Day 1
Dear Marls,
My sister has gone crazy, she really has. The couch is in the garage now, and she keeps trying to put Crooks outside. I told her that he’s an inside cat and he’ll run off, but she only seems excited by the idea. Moving is terrible, and I’m not even going anywhere? Anyway, hopefully you’re doing better than me, let me know.
Lily Evans
It had been signed with a little heart at the bottom, Dora noticed. Her flat was still in disarray, as she’d only been living there for a few days now. It appeared as though the previous owner had forgotten to let their friend know of the address change.
Dear Lily,
As you can probably tell from the handwriting, I’m not Marls, but I just moved into her flat. She must’ve forgotten to give you her new address, I can try to hunt it down if you’d like. Either way, very sorry to hear about your sister. I have a brother, Evan, and he truly is a pain. I sincerely hope that your cat doesn’t find himself outside.
Pandora Rosier
She licked the envelope closed and tucked it into the mailbox. She walked back inside and started cleaning, the letter having slipped her mind completely.
Day 2
Petunia was going to be the death of her. She had kicked Crookshanks out of the house no less than three times today, and he was going to get lost if she kept doing it.
Lily had helped Pet do everything she could think of to make the move easier on them both. Lily and Petunia still lived with their mother, but Pet was finally moving in with her fiancé, Vernon. Vernon wasn’t exactly the smartest man, but he kept Petunia happy, and that was enough for Lily.
He worked for a drill company, and he had a nice house in Surrey. Lily was excited for her sister, but some part of her was just happy that she’d basically have the house to herself, with the exception of her mum, of course.
She was just stalling when she walked over to the mailbox to check for post. It was a Saturday, and they usually got everything important by Thursday, bills and magazines mostly. Lily was still waiting for a return letter from Marlene though, so she made the trip to the front of the house.
She paused when she pulled the letter out of the box. It listed the same address on the envelope, but the name was different. Pandora Rosier, signed in purple ink. Glittery ink, even. Lily remembered having those glitter pens in middle school, constantly finding things to write down so she could smear the glitter all over her notebooks. Her fingers were always purple and pink by the end of the day, but she didn’t really mind.
The envelope was light pink, and Lily ripped it open to find baby blue stationary. She held the note up to the sun and read it aloud.
“Dear Lily,
As you can probably tell from the handwriting, I’m not Marls, but I just moved into her flat. She must’ve forgotten to give you her new address, I can try to hunt it down if you’d like. Either way, very sorry to hear about your sister. I have a brother, Evan, and he truly is a pain. I sincerely hope that your cat doesn’t find himself outside.
Pandora Rosier.”
Pandora was such a pretty name, she thought to herself. She reread the letter a few times, appreciating the shimmery ink, albeit a bit upset that Marlene had simply moved away without bothering to give Lily any way to contact her.
Lily traced over Pandora’s signature a few more times before marching back inside to her room. She pinned the letter up on her bulletin board before grabbing her own stationary and crafting a letter of her own.
Day 3
She really hadn't expected Lily to write back, but here she was, clutching a note that she had written. Not to Marlene this time though, to Pandora Rosier.
Dear Pandora
That’s a very lovely name if I do say so myself. I would very much appreciate it if you could find out Marlene’s current address, unless of course this is all just an elaborate plan for her to rid me from her life, in which case I’ll have you know that I’m irreplaceable. My cat remains in a state of… living? Petunia hasn’t yet succeeded in the murder that I know she’s plotting. Anyway, very nice to make your correspondence, Pandora.
Lily Evans
The note was funny, but Pandora wasn’t laughing. The entire letter had been written in black pen, except for a small bit at the bottom. The sequence of ten numbers clearly written in purple glitter pen had captured Dora’s interest, and she never really planned on getting it back.
Day 4
Lily didn’t receive a text from Pandora until the following day. The first was an address, Marlene’s new address specifically, and Lily had thanked Pandora profusely.
[Lily] Thank you! I would’ve been so sad if I couldn’t talk to her again
{Pandora} no problem. just happy ive helped. how is your cat doing?
[Lily] Still alive, for now! 😊 I just need to keep Pet away from him.
{Pandora} let me know if there’s anything i can help with. i looked up your address and it’s only a few minutes walk from my flat.
[Lily] I would really appreciate a break, honestly. Would you like to grab lunch some time?
{Pandora} sure!
[Lily] There’s a cute little diner that just opened up downtown
{Pandora} the one with the flowers in the windows?
[Lily] That’s the one.
{Pandora} wonderful. are you busy today?
[Lily] Just busy hiding from Petunia. Meet you there at noon?
{Pandora} sounds like a date.
Lily smiled down at her phone.
“Lily!” Petunia screeched. “Get your cat out of my room!”
She sighed. At least Pet had stopped putting him outside.
“Coming!”
—
Pandora couldn’t help but be nervous as she pulled up to the diner. She really didn’t know Lily at all. She could be a serial killer, or a kidnapper, or she could not like dogs. Pandora wasn’t sure which was worse.
Her heart was beating a million miles a minute as swung open the door of the quaint diner. She felt something this into her back, pushing her onto the ground. She turned around to see a young woman, her age, maybe a few years younger, with bright red hair.
She pulled her earphones out, and bent down to help Dora up.
“I am so sorry, oh my gosh! Are you okay?” The girl asked.
“I’m wonderful,” Pandora answered honestly. She was still very excited about meeting Lily, and she realized when she fell that her shoe was untied, so it was rather glass half full. She let the girl pull her up to her feet.
“Is your name Lily, by any chance?”
“Yup, Lily Evans,” the girl said hurriedly. She looked up for a moment and laughed.
“You must be Pandora.”
“Indeed,” Dora grinned.
“It’s really nice to meet you,” Lily smiled, her face flushing quite a bit. Pandora was too busy observing her hair to notice. It was fiery red. Not ginger, red. Her eyes were bright green and she had freckles covering every inch of her face.
Her hair was in French braids, but Pandora couldn’t help but notice how soft it looked. She’d wondered what it would be like to take the braids out and run careful fingers through the red strands.
The girls got a table, and save for some awkward small talk, got along fairly well. They joked, both refusing to acknowledge their obvious attraction to the other.
Lily shared more about her sister from hell, and Pandora chimed in with a few anecdotes about her brother.
“One time we actually switched out our dad’s toothpaste for spray cheese,” Pandora chuckled. “Still surprised we got away with that, honestly.”
“Are you close with your dad?” Lily asked, holding her cup of coffee to her lips. She drank it black, Dora noticed.
“I am. I was. He was a bit closer with Evan, I think. Always wanted a son, and well, I’ve always been a bit odd,” Pandora shrugged like it didn’t bother her, and it really didn’t. “He passed away about a month ago.”
“Oh,” Lily muttered. “Would you like to talk about it?”
“I don’t have much to say.”
“Well, that’s okay. My dad died when I was a kid.”
The two girls exchanged a look of understanding. You never truly knew what it was like to lose a parent until you actually did.
“I knew it was going to happen though,” Lily sighed. “I went to a boarding school as a kid, and he was sick right before I headed off for my third year. I knew as soon as I got on the train that he would be gone before I got home for Christmas.”
“Oh, Lily. I’m so sorry,” Pandora said, reaching her hands across the table to grab Lily’s. Lily shrugged.
“I’ve had ten years to deal with it. I’m okay now.”
“It feels like he’s been gone an eternity,” Pandora admitted.
“They feel just a little bit further away every day.”
Day 5
Pandora had made plans to meet up with Lily again, this time for dinner. They met at a small sushi restaurant.
Lily was beautiful, this time wearing a red dress with a black fur coat. Lily later explained that it was faux fur, because she was a vegan and couldn’t imagine killing an animal just for something to wear.
Pandora, being a vegetarian herself, had wholeheartedly agreed. She felt herself blush as Lily went on about the exploitation of bees and how sad she had been when she found out her favorite graham crackers had honey in them. There was no reason for it to be as endearing as it was, but it was Lily, and there didn’t need to be a reason.
Lily’s hair was once again braided, which Dora considered to be downright torture. How could it look so soft?
It wasn’t until Lily smiled that Pandora realized that she had braces, with dark green bands that beautifully complimented her eyes. Lily Evans was nothing if not color coordinated.
They ate slowly, ordering multiple courses. They both just wanted to continue the date for as long as possible. They asked each other random questions, favorite colors and animals.
Dora had learned that Lily’s favorite color was green, which wasn’t surprising. Her favorite animal was a doe. Her dream job was an author, but right now she worked for a publishing house. She wants to own at least three cats by the time she turns thirty two, and she wouldn’t mind having a few children of her own.
Lily goes on and on about the smallest things, and Dora can’t get enough. She can’t stop listening to every single thing Lily says, trying to find the hidden meaning inside of each sentence. Lily could talk for hours, and Pandora’s attention would never waiver. Her words flowed like a waterfall, the imagery she created was like a jungle, or a field of flowers. Her stories were like the ocean, and Pandora wanted to drown in each and every one of them.
They spent a few minutes arguing over who would pay the bill, each wanting to pay for the other. They bickered for a minute before deciding to split it, each paying for the meal of the other.
Pandora walked Lily home, wrapping her arm around the other girl's waist as they ascended through the empty streets of the city.
She walked Lily up to the front stoop of her house. She leaned in, but changed her mind last minute, and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.
Their first kiss would be special.
Day 6
Lily didn’t see Pandora at all that day. They still texted of course, but Lily couldn’t find a spare minute to spend with Pandora. Not that she didn’t want to. She certainly wanted to.
Pandora was beauty incarnate. She had bright blue downturned eyes, the kind with a little bit of white that showed under the pupil. Her lips were full and round, her Cupid’s bow nearly nonexistent. Her cheeks were rosey. She was perfect. She was perfect and Lily wanted nothing more than to kiss the living daylights out of her.
But instead she was helping Petunia move all of her things out of the house. She had trekked back and forth between the house and Vernon’s three times already, and she was on her way to make another trip when she saw a car pull into the driveway. It was a light pink Nissan Figaro.
Pandora stepped out of the car, smiling. She was wearing a floral dress, covered completely in lilies. Her hair was tied up in a bun, a few stray pieces hanging free in the front.
“Hey, stranger,” Lily said, grinning as she dropped the box in her arms. Pandora walked over to her and gave her a hug.
“You sounded so bored, I thought I could lend a hand,” Pandora replied, her hands resting on her hips.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Lily says honestly. Just listening to the other girl over text was enough to keep her occupied.
“It was really no big deal. What are we doing today?”
“We need to bring Petunia’s clothes over to her new place,” Lily sighed. Dora just smiled and grabbed the box that Lily was carrying.
“Take my car?”
“Sure,” Lily said, smiling at the pink car.
—
Vernon’s house looked just like every other house on Privet Drive. A neighborhood full of carbon copies, and Pandora hated it. She hated how the windows and the driveways were all the same. She hated how nothing was unique.
Lily sighed as she lifted the boxes out of the trunk of the car and carried them up to the house, and Dora followed behind her.
“Hey, Lily,” Vernon greeted, sitting at the kitchen table sipping a cup of coffee.
“Ello, Vernon. This is Pandora,” Lily smiled, nodding her head towards Dora.
“Nice to meet you,” Pandora said. Vernon looked her over suspiciously.
“Nice to meet you too, Pandora,” Vernon mumbled, eyes returning to the newspaper sitting in his lap. The girls headed upstairs and started putting Petunia’s clothes away.
“Vernon seems nice,” Pandora observed.
“You know, he is,” Lily said. “He’s kind enough.”
Day 7
“It’s so cold,” Lily whined. Pandora giggled and slipped her jacket over Lily’s shoulders.
“That should warm you up.”
They were walking through the park after dinner. The sun was beginning to set, and the clouds had moved in.
“Did you ever reach out to your friend?” Pandora asked.
“Marlene? Yeah, we talked. She sent me her new address but it got lost in the mail,” Lily explained.
“Good,” Dora said, wiping a bit of water off the tip of her nose. It had begun to drizzle.
“I might go over to hers tomorrow and help her get a few things together.”
“You like to help people, don’t you?” Pandora asked. Lily was helping her sister, now Marlene. She was compassionate.
“I do, yeah.”
Dora just smiled and shrugged her jacket off her shoulders. She wrapped it around Lily, who had begun to shiver.
“Thank you,” Lily said. Pandora wrapped her arm around Lily’s waist.
“It’s been a good week,” Dora said.
Lily smiled, “It has, hasn’t it?”
“Do you know how to dance?” Pandora asked.
And so they danced in the park in the rain. They danced until it was pouring and they could barely see each other. They danced to the music of their hearts beating at the same rhythm. They danced until they couldn’t dance anymore and then they fell to the ground, never letting go of each other’s hands. They laughed together until they both leaned forward, kissing each other gently. At that moment, both girls felt like they could dance forever.
And they did.