Looking out the foggy window, Petunia Dursley wished just this one time to be elsewhere. The rain pelted the glass and yet, no tears came to her eyes. Perhaps it just felt so unreal—her sister was always there, she had to be. She drew the semi- transparent curtains across the window and got up from her couch. Surveying the room, she found nothing to clean—nothing to occupy her thoughts. Even Dudley wouldn't utter a scream.
It was so quiet. Sitting back onto the pale green couch, she felt another sensation take over her. Searching her tidy mind, she found the word to describe it. Release. Suddenly everything lifted—every unkind word spoken between sisters, every sadness and anger. Still sitting rather rigid on her couch, she wondered why she wasn't happy. One of the biggest trials of her life had disappeared. And yet, it was replaced with something much harder to comprehend.
Lonely. She couldn't identify that feeling at first. It gave her a blow. Looking around the great room she was sitting in, she couldn't help but feel rather small. It was getting dark now and yet Petunia couldn't summon the energy to reach out and turn on a lamp. Perhaps if she sat in her perfect posture long enough, everything would reverse… maybe someone would jump out from behind the TV set and yell "Gotcha!"
And yet, as the room steadily got darker and the rain increased its battle against her windows, still nothing happened. Picking up the fateful letter again, at last, a tear dropped. Her vision quickly blurred and she tilted her head back in hopes of clearing the tears. Alas! To no avail. Dropping the letter onto the coffee table where she had once hosted so many joyous get- togethers, she stumbled out of her dark living room, vaguely wondering why Vernon hadn't returned from work yet.
She turned on the lights to reveal a gleaming kitchen. Looking around, she decided that no food would cure her of her unhappiness. Sitting on her white tile floor, she laid her head against her expensive mahogany cabinet doors, wondering why, why oh why was she crying. Her tears poured out quickly and within minutes her vision began to clear, leaving her with a runny nose and an achy face. Going to the sink, she washed her face and dried it, leaving no traces of her tears except for a rather red face.
Putting on her kitchen apron determinedly, she opened the refrigerator, took out some lettuce and began cutting it rather unevenly. Within an hour, Petunia had finished dinner… as well as her mourning. Looking in a mirror, she decided that she looked presentable—like she never had a sister nor for that fact, lost one. She answered the knock on the door, and Vernon stepped into the house, kissed her on the cheek and completely oblivious to any sadness present in the house, asked "What's for dinner?"
-fin
