the walls of the living room white, and Christine Paluf filled the cozy space with cheerful purple and lavender touches, as well as a large white dandelion-shaped chandelier.
'This was all dark. All dark. Then she put these funky lights in. Put a new floor in, got rid of some furniture,' Petit told Esquire Magazine.
Sleeping in a small room overlooking the water, Petit has finally begun to find peace.
In the years after the murders, the former endocrinologist dreaded the night and all the traumatic memories and irrational fears that would creep into his mind in the dark.
But now, with the calm, reassuring presence of his new wife by his side, Petit has learned to welcome the hour when he retires to bed every night.
However, he still counts the days, hours and minutes since his daughters died in the worst way imaginable. Since his wife was raped and strangled. The nightmares still come, but Petit keeps on going.
'You do what you have to do, you just keep going,' he says.
With a new wife, a new home and a new purpose, the sole survivor of the brutal home invasion has done what many could not do. He keeps on living.
His second wife Christine Paluf Petit, 36, has been a rock, always being there with him and for him even if it means just to silently hold his hand.
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Dr William Petit headed down the aisle with new love Christine Paluf last August, five years after he was the lone survivor of the brutal home invasion that left his wife and daughters dead
Dr Petit with his wife Jennifer Hawke-Petit and their daughters, Hayley (left) and MichaelaShe is there in the darkness to comfort him when he wakes from his nightmares, when he remembers that night and sees the faces of the men who ended his world.
On a good night the 56-year-old will get five hours sleep, on a bad, two. He keeps lights on in the living room through the night.
Speaking to Esquire magazine, he reveals he used to wake up like clockwork at 3am every morning - the time the brutal home invasion commenced - with the images of the men carved into his mind.
He said: 'In the beginning when I couldn't sleep, it was always that night. It was always late at night since it started at two or three in the morning.
'I'd be bolt awake at 3am just like clockwork, no matter what. And then it sorta switched to mornings. The mornings got bad. It would just always be right in front of me. Right in front of your face.'
After their emotional wedding ceremony last year, which they shared with 300 family and friends, William and Christine moved into a new home on Farmington River in western Connecticut.
They chose to sleep in the smaller bedroom rather than the master bedroom because it faced the water - bringing with it the view and peace they crave.
It is a new home away from the Cheshire home William shared with his wife Jennifer for 18 years, where his daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, grew up. And also the place were they breathed their last breaths.
William has not returned there since that fateful Sunday in July 2007.
Throughout his sorrow and his grief, Christine has been a constant. Always being by his side to hold his hand and pull him through
After their emotional wedding ceremony last year, which they shared with 300 family and friends, William and Christine moved into a new home on Farmington River in western Connecticut
Memorials: His wife and daughter's tombstone which says, 'A voice cried in the wilderness' in the emblem and, right, flowers planted in memory of Michaela and Hayley
Through everything, Christine is a constant. Early in their relationship she learned how to be there for him when he was in a dark place but not say anything, she would just quietly hold his hand.
He would thank her for that - for not doing anything - which is just what he needed at that time.
Sometimes she makes jokes with him, trying to lift his mood when it drops. Sometimes she will refer to Jennifer, as she never wants him to forget one minute of the life he used to live.
'You don't like doing dishes do you? How'd that go over with Jennifer?' she'd tease, and Bill would laugh.
Christine is determined to keep things light, happy and fun. She has decorated their new home from a dreary place to one filled with light and colors, voices and laughter.
She met her husband when she was working at the Farmington Country Club, but they didn't make a connection until she offered her skills as a photographer to the Petit Family Foundation.
She liked him from the beginning, but was unsure whether he liked her. She told Esquire magazine how she watched him grow and heal as time went on from behind her camera lens.
She said: 'I watched him for years at those events, because I had to photograph him. And it was years before I could even get a smile.
'But then he sorta started to - you could just see things changing. Things were starting to lift just a little.
'And then there was this humor that was just shocking. When he's in good mood, forget it. Which was hugely important to me. Because you don't want to be involved with someone who you can't have a normal life with. Who's not going to be fun.'
Michaela and her 17-year-old sister, Hayley, were tied to their beds and died of smoke inhalation after the house was doused in gas and set on fire
Scorched: The house was set alight with the girls still inside, tied up with pillowcases over their heads
Horror: An image shown to the court shows the charred bedroom of Hayley Petit after the attack
Killers: Joshua Komisarjevsky, left, and Steven Hayes, right, were convicted of raping Mrs Hawke-Petit and murdering her and her two daughters. They have both been sentenced to death
William quit practicing medicine and has now dedicated his life to the foundation. He is continually touched by those who have reached out to him and donated their money, time and kindness.
After the home invasion, 25,000 pieces of mail came from all over the world. Some sent money for the foundation, a dollar bill, a $5,000 check, a handwritten note, a card.
They were all answered, even when there were no return addresses, the Petits found them.
The donations still come in. Among one of William's favorites, according to Esquire magazine, are from three little brothers who, every year at their birthday parties, ask friends to make a donation to the foundation instead of buying a present.
William thinks people understand the mission statement - to foster the education of young people, especially women in the sciences, to improve the lives of those affected by chronic illnesses and to support efforts to protect and help those affected by violence.
The house burned down beyond any salvation, the building and its foundation had to be razed and carted away. Residents of the affluent cul-de-sace turned it into a memorial garden - though William never goes there.
New-found happiness: Dr William Petit, the lone survivor of a brutal home invasion in Connecticut, has married photographer Christine Paluf. His wife and two daughters died in the attack in 2007
Support: The family of Petit's deceased wife have wished him and Paluf the world of happiness
Together: The couple were joined by 300 friends and relatives at the wedding in West Hartford on Sunday
Soon after that July night, William's brother-in-law and a few others went over to the house and uprooted the garden.
They took out the four o' clocks - Michaela's favorite flowers which she helped her dad plant in the back yard.
Now the seeds of these are placed in small packages inside brochures that say 'Michaela's Garden' and sold for $10 for the foundation. Three hundred thousand seeds have been harvested so far.
Also uprooted was a chamaecyparis tree, beside which Hayley and her father would play basketball. When she was three, Hayley planted a Japanese maple tree on the other side of the driveway.
This was also uprooted and carefully transported to William's parents house, where he lived after the murders and worked tirelessly to create a garden dedicated to his family.
Rhododendrons, viburnum, the four o clocks - every plant from his previous life was uprooted and then grown in another place.
William keeps his days busy with foundation work, traveling all over the state to present large cardboard checks, visit hospitals, give speeches or simply attend functions for the foundation.
And he attends every one, just like he answered every single letter that was sent to him after the murders as day-by-day, he continues to heal.
The full article - The House On The River - appears in this month's Esquire magazine.
You can donate to the Petit Family Donation here