Duplicitous | T.N.

XXXVII • Almosts & Atelophobia

It was a blur, a haze, a mass of muffled faces and words, all drowned out by the blow of the steam and voices of the crowd. No one was special at the train station, the horde of people was the perfect disguise for any unique individual. No matter how odd one could be, no one would notice.

At the busy train station of London, no one would notice you. No matter how hard you tried it remained tricky to actually win anyones attention, all were too focused on catching their ride, or pushing through the mass of people.

No one noticed. That's what made it so perfect.

It was natural that no one payed any mind to the group of red heads, the occasional brunette and a big black dog racing through the mob of muggles and plain individuals. Not even if they all rushed with a tight grip on a trolley that contained bags and owls. Not even, when the group took turns running straight into a wall. No one noticed.

The train station of London was the perfect analogy, for the mental well-being of... well - anyone. For all anyone knows, a stranger that walks by holds the weight of the world amongst their timid shoulders. For all we know, your closest friend could be clinically insane. For all we know, someone tried to tell you that they're struggling and you just... forgot. For all we know, you could be responsible for the cloud of grief that sticks to their backs, and for all we know you decided it wasn't your fault.

Whether we know it or not, it's rare if for someone to take notice or to care for longer than a second. Just because someone carry's it well, it does not mean the weight isn't heavy.

Aurora had been attacked and staunched by her closest friends, they accused her, embarrassed her, yelled at her, and it seemed as though they had already forgotten. Similar to how one forgets the peculiarly dressed person you come across on the street, a mere look of question before you turn away and continue with your own world.

She told them it was fine, that it didn't bother her, but in the grand scheme of things, she was hurt most when they believed her. For she was hurt, offended and she wished more than anything that they didn't forget, that they could still try.

Worst of all, she didn't blame them, for they were doing what everybody did, brushing it aside and resuming with their lives and focusing solely on their own thing. It was a hard slap to the face, a brute reminder that she was alone, everybody was and that the world was a lonely place, school was a lonely place, home was a lonely place, the train station was a lonely place, no matter how crowded it was.

Although it was a painful reminder of loneliness, it was also the birth of a tinge of hope. The hope, despite how small it was, outshone the sense of aloneness that she, and everyone, was accustom to. The hope came in the form of a friend who, like her, had suffered the tragic loss of a mother. The numbness that had grown inside her of which she feared would grow with time, matched Theodore Notts.

She was desperate to find someone, anyone, who could understand. In her months of search her siblings and father had left her, her friends had forgotten her like the crowd and Theodore became her last resort and once she found that salvation, she cherished it. What she didn't know was that it was never healthy to blindly grasp at whatever could be gripped and Theodore Nott was definitely a reach.

Then she ran into the wall. Opening her clenched eyes, she was met with a second crowd, this one more unique than the last. Still busy none the less, except the peculiarities were more common in this lot. Everyone was strange, in fact the weirdness was embraced in the community and eventually, the oddness became normal, and then they were all strangers again, and all went unnoticed.

Manoeuvring her trolley through the flock of wizards and witches alike, she bid her unrelated family farewell. Kissing the disguise criminal on the head, she whispered in the dogs ear. "See you Sirius, stay safe." He barked in response.