A twenty-two year old girl lay in the bed, her head lying on her boyfriend's stomach, as he stroked her hair, and she started to fall asleep. She was I. Seven years down the road found me still living with Fred, in a bigger house out in the country. We had been happy together, these past years, and as Fred and George's shops had got busier and busier, and the reign of the Dark Lord had ended, everything was a lot more fun, and people were often happy and smiling.
I too was smiling more often now, although I had suffered from depression a few more times since I tried to top myself. I had always come through it though, and for the past four years I had been happy, and Fred had kept me happy. The last thing to make me sad was my brother's death. He had achieved the prophecy, and killed Lord Voldemort, only to then die himself, a year later. No one knew the cause. I had wept for hours, although for no apparent reason.
I never really knew my brother.
But that was a few years ago now, and I had moved on, as best I could, and found more happiness. Fred and I were truly happy, and I was content to sit at home, and wait for him. I did work, I helped to do the books in the shop sometimes, as I enjoyed arithmacy, and I would sometimes help in the shop, but not very often, as I had begun to develop a certain shyness in my every day life of other people.
My eyes were closed, and I drifted into a deep sleep, and for the first time in years, my mind was haunted by a bad dream. For the first time in seven years, I saw him.
He was breathing heavily in my ear. He wasn't asleep, he was awake, every one of my senses told me that he was awake. I tried to move, to roll over, but as I did, I felt his arms wrap around me, and grip me tightly. His head moved closer to mine, and he whispered into my ear, "I finally found you."
I wanted to scream, but no sound came out. I tried to wriggle away, but I couldn't, and so I began to cry, the only thing I could do. I was terrified.
"Kara, don't cry," he whispered into my ear, pleadingly. "I have been looking for you for 4 years. I love you; I don't want to hurt you. Please, don't cry. I'll do anything, just don't cry. I never meant to hurt you."
I found my voice, the voice he hadn't heard me use properly for nearly 8 years, "Fuck you, Seiji. You never meant to hurt me? Then you could have been a hell of a lot more careful."
"You can speak? You can say my name? What? Don't say that, Kara. I love you, don't say things like that," he spoke into my hair.
"Don't' do this to me, Ben. Don't make me hurt anymore. I don't want it. I want to be happy. I don't want to cry anymore."
"You're supposed to be happy, aren't you? I was told you were happy." His grip tightened even more.
"Please, let me go." I begged, as fresh tears fell.
He sounded crestfallen, and released me, and I climbed off the bed, before turning to look at him. He looked sad, and I felt as if my heart was tearing as I walked away.
Waking up in my own bed once more, lying next to Fred, I found myself drenched in a clammy sweat, and shaking. I left Fred's side, and rolled out of the bed, stumbling to the bathroom, in which I stripped off, into complete nakedness, and then climbed into the shower, washing away my dream. Yet all I managed to do was relive it, and the tears dripped down my face once more. I closed my eyes, and tried to let the water cleanse me.
"Why are you crying?" Fred asked me, and I jumped, having not heard him, and then seeing him stand there.
"I don't know."
"You…you're ok, aren't you? In yourself, I mean? You're not…"
"Not what? Depressed? I don't know, anymore." I smiled, a weak and watery smile. "I'll be ok. I think."
"Ok. Well, come back to bed soon, ok?"
I nodded, and stood in the shower just that moment longer.
When I awoke in the morning, Fred had already left for work, leaving me a note that informed me that he would be home later, well into the afternoon.
I was to be alone all day.