Entombed // Sebastian Sallow

sixty two - borneo

"Borneo!? For your first trip?" I cried out at the news Sebastian has just dropped on me over dinner on a random Thursday afternoon.

"I know. I was hoping for something a bit more local myself. I'm sorry."

"But Lottie's birthday..." I trailed off, trying to hide my frustration, though it seeped through. It wasn't Sebastian's fault, but the thought of him missing our daughter's special day was hard to swallow.

"Lara, I know. I'd rather not go but they need us there. They've just discovered a whole load of untouched cursed objects that need raiding, they've basically made it a non-negotiable."

"I understand. I really do, I just can't believe they'd send a new father away for three months straight." I said, feeling myself getting upset.

"I know... I know... I'm sorry, Lara."

I felt awful for making Sebastian feel like this was his fault. We knew this kind of thing was going to happen when he took the job, but I liked being ignorant and thinking it wouldn't. We'd also just got into a really nice routine at home with Lottie and we were enjoying each others company almost every single night, just like we were teenagers again.

He pulled me into his arms and we cried together at the table.

"It's three months out of the rest of our lives. You've got loads of support here. Your parents, your brother, Poppy, Ominis. You need to lean on them, okay? I promise you I will write every single day."

I nodded through sobs, soaking his white shirt with my tears.

The thing with curse breaking is when they discover things that need liberating, they don't get a lot of notice. Sebastian was gone a mere four days later after a very emotional and tearful goodbye.

The first few weeks were hard. While I did have the support of our nanny during the day, feeding and getting Charlotte for bed every night alone when Sebastian and I were so used to doing it together had me crying every night quietly to myself. Bathing her alone, reading her stories alone, humming the songs Sebastian would sing to her, trying to make sure she didn't forget him.

My only solace was receiving an owl every night. Poor Petey was exhausted, but I would sit in front of the fire after Charlotte was well and truly asleep and tear it open, reading Sebastian's messy scrawl as he gossiped about his coworkers. He couldn't tell me exactly what he'd been doing. 'Ministry secrets' he said, but he described Borneo in great detail, commenting that he'd like to travel back on a non-work related trip.

In January, I got a letter saying that Ominis had finally proposed to Poppy and they were getting married... in a weeks time. That had me crying the hardest. The fact that Sebastian was going to miss his best friends wedding.

Their ceremony was beautiful, simple and so very on par with them. It was simply a formality and a celebration of the wonderful life they'd created with their son.

"I had hoped both you and Sebastian could be our witnesses, just as we were for you." Ominis confided in me as we celebrated at the pub.

"I know, Ominis. He truly wishes he could have been here," I replied with tears, as Ominis held me tightly, sharing the pain of missing Sebastian.

In February, I graduated my theory part of Mediwizardry school and I was finally out in the field. And most importantly, getting paid for my work. There were so many things I wish I could have just chatted to Sebastian about in bed at night as we prepared for sleep. Sure, I could put it all in a letter, but it just wasn't the same. The injuries I had seen and was treated, places I had gone, people I'd met. I never felt more alone.