A Little Wicked

39. Acts and Consequences - Pt. 2

CHAPTER 39

ACTS AND CONSEQUENCES - Pt. 2

Forks, October 31, 2019

The vast forest looked like a dark ocean except for the few seconds when lightning lit the skies, the loud thunder echoing over the city and reverberating to the mountains as the heavy rain fell.

Amidst the darkness and wedged among the trees, the Cullens' mansion was like a luminous white islet, a tiny safe haven in the midst of a storm though the house's occupants faced a storm of their own: after Harry Potter's departure, the dawn stretched out with silence and staring into nothing, all unconsciously avoiding facing each other and seeing their own feelings and emotions reflected in each other.

Hours after the rain had passed and the day had dawned with dark clouds, they actually began to react – or at least one of them did.

With a sigh – the air filled her petrified lungs like gaseous lead – Esme walked over to the fallen diary, reaching down to pick it up with care and respect as if to pick up the most delicate creature: she touched the soft black leather cover, flipped through the yellowed pages filled with handwriting over the decades until he reached the last page.

"Own..." she whispered ruefully as she touched the page, her fingers on the wrinkled surface of the paper in which had absorbed and dried tears.

And just like the dry tears, there was still pasted the black-and-white photograph she and the others had seen through their memories: Harry and Cedric children holding hands and smiling, their eyes full of purity and innocence. Below the photo was the last journal entry written in shaky handwriting, the ink smudged in a few words.

"Love is patient, love is kind..." she read in a low tone, knowing that everyone could hear her clearly "It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud... It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking... It is not easily angered... It keeps no record of wrongs."

She paused, feeling a lump in her throat.

"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects. Always trusts. Always hopes. Always perseveres."

She gasped, feeling her eyes sting from the venom, as close as vampires could get to the ability to cry.

"August 27th, 2018." she finished reading, closing the diary and placing it on her chest, understanding that Harry had written it on the day of the last memory they witnessed.

'Harry...' her mind turned to the boy who had been there hours before, crying as he begged forgiveness for a crime they all accused him of and which he never committed, crying and being rejected by the same family in which she always said and assured him that he was already a part of it and that they loved him as if he were one of them, as if he were her child.

Esme felt her heart ache, guilt making her ashamed of herself: if she hadn't been weak and passive... If she hadn't contributed to the distrust... If she hadn't pushed herself more and used her voice when necessary, maybe the outcome had been different... Maybe there was a redemption for their mistake... Maybe... Maybe... There were so many "maybes"!

"How did we get to this point?" she asked, her throat dry and tight.

Silence.

"We accuse and judge rashly... We point fingers and become judges and executioners... We made that boy show us his pains and traumas even if we didn't have that right. We saw everything, we felt everything..." she whispered "And for what?"