Pain
Chapter 1: Regret
It has been three years…
Kefka had fallen, tears of joy poured from my eyes…
Peace, prosperity …
We all rejoiced…
Those awful memories filled my head, and have haunted me ever since…
The accident… Sabin…
What will help me this time?
"Dear?" Locke said, standing behind Terra. "Are you ready to go?"
Terra was looking outside a window, admiring the clear skies and intensely watching the clouds.
"Yes, dear… I'm ready…" Locke and Terra got into their car and drove to an abandoned graveyard, overpopulated with gravestones. Terra reluctantly got out of the car. She spotted one gravestone in particular and ran to it.
"Hey, wait up!" Locke's voice was disintegrating from Terra's mind, all she could hear were her own thoughts. Her horrible recollection of the accident that traumatized her. She fell to her knees, weeping, as she read the epitaph:
SABIN RENE FIGARO
GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
LOVED BY MANY, HATED BY FEW
Terra began to sob. It was her fault that Sabin, one of her most trusted companions, had died. As she put her head in her hands, she could feel a warm sensation around her waist. Locke was embracing her, right by her side. Connected to her. Just like always.
"What do you mean, he lives in Narshe?" Celes arose from her seat in anger and frustration. Edgar tried to restrain her, but he was not succeeding.
"He lives in Narshe with a… Terra Branford. They have two daughters together, Rachel and Madeline." An agent said while taking a sip of his coffee. Celes's anger only escalated. Was it jealously?
"Are they wed? ARE THEY WED?" Edgar sighed and sat down. "Honey, would you please calm down? Who cares if they are married and have two daughters?"
"I do, Edgar! I do, okay? My Locke could be out there somewhere, and I must find him! He is mine… Not Terra's… She does not deserve him…" Celes looked intently into the agent's eyes. She could sense that he was terrified of her. She didn't care.
Edgar stood up in disbelief. "What the hell do you mean by ,"my Locke", Celes? I thought," Edgar's heart dropped. "that I was your man." Celes kissed Edgar on the cheek. "You are my man, Edgar. It's just… I need to find my other man, okay?" Celes turned to the agent.
"So… Locke and Terra are in Narshe? Thank you for the valuable information!" As Celes walked out of the agent's office, a small grin formed on her face. She knew what she had to do. She was ready to finally become Locke's one true love.
As Terra lay her head on her pillow, she imagined of the fateful accident that killed one of her best friends. She imagined Terra's car swearing onto the side of road. She then imagined the car bursting into a fiery inferno, and with Sabin pushing her out of the car. He saved her life… Why is she living with such regret and pain?
Terra cried herself to sleep and dreamt of the same event over and over again in her mind, like a movie or TV show in which the rewind button is pressed repeatedly. She will never get that horrifying image to erase from her mind; it will be implanted with her forever. She regrets informing Locke about the status of his friend, and him sobbing in her arms. Locke will have to live with the same pain as Terra––only Terra's pain is far greater than even Terra herself imagines.
Locke then joined Terra in bed, spooning her and kissing her neck as he too remembers that eventful night. The night in which she told him about Sabin and what had happened. What Terra doesn't know is that Locke's doubt from that night as only gotten stronger. He believes that Terra, his wife and mother of her two precious daughters, killed his best friend. He cannot tell her that he has such doubts, no. That would devastate her even more than she is already. He then thought of Rachel––his first true love, who died in an Imperial attack. He also thought of his and Rachel's memory loss. She had forgotten who Locke was, and that devastated him. In a way, both Locke and Terra share in the same devastation. Terra sat up suddenly, attempting to wake up Locke.
"Locke, honey?" Terra could feel the tears coming.
"Yeah?" Locke said, groggily. "Are you… crying? What's wrong?" Locke spooned Terra and intertwined her hand with his.
"I'm just thinking of what happened… I am in so much pain, I-I can't… I can't live with it anymore."
"Listen to me…" Locke's eyes met with Terra's. "I promised to protect you with my life from the day I met you. No matter what happens, I will always love you. I cannot let another love slip away from my grasp. I love you more than I love myself. It's funny… Sometimes I feel I love you too much." Terra smiled and kissed Locke passionately.
"I love you too, Locke… I love you too." Locke and Terra rested their heads on their pillows, prepared to begin a new day. Little did they know, old comrades were on their way. Were they going to make peace? No. Edgar and Celes had something far more different in mind.