1. Lost Life

I couldn't believe it. At last, a letter from father had arrived. My brother Daniel and I gathered together around the table so I could read it. I sat down and Daniel stayed on his feet.

"Hurry, Demi," he urged.

"Just a second, Danny, it's not like it's going to run away," I said while I fidgeted with the envelope to get it opened. When I finally did, I took the paper inside it swiftly and unfolded it.

"Okay," I said and started reading it to myself first

Demetria and Daniel:

My children… How can I start?

Well, first of all, I want to remind you that I love you both with all my heart and I've always wanted what's best for you. I am truly sorry that I can't be there with you because of my work and I haven't had the chance to see you grow up. But at least I know that you are safe and that Thomas and Leah are taking very good care of you. They are doing a great job in raising you right, I bet. I really wish that I could be with you and spend some quality time with you, too.

Another important thing, Demetria, the box I sent along with the letter has something for you and something else for both of you. Your gift is a necklace that belonged to your mother. Later in your life, you will understand the purpose of it and why I need you to promise me that you will always carry it on or with you.

Daniel, pursue your dream of becoming a State Alchemist. You have a lot of potential and I know that, unlike me, you will be able to pass the exam someday. But for you to do that, I believe it is best if you go to Central City and live there. You will have a better chance at it if you do that.

Don't forget to always practice your alchemy, both of you. Excellent alchemists aren't born overnight so you must improve your skills and expand your knowledge. I have a lot of faith in you and you will be excellent alchemists.

And the last thing that I want to say is…that I will not return, though I wish I could. I have started a journey that I cannot come back from. I am not sure where I will go because I've done many bad things in my life and I really hope you don't commit the same mistakes and sins that I committed. I don't know if it will be hell that awaits me for all the horrible things I have done, or if it will be heaven because I regretted everything and hoped I was forgiven by God.

But, please, don't worry about me right now. Think about yourselves. Move on and find what you are looking for. And remember that I love you and that you will always have a special place in my heart. I am so proud of you and I am very glad of being able to call you my children.

I miss you and I hope we can be reunited someday. I guess this is goodbye, so, until we meet again…

With all my love,

Your father

I couldn't make my hands move. My eyes stayed on the paper though I was no longer reading it. I felt moisture run down my cheeks.

"What's wrong, Demi? What did father say in that letter?" Daniel asked, rising up the volume of his voice when I wouldn't answer quickly. But I literally couldn't speak or do anything that wasn't crying and analyzing the true meaning of that letter.

"Hey, why are you crying? Did something bad happen to father?" he kept asking. At first he sounded concerned but then his voice turned alarmed when he thought there was a possibility that something had happened to our father.

I just put the paper on the table and turned to give my brother a hug. He let me cry and when I no longer had tears in me I spoke.

"…Danny…," I started. "Weren't you reading the letter with me?" I asked.

"I started to but then I saw you crying and I stopped to see what was wrong with you," he said.

No wonder he didn't understand why I was crying. The reason why father wrote that letter was near the end of it. I took the paper and without looking at it I gave it to him so he could finish reading it, too.

I saw as his face turned from casual to horrified. I guessed that he must have read the most crucial part of the letter where the motive of it was written in father's script.

"Father is not coming back," I explained but he already knew that. I said it unconsciously to myself, not being able to grasp reality yet.

"But why did it have to be him? Why our father, too?" he asked. But it was a rhetorical question. He was just asking himself that aloud, he wasn't asking it to me.

It hurt to see him in pain. I hated that more than anything else in this world. When he was like that I had to think about the things that I was going to say to him more because he blocked my mind. He made me want to hug him and tell him that everything was going to be okay, that we could do this together.

"Daniel, he worked for the military, he was in war. Obviously he must have gotten hurt on the battlefield and that caused him…death…" I couldn't even say that last word without flinching at the thought of it.

He started to cry and I let him get it all out.

I was aware that everything would be harder from now on. We only had each other, no family to run off to here. And the pain was going to be too much, maybe unbearable, if we stayed in the village. The only way we had to overcome both of the situations that had happened to us here ―Mother and Father's death, one after the other ― was leaving this place.

Father would always have a special place in our hearts and, even though he almost never spent time with us, I knew that he cared if we were fine. And mother…who could compare to her? Her warm smile always on her beautiful face while she received us every day after school with an embrace.

Both parents, lost.

There really was no other option to escape the pain that this caused us but running away elsewhere from the place that held all the memories. To the City, Central City to be exact was where we would have to run off to. There we would have Uncle Maes, also, better opportunities to go after what we wanted to do in our future lives. Brother could pursue his dream of becoming a State Alchemist, like father had said, and I could enroll in a prestigious university and become a doctor.

I opened the small box that had arrived along with the letter to see my present. There was a tiny black box and another envelope which looked pretty full of something. I took the black box first and opened it.

A beautiful necklace with a blue stone in the center lied inside. I was completely dazzled by its beauty. It left me speechless.

"Wow," I said in amazement to myself.

"What is it? Let me see," Daniel said almost pushing me so I would show the necklace to him.

I handed him the box and he took it eagerly but careful.

"Hmm," he said. "Pretty nice," he commented.

I grinned at him. "I know," I rubbed in. And the best part was that it was mine.

He gave it back to me and I reached for the other envelope that was still in the box. I shook it to see if I could decipher what was its content. It seemed like more paper. I decided to open it to finally see what it was.

Money. Lots of it.

Father must have sent all his savings to us before he died.

Lots of dollars with hundreds and twenties printed on each side. I couldn't believe that all of that was ours, too.

"Oh my…," Daniel couldn't even finish the sentence. He was too busy staring at all the money I held in my hands like a fan. His eyes were about to pop right out of their sockets if he kept staring. His jaw hung open in astonishment.

"Okay, then. Half is mine," Daniel said quickly. "The rest is yours. Oh what I could do with all that money…," he trailed off, lost in his fantasies.

"No, no, no," I said taking the envelope away as soon as I saw him reach for it. "No halves for anyone. We're going to use this money so we can move to Central with Uncle Maes."

His lips puckered. I could see that I had ruined his plans on how to spend his share of the money. But it was for the good of him, for his dream.

"Look, Danny, if we don't go and live in Central, how will you become a State Alchemist?" I asked.

He sighed. "Well, true," he agreed. "But can't I at least have―?"

"No," I cut him off. "We're using all of it so we can purchase anything that's necessary when we get there."

"Fine," he said grumpily and stumped his way out of the room.

I sighed. What was I going to do with him?

That afternoon before dinner, I called Uncle Maes at his house. His wife Gracia was the one to answer and told me that he hadn't arrived from work so she gave me the phone number of Central City Headquarters. I thanked her and quickly dialed the number she had given me.

The phone rang twice and someone answered it.

"Central City Military. This is Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang speaking," he said. I liked his voice, it sounded really manly and attractive.

"I would like to speak with Maes Hughes, please," I said.

"May I know who's speaking?" he asked politely.

"Demetria Hughes," I answered. "His niece," I added.

"Could you hold on, please?"

"Sure."

After a few seconds, I heard a different voice speak, which I recognized.

"Hi there, kiddo," he greeted. "What's the matter? But, by the way, did you receive the pictures of my daughter that I sent you? She is adorable, isn't she? Some say she looks like me and she's just so smart. She learns really fast. And did I tell you she took her first steps? Oh, I'm just amazed at how fast she's growing." He continued babbling about his daughter, who was very cute like he had said, and I waited for him to finish so I could ask him what I had to.

"So back to you. How's everything there?" he asked.

"Well, listen, um, I just called to ask you something. A favor, actually," I admitted sheepishly.

"Of course, whatever you need," he said. "But I actually need to tell you something…"

What could it be? I just hoped they were not more bad news.

"Um, sure, you first," I said.

"I…don't know how to say this but…your father isn't going to come back. I received a letter from the camp where he was and it said that he went missing. They suppose he must have gotten hurt on the battlefield and since he didn't receive immediate attention, his remains must be buried underground by now," he explained.

I could tell how hard it was for him to talk about his only brother's death.

"Well…that's what I was going to talk about actually," I admitted.

"Wait a minute, you already knew?"

"Yes," I answered. "Dad sent us a letter before he passed away," I said.

"Oh…," he trailed off. "I'm so sorry."

"Me too," I said.

"Well, then, what was that favor you were going to ask for?" he reminded me.

"Er, that I wanted to ask you if…we could go to live in Central with you?" I said the last part swiftly.

"If you don't mind, of course," I added when he didn't answer. "It will be only until I turn eighteen, which it's in a few months, and I can get my own apartment."

"Well, sure you can. But why is that? Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"No, no," I assured. "It's just that I would like to study and become a doctor. I can't do that here. So I want to enroll in some university with the money that father left for us. And…," I stopped.

"And?" he pressed when I didn't finish.

"You see, Daniel's hoping on becoming a…State Alchemist. We thought that he would, you know, have a better chance at it there, too," I admitted.

"About your college plan, well, you shouldn't worry. You are a very intelligent girl and I'm sure you will do great on your application," he assured. "But, wait a minute, you already finished high school?" he asked.

"I did," I answered.

"Wow, time just flies by, huh?"

"Mmm-hmm," I agreed. "But what about my brother?"

There was a brief moment of silence.

"He is an excellent alchemist and all. Both of you are, but…"

"But?" I pressed. I guessed this was a subject he was trying to avoid.

He sighed. "I don't know if that could be possible right now when he's still so young. He's fifteen, right?"

"Yeah, I know he's young, but, can't there be an exception?" I asked.

"Only one exception has ever been made. That was with the FullMetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, when he was just twelve. The kid's a genius, though very small…"

"But why could he take it and brother can't?"

"He was granted the opportunity because he saved General Hakuro's life," he explained. "Daniel's going to have to wait until he's old enough to take the exam."

I wasn't going to argue with him about this now. I knew that it wasn't going to be easy. I guessed Daniel would just have to wait until he was older to take the State Alchemist Qualification Exam.

I sighed. "It's okay, uncle. I understand."

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "So, when do I pick you up?" he asked in a lighter tone.

"Whenever you can," I said.

He thought about it.

"I have next Friday off. How about then?" he suggested.

"Sure," I agreed.

"It's settled, then. Well, I'll see you on Friday, Demi. Love you and say hi to your brother for me," he said.

I chuckled. "Of course," I assured. "I'll see you later," I said and hung up the phone.

I ran towards the kitchen, where Thomas, Leah and Daniel waited at the table.

"Um, sorry I'm late," I apologized.

"You're excused," Leah assured.

I sat down and started eating.

The soup Leah made was the best, the best in the world, actually. Well, at least for me. It felt so good on my taste buds. Everything was great; all the ingredients were cooked to perfection. This was one of the things that I was going to miss about this place.

The peace and quiet we had here topped the list of things that I was going to miss the most. I enjoyed that part of this small village more than anything. The city was going to be so loud and crowded. Also, living with Thomas and Leah was not bad. They cared for us like we were their own. We had no complaints about them; they always provided us all our needs.

I still couldn't believe I was about to do this. Not now, at least. I always saw myself talking about leaving the village alone and when I was older. I could not picture myself doing that now when I was still so young.

I waited until we had all finished eating dessert― that was when everyone was on their best mood― to bring up the subject.

Thomas put his glass of juice on the table as he laughed at something Leah had said that happened to her during the day. Daniel excused himself and left. That sure was odd; he always stayed until we all left. When Leah and Thomas stopped laughing, I decided to start.

"Um, Thom, Leah?" I asked sheepishly, not knowing how to say this. I was starting to feel nervous. I didn't want a reaction from them.

"Yes, sweetie?" Leah asked. I didn't know what to say. She was making this much harder for me since she sounded a lot like mother.

I cleared my throat, just in case it would give me in. "Well, I kind of wanted to talk to you about something―about Daniel and me," I admitted.

"Sure, Demi. What's it about?"

I took a deep breath before continuing. That helped a little. "You see, now that father isn't coming back we really have no reason to stay here," I said. "So I was thinking about moving to Central City,"―they made a face―"With Uncle Maes."

They didn't speak and I waited for them to take this all in. Thomas was the first to talk.

"But, why the hurry?" he asked. "We don't mind having you here. You're a great couple of children and we think of you as our own."

"It's just that I would like to help Daniel with becoming a State Alchemist," I explained. "And father told us in his letter that it was best if he went to Central. Don't worry about us, Uncle Maes will take good care of us," I assured.

Thomas shook his head. "It's not that we don't believe that you will be okay," he clarified. "What I'm trying to say is that you're both too young to be thinking about going on your own."

"We won't be alone, we'll have uncle," I reminded him.

"We know but he's busy with his family," Leah interjected. "Their daughter is still an infant so she's a lot of work. Believe me."

"They can keep doing whatever it is that they are doing now," I said. "I can take care of myself and I can look after Daniel, too."

"Yes, I know that you can do that. But, you are still kids and you are going to start living a life that still isn't meant for you― adult life."

I knew she was right. It was going to be a lot harder and we would have to face adulthood now. But, who knew? Maybe something good would come out of all of this. Maybe we would be rewarded for all the sacrifices we were going to have to make. That was the Law of Equivalent Exchange, right?

"I'm aware that it won't be easy, that we'll have to struggle to accomplish what we're after. But I believe that it will all turn into something good in the future and we'll be rewarded," I admitted. "It'll work out. I promise."

Leah sighed. "We knew this day would come, when you would want to go your own way. We just didn't expect it to be this early," she said, her gaze on the table in front of her.

Thomas put his arm around her. "But we respect your decision. We can't tell you what to do. You're growing up so you have to start making your own decisions. Also, we are not your parents so we can't make choices for you," he said. "I hope everything will be okay. What the heck? I know everything will be. I guess we'll see you later on when you've both fully matured and maybe decide to pay your folks a visit," he finished with a smile. It looked like the worst was over.

I looked at him gratefully and smiled back. Leah also glanced in my direction to meet my gaze. She gave me a warm smile.

"Take care of yourselves. Please. For us," she pleaded.

"We will," I promised. "And…thank you both. For everything."

"Everything we've done it's because we love you. And don't even hesitate to return if you want to. We'll always be here waiting for you."

"Yeah. Don't think about it twice," Thomas added.

I stood up, happy that all had been okay, and went towards them. I gave them a hug.

"I love you, guys," I said while I had them in my arms. "I'm so glad you understand. You really are the best."

"We love you, too," Leah said.

"Always will," Thomas added.

I let them go and with a smile I darted to my room.

Daniel was playing with the dog when I got there. That was also odd because he rarely entered my room unless he was going to ask for something or if he was going to make my life miserable. He looked at me as I sat on my bed.

"So, what's up?" he asked casually. I instantly knew there was something going on.

"Nothing. Why?"

"How did it go?" he asked and I knew that was where he wanted to get. "Did they handle it well?"

So that must have been why he left. He knew what was coming and maybe he thought that Thomas and Leah were going to have a reaction of some sort.

"I didn't want to be there if it all turned into a discussion, so I decided to leave you three to talk about the matter alone."

"I knew it."

He shrugged. "I'm not stupid, though I may look like it. I didn't want to be in the middle of a fight."

"You were expecting a fight?"

"Well, yeah," he admitted. "I thought they would get all mad at you and everything and they wouldn't agree to this idea of yours, which I'm not against."

"Too bad for you because it all turned out pretty well," I informed.

"Yeah, that's too bad. I was hoping for a little more drama."

"You little…"

He chuckled. "You haven't answered my question in detail. What did they say about this?"

"They were a little upset at first. But we worked it out. In the end, all they want is for us to be happy."

"True," he agreed. "But seriously, not even a tiny scene…"

"No," I repeated. "They were okay with it." I still couldn't believe that he was hoping for an argument. I should have expected that; it was was so him, I guessed.

"Man, I've got to start hoping harder," he muttered, frustrated. His brows creased a little.

I chuckled. "Brothers…" I muttered under my breath.

Daniel smirked. He had heard me. "When are we leaving?" he asked.

"This Friday. Uncle will pick us up."

"Okay," he nodded. "But wait…"he started counting. "That's in five days."

I nodded. "Is there something wrong with that?"

He shook his head. "Well, no. It's just that I didn't expect it to be so soon, in such a short amount of time…," he admitted.

"Sorry," I apologized. "It's the only day he can pick us up."

"I see…"

I saw his gloomy face. This was harder for him that it was for me. I could let go of things an move on; I was mature enough for that. But Daniel was still practically just a kid. The word sacrifice still didn't form part of his dictionary.

I went towards him and embraced him comfortingly. He wrapped his arms around me so I could soothe him.

"It's okay. You have nothing to worry about. I'll always take care of you. I'll protect you and I promise we will never be separated until you decide to go your own way," I assured.

He looked up at me and I saw tears starting to dry on his cheeks. I smiled to reassure him and hugged him tighter.

"I swear we'll always be together, no matter what happens."

And all I could hear was his muffled crying against my chest.