Once Upon A Daydream
It creaked under their feet. This raft, this boat. This ship with golden sails and an elaborate, carved helm.
Lucy had a way of looking at one thing and seeing many.
Teddy looked a thousand different ways and was one.
Saltwater in her hair, her eyes. The shells she picked for him lined his pockets, one nestled warm and comforting in his palm.
"What do you think is out there?" she asked.
His eyes traced the horizon. "Undiscovered lands," he said, with that wry grin.
They didn't mention how many years too late they were for that. They didn't have to mention how many years too late they were for anything at all. It was always there, hanging heavy in the air.
Their parents and grandparents never had the luxury to lie amongst the grasses, picking and weave, to sail out into the midday sun, the ocean air.
Their days hadn't been filled with nothing, not with smiling idleness and playful banter on lounging afternoons. That was what they fought and lost and died for. This gift for their children, this life without worry or consequence. This good life.
It was a lot to carry one one's shoulders.
"Let's go there," Lucy said. "I wonder who we'll find, what we'll see. What we'll do."
"What would you like to do?" Teddy asked. He loved to hear her talk.
Lucy smiled. "That would ruin the surprise."
"I'll slay all the monsters," said Teddy.
"You can't just kill!" But she laughed. "I'll make friends with all the monsters, show you they're not really so bad."
Dipping his wand into the water, Teddy steered them back on course. "There shall be no friendliness on my side of the island. You'll have to start your own kingdom."
"Will I now, King Teddy?"
"Yes. The peace between us could never last."
"Well in between our warring and our feuding, I hope you'll find the time to invite me around to tea."
"Of course. Every Tuesday."
"Will Victoire be your queen?"
A towering wave broke down upon them, saturating, and they shook with the force of the underlying sea.
Teddy looked at her. "Lucy."
Lucy looked at him. "Teddy."
Then, "Lucy. Where are we?"
Lucy looked. The sky was pink and golden. Something flashed across the sky.
Her voice was soft with wonder. "I think I saw a phoenix."
Teddy followed her gaze. "Or the first in a shower of shooting stars."
"I think there's a rainbow."
Teddy pointed. "More."
Three of them, dazzling bright, broke across the now-evening sky.
Lucy dipped her hand into the sea, face alight with amazement. "Dolphins."
Teddy didn't look to the water like she did. He didn't see anything but her, but it was enough.
Victoire's voice broke through, distant. Her tone not belonging where they were. "Dinner's ready."
Lucy withdrew her legs from the pond. They were gray and brown and green. Her eyes followed her cousin as she turned back towards the Burrow. Her voice was soft, but now with something else. "Go on," she said to Teddy. "Your queen is waiting."
The pain was heavy in his very present eyes.