Edward dreamed.
He stood in his living room. At least he thought he was in his living room. The jumbled shapes stretched all around him, the colors blurred and splashing into each other. The pale brown sofa ran into the cream of the wall behind it. He could just barely make it out. He took a step toward it, his heart lurching in its cage. Another step, another, and another until he reached it. He sank down into its embrace, uncertain. Why was he here? He should be somewhere else...but he couldn't remember where.
"Daddy! Daddy!"
He looked down. Hands the color of melted chocolate strained towards him. Violet eyes flashed beneath a halo of white hair. He felt his heart soften, his confusion forgotten. Her eyes were the only clear things in this phony room of color. And her voice.
"Swing me, Daddy!"
He reached down to her without a moment's hesitation. He slid his hands under her arms and in one smooth move, stood from the jumbled couch and swung her around in the air. Her bright smile filled his vision and her laugh twinkled like a bell. He put her down and smiled at her.
"I love you, Daddy! Swing me again! Please?"
Then Edward woke at his desk in his study. He must have nodded off. The warmth that had flooded him in his dream evaporated. He was left with two things; one, longing. He desperately wanted to sleep again, just to see the smile that hovered so maddeningly out of his reach when he woke. And two, confusion. He had never seen the girl from his dreams before, at least not in the waking world. Who was she?
"Brother!" Edward was saved from his inner turmoil as the door to his study banged open. It was Alphonse, his younger brother. His usually impeccably neat hair was unkempt, and his shirt was on backward. " Big Brother, you have to come quickly!" Edward inwardly smiled. Alphonse had been calling him Big Brother since they were kids. Never mind the fact that Ed was married and had two kids of his own, or that Alphonse himself was married and the principal of one of the finest international schools in the world. Then Edward caught the wild look in his hazel eyes and the fear lacing his words. His smile shrunk.
Ed stood uneasily. "What is it, Al?"
"It's Lyric's Orphanage! It's on fire! There are kids still trapped inside!"
"What? How?" Edward was stunned. His thoughts started spinning in his head. A fire and an old brick building behind a tall gate had appeared in his dreams before. Ed spun and threw open a drawer in his dark mahogany desk. He tossed folders and portfolios out onto the floor. After a few panic-ridden moments, he unearthed a leather-bound notebook. He leafed through the pages, frantically searching for his last entry.
"Edward?" Alphonse edged toward him, peering over his shoulder.
Edward couldn't help but feel a twinge of annoyance. He was almost two years older than his brother, but Al stood a quarter of an inch taller than him. Focus! Ed tore the thought away and threw it into the back of his mind. Finally, he found it what he was looking for. The entry from last Tuesday. He knew Al was reading through it behind him.
"Ed? What is this?" Al asked, his voice edged in worry.
Edward ignored him, scanning the page. It's exactly what I thought it was, Ed thought. The brick building on Lyric Boulevard. That's the orphanage.
"Big Brother, we can talk about this later, but never mind that now! The police need help," Alphonse said, looking panic-stricken, but that fierce glint in his eyes told Ed that he was becoming impatient.
Ed closed the journal and tossed it on the desk. "You're 's go." Ed headed to the door, snatching his thin coat off its peg as he passed.
Ed and Al hurried through the house, heading for the front door. "Winry! I'll be right back!" He shouted to her as he passed by the kitchen. "Keep Alex and Lisanna in the house!"
"Ed? What's going on?" Winry's voice came through the kitchen door, tinged with worry. Her head appeared a moment later.
"No time to explain. Just keep Alex and Lisanna inside, please." Ed placed his hand on the doorknob and had begun to turn it when something tugged at the edge of his coat. He looked down. His five-year-old daughter, Lisanna, peered up at him.
"Daddy?" Lisanna yawned. "Where are you going?"
Edward felt his heart soften a little. Lisanna rubbed her bright blue eyes, the same color as Winry's. "Some little kids are in trouble, Lissy, and Dad has to go help them. You don't want anyone to get hurt, do you?"
Lisanna yawned again, but her eyes brimmed with worry. "No, Daddy. But what if you get hurt?"
Ed's thoughts froze for a moment. He had a flash of a memory, of gazing at his father's back, outlined in a halo of light. Before, when he was younger, he'd never considered his own safety when he was going to help anyone. But now he had a family, and he had to keep himself safe for his family's sake. "I won't get hurt, Lisanna. I promise."
"Brother!" Al had brushed past him, and was outside now, waiting on the street.
"I have to go now. Go help your mother in the kitchen. I'll be back before breakfast."
Lisanna stood where she was, stubborn as ever. He liked to think that she had also gotten that trait from her mother, but he had a feeling she would disagree.
"Go on, Lissy." Ed suddenly felt angry. The memories of his father leaving still stung him sometimes. He was different. He wasn't like his father or at least the man his father had appeared to be at first. People needed him. His family needed him too. It wasn't a question of morals, but one of duty.
Ed slowly closed the door and joined his brother in the street. He looked over his shoulder and spotted Lisanna and his older son, Alexandyr, looking at him fondly through the window. Alex smiled and waved. Ed waved back and followed his brother towards the smoke in the streets beyond. As he moved towards the fire, and he wondered if he would finally find the answer to why this beautiful white-haired little girl kept appearing in his dreams.