"Here, Mrs. Longbottom, take this."
I don't I don't…
Thick. Slimy. Rancid.
"Come now, you have to swallow it. It will make you feel better."
No no no.
"Don't you want to feel better when your son gets here? Oh! Here is he now. She's right there, Neville… your dad is just taking a nap. He should be up soon."
Cheery voices. Loud. Footsteps. Please don't hurt me.
"Hi, Mum. Look, I brought you something. It's a flower, see? The petals change colors..."
Kind voices. Gentle. Such a nice boy…
"She can't understand you."
Harshness! A piercing voice. This woman has been pained before. She comes with the boy, but she speaks to the man whose eyes move 'round.
"Yes, Gran."
He knows pain as well! I know pain… I will never forget pain… Wait! Where is he going?
"Don't go."
Surprise. Wide eyes, smiles.
"You… you…" Pause. Breathing. "Of course I won't go, Mum. So this flower, it's rather rare…"
He is so strong… he has been hurt but unlike the older woman it doesn't show! Who has hurt him? Has he been hurt in the same way as I have been?
Silence. Tension in the air. An intake of breath.
"Mum, I saw the woman." Whispers. "The woman who… did this to you. She—she…"
Looks so sad. Want to help. Must give him gum wrapper. Poor boy. Who hurt him? I want to kill whoever hurt him… So innocent. So jaded.
"Neville, we have to go."
Bitterness, again! Tired, anxious.
"But Gran, we just got—"
"We're going. We'll come back tonight, when your father will be awake."
Don't leave don't leave. So sad, don't make me sad too! Don't leave!
Round face, forlorn. Sighs. Backward glances. Closing doors.