Merope’s subconscious alarm woke her up the next morning as it always had. Her pillow was damp with tears and her face was still red from the happenings of the previous night. She simply rolled over in bed and cried some more.
A few minutes later she got up and strolled over to the window. She looked outside at the people on the streets. She knew Martisor lasted more than one day, but seeing so many happy people up and about outside so early didn’t make her feel any better.
She pulled the curtains aside to look at the snow drops Tom never gave to her. They looked just as stunning as they had the day before, their white radiance illuminating the area around them. It was as if they were the beautiful happiness Tom had left behind the day before. She would remember this moment with these flowers as her happiest time. She knew it would be her last time of peace.
Noticing that the flowers needed water, she picked them up and walked into the kitchen. She turned on the faucet and put the vase underneath. She watched as the water flowed into the glass and filled itself to the top. After removing the vase from the beneath the stream of water, she continued to watch it.
It’s so normal, she began to think to herself. It’s always moving, always flowing, yet it still seems happy. It always sticks together as a family, but is not afraid of change. It is never still, yet it never seems tired. I wish I could feel like that.
Merope noticed here how alone she was. She had no one to go to, no one to lean on, and no one to go to for help. She was stuck in an exotic country with no where to go. She felt useless.
She slowly made her way over to the cabinet where she kept the Amortentia. Carefully, she unlatched the small wooden door behind where the honey had previously been. She assumed Tom had taken that with him when he left. She pulled out the large glass bottle and her wand and placed them on the table behind her.
She stared at her only two forms of magic. She stared at them, thought about them, day dreamed about them, and then finally decided what to do with them. What seemed like hours later, she picked up the glass bottle and poured the contests down in the sink. She watched as the silvery-white liquid flowed down the drain in the same way the water had before.
She then returned to the table and picked up her wand. She held it up to the light beaming from the window, and snapped it. She dropped the pieces to the ground and again simply stood there and stared at them. She quickly regretted her harsh decision as that piece of wood was worth at least a few weeks worth of food in the wizarding world, but it was done. She was on her own now.
- - - - - - - -
After she had gotten dressed and eaten what was left in her kitchen, Merope made her way down the stairs into the main lobby. She looked around her for anything different. Any sign at all that something had changed.
The only thing she noticed was that there was a middle aged man sitting at the main desk where Sara used to be. He was just sitting there writing some notes down on a piece of paper. He looked a little confused, as if this was his first day. Merope walked over to him.
“Are you new here?”
“Ce?”
“I said, are you new here?”
“Nu vorbesc inglez.”
I’m so stupid, Merope thought. No wand, no magic.
She gave a friendly wave to the man at the desk and made her way out into the streets. Looking around her, she saw people everywhere with grins on their faces. As a breeze blew by, she felt the sudden change of environment around her. This was a happy place.
There were young girls running around showing off their new amulets to anyone that would look. There were bits of red and white on everyone’s shirts, and even some in their hair. There were some amulets here and there in the grass, and many hanging from trees. They were there to celebrate spring, but they were really just creating happiness.
Merope longed to be part of the joyful celebration around her, but felt secluded everywhere she went. Nothing could pull her out of the ominous cloud she had floating around her. No amount of flowers, pendants, or love could make her happy. She was simply filled to the brim with grief.
Many of her friends had come up to her, but she couldn’t talk with them. All she could do was fake a smile, give a little friendly wave, and walk away. Eventually people began to leave her alone, but as she entered the small café she had eaten in the previous day, everything collapsed on her.
She couldn’t order any food, nor could she linger among the people. She was isolated again inside her cloud and decided just to pick a table in the corner and sit there until the sun set.
This is what she did for hours on end. She sat there and thought about what she was going to do next. Tom had taken all the currency they had with the exception of what was in her pocket. She eyed the food passing her in the hands of the waiters, but didn’t give into temptation. There were plenty of other things she needed to buy.
After thinking for hours on what she was going to do with the money, she finally decided her only real choice was to go back to England. She tried to avoid thinking about going home, but in the end she knew it was her only chance of surviving. At least home spoke English.
- - - - - - - -
After the sun had set and the excitement on the streets had died down, Merope stepped out of the café and walked to the inn. After thinking for so long and deciding what she was going to do, Merope noticed the cloud around her seemed to have cleared and she felt at least a little closer to the world around her.
As she walked she felt the ground beneath her feet and the wind blowing in her face. She felt the slight prickle of a bush as she brushed it as well as the soft fur of a cat rubbing up against her leg. She felt her clothes hug her skin and her hair tickle her face. She no longer felt as if she was a ghost living in someone else’s shoes; she was real.
She finally made her way back, and gathered up the four dresses Tom left behind. She grabbed a few necessities and threw them all into a bag. After looking around the room for one last time, she left the life that she was happiest at. She left all the fun times she had with her husband. She left all the Romanian people she had become friends with. She left their happy celebration of spring…
She even left the white snow drops that were hidden behind the window curtain. She knew they would either find their way to the heart of a new friend, or they would die in the same place that they lived: at home.