Discharged Today, School Tomorrow-I Really Wanted to Refuse

Lily ate the whole apple Mrs. Evans had peeled for her, then waved her hands repeatedly, too full to swallow another bite. Just then, two soft knocks came from outside the hospital room. Knock, knock.

The door opened, and Petunia came in. "Petunia!" Lily threw off the thin blanket covering her and, ignoring the mildly reproachful look in her mother's eyes, ran eagerly toward her sister, her bare feet pattering across the slightly cool floor. "Lily, slow down! Good heavens, why aren't you wearing shoes? You'll catch a chill." Petunia scolded her as she gently took her hand and helped her back to the bed. She tapped Lily's forehead with a fingertip. "When you're sick, you need to lie still and behave. Stop rushing around all the time, all right?"

Lily pretended the tap had hurt, covering her head and hissing through her teeth. Mrs. Evans took her seriously and hurriedly put an arm around her daughter, reaching to move the little hand from her forehead. But she found a pair of clear, emerald-green eyes gazing up at her mischievously without blinking. "You little rascal." Mrs. Evans couldn't help laughing and let her go with a helpless shake of her head.

Petunia watched silently from the side, a pang of bitterness passing through her heart. Her mother had instinctively assumed she'd been too rough, afraid she had hurt Lily. She quietly clenched her hand, but just as that hurt began to surface, a warm little hand suddenly gripped hers.

It was Lily. "Petunia, Petunia, can we make some treats together when we get home? I want the cookies you bake. They're the best cookies in the whole world, no contest."

Petunia gently squeezed Lily's soft hand in return, a faint smile touching her lips. "Then you'll have to get better quickly."

"I'm all better already! We can go home right now!"

Mrs. Evans and Petunia both laughed at that. "You little clever clogs, you can't leave until the doctor has examined you and made sure you're all right." Mrs. Evans was always easily won over by her younger daughter's offhand quips.

"What's all this fun about?" Mr Evans pushed open the door and entered the room, looking up to find his wife and daughters laughing together.

"Dad!" Lily scrambled off the bed again, unable to wait, and rushed over for a big hug. "My little darling, let Dad have a look at you. Does anything still hurt? Give me a hug, and let's see if you've gotten thinner." Mr Evans bent down, scooped her up in his arms, and lifted her high over his head.

Lily cheered with delight in the air, her voice clear and bright. "This is wonderful! You're the best dad in the whole world!"

Once her father had put her back on the bed, Lily sat obediently and waited quietly for the doctor to examine her. Throughout the series of tests with various instruments, Mr and Mrs Evans were on tenterhooks, full of anxiety and afraid that this little illness might leave Lily with lasting aftereffects.

After the doctor had looked through the entire test report, he looked up at the four of them and spoke reassuringly. "She's recovering very well. You can complete the discharge paperwork now."

"Wonderful! We can go home!" Lily promptly changed into the floral dress her mother had brought and slipped on her little leather shoes. Taking Petunia's hand in one of hers and linking her other arm with Mrs. Evans's, she walked briskly toward the door. "Come on, let's go home!"

Once she had recovered, Lily went to Cokeworth Public Primary School in town every day, walking there and back with Petunia.

During a break that day, a girl in their class gazed at Lily's neat braid with admiration. "Lily, your braid is so pretty." Soft red curls framed the end of Lily's braid, and a large bow clip adorned the top of her head. Hearing this, she proudly lifted her chin. "My sister did it for me. Nobody in the whole world can braid hair better than she can."

Petunia had just walked into the classroom and happened to hear the praise. Her cheeks warmed slightly as she sat down awkwardly beside Lily. "It's really nothing difficult. It's very simple."

"How is that simple? Not a single hair is out of place. That takes real skill," the girl beside them chimed in. Petunia's ears grew even redder, and she hurriedly changed the subject. "Lily, it's time for lunch."

She took two tin lunchboxes and their matching insulated flasks from her cloth bag. Seeing that the sisters were about to eat, the girl who had spoken tactfully said she was going to find a friend, then turned and left.

Lily opened her lunchbox, and her eyes lit up. "Wow, what a feast!" Inside were tuna salad sandwiches and canned tuna mixed with mayonnaise. A boiled egg, cut in half and sprinkled with fine salt, sat separately on a little enamel dish, with several slices of apple arranged beside it. She tilted her head curiously toward Petunia's lunchbox. "Petunia, is your lunch the same as mine?"

Petunia opened her lunchbox with some trepidation. Seeing that its contents were exactly the same as Lily's, she felt the weight lift from her heart. The sisters ate their lunch quietly, and Petunia carefully packed the lunchboxes away, intending to take them home after school for their mother to wash.

Several days passed in this quiet, peaceful fashion, and before they knew it, the weekend arrived. Lily was eager to play at the town park's playground, but Petunia only wanted to stay home and read in peace. Lily pestered her sister for a long time, but Petunia refused to give in and go out with her.

Mrs. Evans was about to persuade Petunia by saying, "You're the older sister, so you ought to spend more time with your little sister," but Lily beat her to it. She threw herself into her mother's arms, raised her little face, and pleaded earnestly, "Mum, I promise I'll be careful. Can I go to the park by myself?"

Mrs. Evans glanced displeasedly at Petunia, who had her back to her and was absorbed in her book. She silently faulted her elder daughter for being inconsiderate. She could have taken her book to the park, so why wouldn't she keep her sister company? She never noticed how this favoritism, which she took for granted, wounded Petunia's heart time and again.

"Petunia has things she wants to do too. I can't always make her give way to me," Lily added softly.

Hearing those words, Petunia felt the resentment that had built up over so long suddenly ease. Lily had voiced the question she had kept to herself countless times: why did she always have to give in and accommodate her little sister just because she was older?

Unable to resist her younger daughter's persistent pleading, Mrs. Evans finally relented. "All right. I'll go to the kitchen and pack you some treats. You can share them with the other children at the park."

A little while later, Lily, dressed in a light green, short-sleeved floral dress, skipped alone toward the park with a little floral cloth bag in matching colors over her shoulder. This was her first visit since moving to the town. Home was dull, and there were no electronic devices in this era; even swinging on the swings was far more fun than being cooped up inside.

On that summer afternoon, the plane trees' branches and leaves overlapped in layers, and flecks of golden sunlight filtered down onto the green lawn. Lily ran freely after a group of snow-white butterflies, her loose braid mostly coming undone and her red hair falling messily over her shoulders.

She hoped to catch one and take it home to keep, but the butterflies flew lightly and swiftly. In her haste, she unconsciously raised a hand, and the butterflies that had been fluttering in all directions all stopped in midair, hovering there for a long time and refusing to leave.

Lily marveled inwardly that magic was truly wondrous. She had almost forgotten that she had been born a witch.