Warning: several mentions of past abuse.
Waves and Regret
Tick Tock
The Boardwalk. The sand. One minute to midnight.
Tick Tock
The Ocean. The Moonlight.
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The smell of the salty water.
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The foam of the water crashes against your feet.
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The sound of the waves on a moonlit beach.
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The feeling of being alone in the world, with nobody to talk to, except the thoughts inside your head.
Tick Tock
That is, until you are found.
Tick Tock
Time becomes stretched. When alone, seconds takes minutes. Minutes take hours. However, the mere presence of it, person or not, speeded time back up.
Tick Tock
But what if they were a person? What if it was an image?
Tick Tock
What if, after all of these years, the tiny figment in her imagination became real again, if only for a minute?
Tick Tock
It was the perfect moment. Quiet only for the sounds of the water crashing against the sand. Her home for the past year. But it felt longer.
Tick Tock
But what to do? What else was there to think about? What else was there to distract her?
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All was quiet after 17 years of madness, 17 years of chaos, and 17 years of noise. Nature was the only noise that could be heard.
Tick Tock
"I thought you would never find peace."
She froze; the sounds of crashing water instantly ceased, as the thing that she had felt before talked.
Tick Tock
"Lily."
Time froze. All noise ceased. She turned to her right until she faced her.
Lily looked like she was 40 years old. It was as though she never died.
"Speak, Petunia. You have questions."
Tick Tock
But Petunia couldn't speak. Her mind began to scream. Every instance that she had verbally yelled at her sister, every instance she let Vernon do it, Marge, Dudley, any time she let anyone speak bad about her sister ran loud and clear in her brain.
Yet there she was, standing in front of her, alive as can be.
It was either a gift or a reckoning.
Tick Tock
"I am here, Petunia. You can talk to me."
Instead of talking, she broke out in tears. She took small steps towards her sister and carefully hugged her, aware she could do that.
Tick Tock
The sisters hugged for so long the waves made music again. It was much calmer now, not turbulent as it had been earlier.
"I'm sorry, Lily," Petunia weakly said.
"I forgive you."
Tick Tock
The clock strikes midnight.
In that instant, all of the grief, all of the hatred, the sadness, the pain, and the worrying ceased to exist. Petunia breathed a long sigh, her troubles and her actions forgiven by the one girl she needed forgiveness from. Forgiveness that she thought she would never get.
Lily released Petunia and looked her in the eyes.
"You must make amends with him, too. He still blames you despite your reconciliation last fall." Lily stood there, frowning. Petunia could see the disappointment radiating from her sister."You caused him years of pain and knew you didn't have to. As you figure out how to apologize to him, think about all the wrongs you committed against him."
And as quick as she came, she left. Petunia was left alone on the beach to think about her sister's words.
The sounds around her began to return.
The ocean, the crickets, and the stars began to shine again. One by one, the elements of nature resumed their action as though the disturbance was common.
She felt calm, but empty. Devoid of the pain she felt, replaced by the lightness that was forgiveness. She knew what she had to do and it was right. In that instant, the waves crashed against the shore, splashing water on her legs. She decided to enjoy nature, for its little things that she never cared about.
She walked up the shore towards the cottage, where Dudley, clad in a t-shirt and shorts, sat on a chair on the dimly lit porch, thinking to himself. As she walked up, Dudley looked at her.
"Dudley?"
The air was quiet. The waves crashed faintly in the distance.
"Did you mean it, Mum? All those years of abusing him?"
The waves crashed continuously as the duo faced each other.
"Yes."
A pause.
"Do you regret it?"
Another pause.
"Yes."
A third pause.
"Then, I forgive you."
She was silent for a moment, refusing to meet his gaze. "Thank you, Dudley."
Dudley nodded, before speaking again. "You know, he did this. He sent us here to get away from his problems. After all we put him through, you have to think about what was going through his mind when we left him that day. He was prioritizing our safety over his. Just something to think about. I've been thinking about it every day. Every day."
The water continued to crash against the shore as Petunia slowly drifted off, feeling fatigued from the late hour.
Petunia suddenly felt a presence in her mind. Suddenly, her thoughts were full of pain. Full of suffering. Full of nausea. Full of everything that she stood against. It showed the abuse, it showed the fear, the sadness, the rejection, and the pain that he had for not being accepted.
She saw his mood go from painful to monotone as if he simply accepted his fate. He became devoid of feelings, devoid of emotion. He simply did what he was yelled at to do, without complaining.
A loud crash on the beach pulled her out of her mind. The water was getting rougher. Dudley seemed to acknowledge this and bid his mother goodnight, as it was past midnight now.
Petunia stood on the porch, staring at the water. She had gotten her wish, to live on the beach, but at what cost? Yes, she may have been forgiven by her sister's ghost, and Dudley may have forgiven her as well, but she knew the person who needed the apology never wanted anything to do with her ever again.
Petunia was filled with anger as the moonlight beamed down upon the dark new day. Not at her sister, her son, or even at him, but at herself. How did she allow herself to fall this far, was she that stupid? It was years too late to fix, and sadly for her, it wouldn't be enough to have peace or closure. Her sister had told her to make amends, but would it be possible given she destroyed her chance from her choices over the years? Time would tell if she would succeed.
As she went inside to clear her mind, the crashing waves on the beach below could be heard, slightly muffled. It was her reminder of what she could no longer forget. She could not forget the boy whose life she had almost ruined, the boy who she would contact and try to make amends. She would not forget disappointing her sister's memory by mistreating her nephew.
House: Ravenclaw
Class: Ancient Runes
Category: Standard
Words: 1170
Prompts: [Sound] The sound of the ocean waves, [Time] Midnight