Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters..enjoy! :)
There was once a man had no heart. His name is Cloud Strife. Cloud is a handsome man who is very popular among the ladies because he was cool and stiff. He never cried, laughed or groaned when in pain. What they don't know is Cloud had no heart and is not familiar with feelings. He never felt sadness, joy or suffering. Even though the ladies like him, no one ever talked to him or tried to mingle with him. And so, he lived all alone in his tiny little house with a cherry tree that stood beside it. But enough about Cloud, let's go and meet the girl from across the street, Aerith Gainsborough.
Aerith is a pretty, lively girl who had many friends and companions. She is sweet, charming and funny that makes everyone her friends. Aerith has a dog named Red, a going-away present from her family when she ventured out in the big city. They were always together and rarely separate from one another. Until one day, they nearly broke apart.
It was a day when the very first snow fell onto the newly paved road of their lane. Aerith and Red were walking along the path with paper bags filled of things they bought from the supermarket. Because it was filled to the brim, an apple slid off from the bag and rolled towards the center of the street. Red noticed this and went to fetch the fruit for his master. Aerith watched him go and smiled. She placed the bags on her lawn and ran to get her little puppy.
"Silly dog," she said as she picked him—and the apple—up.
When she was about to return to her things, a big truck honked loudly and came flying straight towards her. She saw her whole life flashed before her eyes as she was seconds away from death. She closed her eyes and when she opened them all she could see was blue.
"Are you ok?" an unfamiliar voice asked.
Aerith nodded and checked if she was really ok. She looked down and saw Red looking at her with eyes that cried of fear. She turned to her savior but he was already walking towards his house. She stood up and ran towards him.
"Thank you for saving me and Red," she said with a sweet smile.
He looked at her blankly and shrugged. "I didn't know why I did that so you don't have to thank me," he replied before continuing walking to his door.
"My name's Aerith and this is Red. Can we be friends?" She suddenly blurted out.
He closed his door with no reply. Aerith smiled at his direction and turned to walk towards her own house.
"I think we made a new friend, Red." She happily whispered to her dog.
Days passed as Aerith and Red patiently wait for Cloud to come out of his house. When he does, they greet him and go wherever he goes. At first, Cloud didn't talk to Aerith or play with Red. But, little by little, Cloud became more open with them. He talked with them, ate lunch with them and even brought them to a secret place only he knows of. It was an old abandoned church at the end of their street. Because no one took care of it, plants began to grow inside the church along with flowers of different kinds. Aerith was overjoyed when she saw them and this feeling made Cloud wonder.
"What do you feel right now, Aerith?" he asked.
"I feel happy. I like flowers," she replied with a smile. "I never thought you liked flowers, Cloud."
"I have no heart. I don't feel anything." He looked at her and the flowers. "I couldn't say I like them. I only come here everyday to look at them."
When she was about to speak, a painful howl came from behind the altar. Aerith and Cloud ran to where the sound came and stopped. Red was lying very still on the ground with red fluid coming out of his mouth. From behind the darkness, a bigger dog came out and ran towards the exit. Aerith knelt in front of Red and hugged his tiny body, weeping. Cloud watched her cry and wondered.
"Why is water coming out from your eyes, Aerith?" He asked.
"They are tears, Cloud." She replied in-between sobs. "Tears come out when you are sad."
"You are…sad?" He asked again.
"Yes, I'm sad. Red will not jump, bark or play with us again," she whispered softly like her voice was broken. "When you love someone and they die, you become sad."
That was the day when rain fell from the rooftops of the old church. Cloud and Aerith buried Red among the flowers that bloomed in the church. After that day, Cloud and Aerith went to the church every day to pray for Red and talk more about feelings. Little by little, Cloud began to understand and wondered about it even more.
"I want to have feelings. I also want to feel what you feel," he said to Aerith while tending to the flowers.
Aerith watched him tenderly and smiled. When the day ended, they walked home together and said their goodbyes. The morning after, Cloud waited for Aerith at the church…but she never came. Days passed and Cloud never saw Aerith leave or enter her house from across his.
This continued until one day, a package came to his front door. Within the package was a small, pink box with a bright red ribbon on top. Cloud opened the box and took out its contents. It was a bottle with something red floating inside it. He pressed the container in his ears and he could hear the red thing beating. Cloud gently placed the bottle on the table and looked inside the box. He saw a pink envelope and took it out. Cloud opened the envelope and read the letter contained in it.
Dear Cloud, this is my heart. I want to give it to you so you can experience having feelings too. Someday you will understand how special they are to your life. The most important feeling of all is love. Never forget it, okay? Because of love I am able to live and live on for your sake. Thank you for all the memories that you made with me. Take care of yourself…and take care of our heart. Aerith.
After he finished reading the letter, for the first time, water came out from his eyes. Cloud touched the water and stared at his shaking hands.
"What, what is this? My fingers are tingling, my throat is dry…my eyes are burning!"
Tears come out when you are sad.
When you love someone and they die, you become sad.
"Sad…I'm sad?" he whispered as tears trickled down his cheeks. "I'm sad…"
The tears dropped on the Aerith's letter as his hands continued to tremble. Little by little, he began to understand. He began to understand the growing feeling within his chest as it started to grow more bigger, more wider. With his eyes, he searched for that familiar smile he always wanted to see everyday.
"Aerith, Aerith… I love you, Aerith… I love you."
And as if a reply to his testament, a warm feeling began to embrace him as he wept.
I love you, Cloud…and I will always be with you.