Red Purse
I heard her tell Emma it is her most prized possession.
It is a shocking red purse with a green lace handle. The red shimmers brighter in light of the sun. She keeps it in her bag because it reminds her of her deceased mother. I have watched her touch its silky surface. She gazes at it, bewildered by its iridescent redness just like I stare at her fiery curls, bewitched by her.
She settles with her giggling friends at the Gryffindor table.
Distracted by her bright green eyes, I study her face.
Her lips stretch into a smile as she slips her slender hand into her school bag. Oh, her eyes are so green that I cannot fathom how to ignore them. They shine with joy.
She is happy. Good enough reason to ask her about Hogsmeade even if she rejects me like she has done every time I've asked her.
"Coming mate?" asks Sirius.
I shake my head, too absorbed in Lily to speak.
She places the red purse on the table beside her pumpkin juice.
Sometimes, I think the purse gives her a purpose to live.
She closes her eyes and brushes the tip of her fingers against its rich texture. Oblivious to my staring, she frowns and opens her eyes. Tears stop at the corner of her eyes. Suddenly, the fiery curls and the shimmering red purse lose their life.
She doesn't seem so happy. Maybe I will ask her about Hogsmeade tomorrow. Today is not a good day to upset her with my proposal.
She wipes away the tears before her friends notice. Her friends begin to leave for the first class of the day. Can't they see the sadness in her eyes?
Oh, I want to sit by her side and erase her pain.
It takes me a while to come back to my senses and see her eyes staring into mine. Sadly, the only time I want her to glare and curse me like the normal Lily would do, she doesn't. Surprisingly, she smiles and nods before putting her red purse into her school bag. Like a young boy, I feel myself blushing, but it doesn't matter because Lily Evans has just smiled at me.
Perhaps I will be the one to sit by her side and erase the sad memories the red purse brings. Regardless, the red purse will stay just because it is a part of the red head, part of my Lily.