H I D E A N D S E E K part ii
On the dusty heather strewn moor, Justin hides behind a rock.
He remembers back to those first games of hide and seek, and though here he can breathe the freshness of the plants, he can't help but think back to the cubby all those years ago.
He wishes that Hannah was here now, he thinks, pressing against the rough stone and remembering knotted wood. The stone holds its own memories. But he is not one of them.
He doesn't belong here, far out of the way, hiding from an enemy he cannot see. His mother cried when he left, wishing now she had sent him to Eton.
But he would be petrified all over again, if he could just be back in the safe and warm, hiding from a laughing Susan behind a tapestry rather than crouching still next to a boulder cowering from darkness.
He looks out on the moor. There's no one here, and no noise but lonely birdcalls and his own breath. He wishes that, not just Hannah, but anyone was here, to breathe with him, another heart beating close by.
But all there is is Justin, holding on to memories like a lifeline.
There are no footsteps, no shapes in the lengthening dusk, but still he dare not move. Not since the cruel face in black hood flickered into existence, a look of disgust on it as if it could smell him.
He wishes it was a congested Susan searching for him, that could not smell at all.
And he wishes there was someone here beside him.
There are a thousand and one things Justin Finch-Fletchley could wish for right now. But all he really wants is to be back peeking through the fibres of a tapestry with a Hannah fighting the giggles.
He can't remember why he asked her for a kiss that day, but he has a feeling it was to scare her away. He can't think of the reason why he wanted to scare away the shy smile and gentle voice, the truly good person.
But now, her world has scared his away and their places are reversed.
Yes, he could wish for safety, for longevity, for another chance, for them to forget about him. He could wish for Megan by his side, for Ernie's laugh, or for his father's booming voice.
But all he really wants to wish for is to be back in the bright castle, with a friendly voice and nothing dangerous to hide from.
He wishes for that day, when they had nothing to be afraid of but a threat of a kiss, a threat he would have been too scared to carry out.
All of a sudden, he wonders where Hannah is now.
But wherever she is, right now, he remembers her hiding in the nook behind the tapestry.
And he wishes his hiding place felt as safe.