This piece was inspired by a quote from The Princess Bride. Guess which one? ;)

One Million Wishes

~Fall~

"Ohhh!" he breathed as he slowly spun around, staring up at the branches over his head. He could not take his eyes off of the leaves fluttering, swirling, twirling, red, gold, and yellow, like flames, raining down all over him. But they didn't burn when they brushed against him. They were soft, ticklish, and cold on his skin.

"Perhaps it's time for a change," his mother had said, her voice strangely thick the day she told him they were moving away. "And there is no better time to do it than now. Fall is the season for changes." She sniffed and forced a smile. "There are too many memories here. We can make a fresh start somewhere new."

Maybe this was what she had meant. It wasn't just the town of Nibelheim that was new. The house, the grass, even the air, everything felt new and fresh.

His foot hit a gnarled root sticking out of the ground and he took a tumble, landing on his back but the thick lawn and leaves cushioned his fall.

That was the first time he saw her.

Or heard her, really. A giggle in the row of bushes that separated their yard from the house next door alerted him to the fact that he wasn't alone. Bright green eyes blinked and came forward.

"Hi!" A girl with brown hair in pigtails and wearing the biggest and happiest smile he'd seen in a long time greeted merrily. She had on a green dress that matched her eyes. "Need some help?" she asked, offering her hand.

He cocked his head and after a moment, extended his hand timidly toward her.

"As you wish." She grinned and pulled him to his feet.

"Wh-what are you?"

"I think you mean, "Who are you?"" She laughed. That wasn't what he'd meant at all but he didn't mind her correcting him. "I'm Aeris. I'm your new neighbor! What's your name?"

"C-Cloud," he stammered.

"How old are you?"

"Five."

"I'm seven."

He scratched the back of his head, uncertain if he should respond.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" she chatted gaily. "The tree, I mean. The leaves."

"Y-yeah. I guess."

"They're prettiest in the fall so I always get a little sad when they start to drop," she said. "Still, it's one of my most favorite seasons." She laughed again. "But they're really all my favorite. Hey, do you want to go to the park? It's just down the street. There are a lot of pretty trees over there, just like this one."

"I can't. M-my mom told me to stay in the yard where she can see me."

"Oh." Her face fell for a split second, but immediately brightened again. "All right then. We can stay here and play. As you wish."

His ears perked up at the same words she'd used before and the emphasis she seemed to put on them.

"As you wish," he repeated.

"It means "Yes" or "Of course, you can have it your way." But my mom says it can also mean "I love you" if you say it to someone you love and are agreeing to do anything they want."

"Really?"

She nodded. She was so pretty and smart, he couldn't help but be in awe of her.

On that first day they met, he learned they had several things in common. Like him, she was an only child who lived alone with her mother. And like him, her father had passed away. Unlike him, she'd lost her father when she was a baby so she never really got to know him. He felt sorry for her that she couldn't remember him at all.

"My dad..." Something in his chest tightened at the thought of his own father. "My mom says my dad didn't want to go, but he had to. But one day, we'll see him again."

Her brow puckered. "You know what I like to do?" She gestured to the leaves on the ground.

"What?" he asked, curious.

"Make leaf angels. It's a lot of fun."

He didn't know what they were so she showed him how to scoop and shove the leaves into piles then stand up and with both arms flung wide open, flop backwards onto the leaves. A small smile stole across his face as he moved his arms up and down in wide arcs and opened and closed his legs as she had taught him. The figures they made didn't look much like angels but he didn't care. It was fun.

They were lying on their backs staring up at the branches overhead from their respective leaf angels when another face popped into their line of vision, blocking the tree.

"Well, hello there," the woman said pleasantly, standing over them. "And what have we got here?"

"Hello!" Aeris chirped. "You must be Cloud's mother. I'm Aeris. I live next door."

"Aeris, hmm? That's a lovely name." She smiled. "Yes, I'm Cloud's mother, Mrs. Strife. And you must be his new friend."

"Yep, I'm his new friend." She sat up on the grass and he did the same. Her eyes darted back and forth between the tall, blond woman and him. "Cloud has your eyes."

He frowned. Maybe she didn't know her colors yet.

"Cloud has blue eyes like his father," his mother explained, "but he has my hair. Sort of," she amended with a chuckle as her eyes touched upon the pointed ends of his hair.

Aeris tilted her head to one side, considering them quietly. "But the sadness in his eyes is just like yours."

His mother's smile slipped for a moment as she gazed at him and her face turned somber. "You're right." There was a catch in her voice. "You know what, darling?" She bent down and gently ruffled his hair. "I think moving here was a good change for us. I have a feeling we're going to like our new home."

He didn't think he was going to like it. He knew it.

"Well, it's time for Cloud to come in for lunch. And since you're his friend, we would like to have you join us. We're just moving in today so you'll have to excuse the boxes everywhere. The house is a terrible mess at the moment."

Aeris turned to him with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. He felt warmth creep up his neck and an answering smile spread across his own face.

"Thank you," she said politely. "I'd like that. I just have to go ask my mom first."

He looked up, first at his mother then at their new neighbor. "As you wish," he said, his voice grave.

"As you wish?" His mother gave him a quizzical glance.

"It means "Yes" and "I love you"," he informed her, proud of what he'd learned.

"Oh?" A soft giggle at her elbow had her eyes widening. "I see," she murmured, and there was something in her voice that was almost sad. "You're just like your father. You wear your heart on your sleeve."

Later, when it was getting dark and his mother called him to come inside the house, Aeris reached out and took his hand.

"I never asked but..." Her face was serious. "Will you be my friend, Cloud?"

He stared at her, wide-eyed. No one had ever wanted to be friends with him before.

"As you wish," he said shyly.

"Tell you what." She beamed and leaned forward to whisper, "I'll always take care of you, Cloud. I'll always love you."

He looked into her eyes and saw that she spoke the truth.

An angel, he thought.

That was what she was. She was his angel.

"As you wish," he said again. But he didn't mean just "Yes." He meant "I love you."

For the rest of his life, he knew he would never love anyone else like he loved her.

He learned his first lesson in love—the innocence and purity of youth and young love, and that he would never know again.