Competition/Challenge Block
Written For/Stacked With: The Houses Competition (Year 9); Monthly Challenges for All (Year 5)
Houses: Gryffindor; History of Magic - Standard ([Setting] Seaside; [Word] Mysterious)
MC4A:
Warning: Implications of Suicidal Thoughts; Implied Miscarriage
Word Count: 1,005
Breath of the Ocean
It was an early summer morning, the sun had not quite peeked over the horizon, yet its light started to paint the otherwise dark sky around it. Astoria stood near the grassy ledge looking out at the ocean below. Its foam sprung up from the depths as the salty waves crashed against sandy land, licking up the rocky edge and misting away into the air to sprinkle across her face in the cool breeze.
It was a tranquil place. Draco knew well to bring her here after her… situation occurred. It was far from the suffocating walls of the Manor and hospital rooms, from prying eyes and hushed voices that spoke ill of her family. Instead, she let nature embrace her as she breathed in the sea and listened to its gentle white noise sing to her. It was hard to feel sadness and shame while absorbing nature, being able to look out at the mysterious depths of the ocean where it became one with the heavens above and simply forget about the world.
The two were almost like a mirror; the sky was a deep blue, crisp and vibrant as it faded into the many colors the waking sun provided as it stretched down the horizon. The water, however, was more of a frosted version of aboves image, where its reflection was just a bit more hazy caused by the distant waves. That was how Astoria felt these days—a blurred version of herself. She didn't know what she was expecting to happen, it wasn't exactly a secret that she'd struggle medically for the rest of her life, but losing the one thing she desperately wanted out of it was… well, it nearly broke her, just like how the cliffside shattered the waves into nothing but little droplets releasing into the sky before returning home.
Her family was seen as mysterious, secretive, and exotic by the British magical world when they moved there from Japan. It was just like life in the ocean was not fully understood, they didn't know how to accept foreigners for the same reason—lack of understanding. People did not like the unknown, and thus tended to shy away and shun it. That was how her family was treated; different, unpredictable, and uncertain. Just like when the ocean could be so calm and quiet one moment and the next a raging storm shifts its nature into a violent and turbulent tsunami. Naturally, it did not help that Astoria married into magical Briton's most hated living family—the Malfoys. It only reinforced her status as a pariah.
It was a good thing neither she nor Draco cared about what others said, thought, or judged about them. They were happy. They were privileged to ignore the haters and instead be lost with each other. Only when she prayed to the heavens and gave offerings to the kami did Astoria realize that the demons who cursed her family could still rear its ugly head. Reminding her of her mortality and its fragility, how her happiness is a walk on the thin, curved blade of a katana. One slip was a punishment she had to bear from the sins of her ancestors.
Astoria closed her eyes then, feeling the cool morning ocean breeze brush over her pale face and arms. Her near-black hair moved gently over her shoulder, its whisps seeming to try and reach for something to no avail. The grey nightgown billowed gently against her ankles and bare feet, making her appear like a greyscale painting against a vibrant colored canvas. She said a silent prayer before slowly opening her hand where a single cherry blossom charmed to never wilt or die lay. It was to represent her loss of a life. She held her hand flat, waiting for the wind to capture the delicate flower and take it away to dance out to sea.
The wind blew against her hand and threatened to take the flower many times. Just like Astoria thought about stepping forward.
What stopped her from being the one to become one with the hypnotizing blue waves below and lazy plump white clouds floating above? Her walk with life was as delicate as the petals of the pink flower struggling to stay put in her hand. It could be as graceful and beautiful as the blossom that now whisked away in front of her. She watched as it swirled up and around, taking the path the wind painted itself. It had left without her. A tear slipped down her pale cheek then, fixating on the flower as it continued its journey to the mysterious part of the world where she could not reach.
A few steps could change that, Astoria was a little bit closer to the dropoff than what would be considered safe. Following the cherry blossom would not be difficult, would it? One foot stepped forward, feeling the hard and sturdy surface beneath her. The rock was harder than the soft feeling of the grass had been.
Something embraced her from behind, sending a fresh, yet unexpected warmth coursing through her. She closed her eyes, the tears flowing more freely now as Draco's breath was felt on her neck.
"The tea is ready, Love. Come warm yourself up," Draco softly whispered before kissing the crook of her shoulder.
"But dawn has not risen yet," she said, her voice wavering.
He was silent for a moment, and Astoria opened her tear-pricked eyes to watch the horizon.
"I will watch it with you."
Astoria stood and looked out, not taking her eyes off the sky. She didn't want to miss it. With every illuminating light that came to announce dawn, she felt herself fade into Draco's hold. Every color reached her watery eyes, and she wondered if it would be for the last time. But Astoria wasn't in charge of when the last dawn for her would be. Not yet anyway. Right now, the only choice she wanted to make was to watch dawn with her husband. And so she did.