Sweet Dreams
Chapter One: The Day Begins With A Shining Sun
A young woman turns over in her sleep, trying desperately to ignore the sunlight streaming down upon her body almost causing her to glow with an eerie light, and the alarm clock buzzing in her ear screaming at her to wake up. The interior of the room she lay sleeping in was furnished and colored in light shades of pinks, purples and blues. The young woman had an obviously old teddy bear clutched tightly against her chest as she quietly murmured, "Sun, just go back down.just for a few more minutes, please," with a small whimper.
Apparently the sun didn't answer the woman's plea is just continued shine, perhaps even harder than before, through the window facing her bed and the girl was forced to awaken. She threw back the heavenly warm covers of her bed and swung her nearly completely limp body off the bed.only to fall back down onto the warm sanctuary of covers once again as soon as the warm flesh of her bare feet connected with the cold wood floor.
"Aeris, you can do it, it's a wonderful day for flower selling and yet you're still in you're pajamas in you're bed no less!" the beautiful, young, twenty-two year old Aeris Gainsborough began, "Now, arise!"
Still nothing. Fifteen minutes later after much time and effort the young woman was finally able to muster up her courage, and shakily get out of bed. She padded quietly over her to her bureau yawning, and taking her hairbrush she began to run it through her long, thick auburn-brown hair trying desperately to untangle it. Finally, upon finishing brushing her hair the young Aeris, decided to dress before braiding her hair and grabbing a bite to eat.
She walked to her closet door, and opened it. Thumbing through the outfits she had hung neatly in the vicinity of her closet, she came across one of her favorite outfits: a cute pink dress, with a red jacket and a matching pink bow with her sentimental keepsake from her real mother, Ifalna. "This'll work!" the young Cetra said absently before squirming out her wrinkled pajamas, depositing them on her bed, and changing.
Once done changing she topped the outfit off with two silver bangles, and a black lace necklace. "Now.to finish the hair," she said, quietly, looking at her reflection in the mirror.
She once more picked her brush up from the bureau, and brushed through her wavy hair before braiding it very neatly, and securely tying the bow on. She looked in the mirror and smiled at what she saw. The reflection showed a twenty-two year-old female with beautiful auburn-brown hair, deep-green 'I'm in on the joke' eyes filled with joy and happiness, a slim figure outfitted in a cute pink dress that was unbuttoned to the knees; she looked much like how the dead Ifalna once looked.
"I guess this will work," the cheery faced Aeris said to herself before walking to her bedroom door, and stepping out. She walked down the steps and a memory of Cloud sparked her mind. 'Strange, I usually try not to think about him,' Aeris' thoughts began, 'But then again.it's 'that day' again, the day I met Cloud.the day I lost Zack. Jeez, I miss them both.'
She wasn't surprised to arrive in the kitchen to find her stepmother, Elmyra, gone. It had been like this every since ShinRa had taken its downfall. Aeris walked to the counter and found a note reading:
Aeris,
I've gone out today. Be careful and try to be back soon. Don't have me worrying about you like yesterday, understood? Well, I've already made breakfast for you, it's at you're place on the kitchen counter. It's your favorite. Enjoy.
Your Loving Mother, Elmyra Gainsborough
"Mom, she's always one step ahead of me," the contented Aeris said aloud as she took her place at the kitchen counter. She ate in peace and content. It truly was her favorite breakfast meal: Fried eggs, French toast, and bacon. 'Mom knows best,' she thought with an inward giggle.
It didn't take the young woman long to finish her breakfast, and grabbing an empty whicker basket she headed outside, planning to stop by the church to gather her flowers. She walked slowly out of the private vicinity that her house stood in; she was at perfect ease with the world. Since the planet had been saved from Meteor, ShinRa taken it's downfall and she had been revived she had learned to live life to it's fullest even more so that before.
She passed by the small slum area, waving to those that she knew and those that she didn't know. They all loved Aeris, even though they'd never tell her that. Trotting down the path towards the dilapidated church building she began to feel uneasy for the first time in a long time. It was like.someone was watching her. 'Strange,' she thought, turning around, 'No one's there.Ugh I'm getting to paranoid,' she mentally scolded herself before heading back on her path.
Reaching the door to the church she gingerly opened the door, knowing that if she was to hard on the rotting wood it would most likely crumble away in her hands. Aeris walked silently, but no matter how silent you are in an old run-down church your footsteps echo throughout the building, and this one fact brought shivers down the young woman's spine.
With a sigh of relief as she reached the flowers, after what seemed like an eternity, she kneeled down and began gently picking them, one by one, and placing them softly upon each other inside the whicker basket. After only a few minutes the once empty basket was brimming with flowers of all sorts of different colors: purple, pink, blue, a shade of lavender, a dark red.like blood, and many other colors.
Aeris began to get up, but hearing the planet's muffled voice cry out she tried her hardest to decipher the mismatched words but to no avail, failed. She stood, and deciding to concern about the meaning of this later, turned around and paced out of the church. Ignoring each gentle "plunk" as her footsteps once more echoed against the rotting wood.
'Aeris, you're getting more and more paranoid each day,' a voice inside Aeris' mind said as she began walking towards Wall Market, which had greatly shaped up since the saving of the world.
'No, I'm not,' she gently said, trying to reassure the part inside her mind that she was perfectly fine.
'You're not, Aeris, and you know it as well as I do, my child what is wrong?' the voice asked again after several minutes of silence in which the young Aeris had been able to make her way closer to Wall Market.
'Nothing's wrong, Planet,' she began, finally realizing the voice that was talking inside her head, causing sadness and angst to build up inside her weak body as tear threatened to surface, she took a deep breath.
'Then I shall believe you, dearest Aeris, at least you are not tormenting yourself upon the loss of your lover anymore,' the voice rang loud and clear inside Aeris' head, causing repercussion to rise throughout her brain.
'Zack,' she thought sadly, the tears would come soon.she knew they would. But the Planet was silent, the young woman had reached Wall Market and the thoughts of the people all around cluttered the Planet's now feeble thoughts inside of young Aeris.
She walked around Wall Market, trying desperately to forget Zack. His long, spiky black hair, his deep blue eyes, his strong muscular build; everything about him it haunted her. But she couldn't forget, no she could never forget Zack, her first love. She had never loved Cloud, not like Zack, to her he just filled in the void. He belonged with Tifa. Cloud and Tifa deserved to be together. They were perfect for each other. They were her best friends, the friends who had brought her back from the Lifestream.
'S-sir.would you like a flower?" she asked a man, who looked to be in his forties, feebly.
The man gave her a smile, seeing that she was obviously distressed, and said thoughtfully, "Why.these flowers they're gorgeous. Even now, you don't see many flowers bloom in Midgar, young lady did you grow these?"
"Y-yes sir, I did," Aeris replied, giving him a warm, thankful smile.
"I'm sure my wife would love these flowers of yours, how much would a dozen cost, Miss-I'm sorry I didn't catch your name-but still, I'd like to take a dozen," he said, smiling.
"Oh, my name is Aeris, Aeris Gainsborough, sir. And a dozen would cost twelve gil." Aeris said, sniffing to keep from crying, but still smiling at the man who was being so kind to her.
"Well then, Miss Aeris, a dozen it is!" the man said, and tossed her a bag of gil that she knew weighed much more than twelve gil, "Keep the change!" he said at seeing her confused look.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed, truly smiling now, and handed him a dozen of her best flowers all in a vibrant shade of blue. He nodded, and with a wave of goodbye, walked off.
'He mentioned having a wife.everyone's in love, but me. Why did you go away, Zack, why did you leave me? Why did.why did you die?' the girl asked herself over and over again, finally letting the tears out as she securely put the gil bag in her jacket pocket.
'I-I...loved you so much, Zack, but you left me. You left all alone. You died, and now look at me. Envious of a man who has love, whose not alone.' Aeris' sad thoughts began, 'I wanted to stay with you.forever. To be yours, and you be mine. I see now, it will never happen, I waited for you for a very long time, you know that, right? But I don't think I can wait much longer.especially since you're dead. And it's a fact. I need to love, I need to enjoy my life. I know that's what you'd want for me. But it's just so hard to except that you're gone, and never coming back. I've had crushes you know.even one on The Great General himself, the first time I saw him.before he tried to kill me-I' up until this point she'd been thinking towards Zack, but no she just decided to let it fall.no more being sad.
Noting that she had walked far from the safe boundaries of Wall Market she began to turn back, but stopped short someone was watching her, someone besides the three goons staring lustfully at Aeris. 'Wait, goons! Oh god, no!' Aeris' mind reeled, not now! Not when I don't have my staff, please no!
Aeris couldn't be more right in presuming someone else was there. Because someone was, but not just anyone, someone who could easily save her. The question was, would they, and if so.why?
Chapter One: The Day Begins With A Shining Sun
A young woman turns over in her sleep, trying desperately to ignore the sunlight streaming down upon her body almost causing her to glow with an eerie light, and the alarm clock buzzing in her ear screaming at her to wake up. The interior of the room she lay sleeping in was furnished and colored in light shades of pinks, purples and blues. The young woman had an obviously old teddy bear clutched tightly against her chest as she quietly murmured, "Sun, just go back down.just for a few more minutes, please," with a small whimper.
Apparently the sun didn't answer the woman's plea is just continued shine, perhaps even harder than before, through the window facing her bed and the girl was forced to awaken. She threw back the heavenly warm covers of her bed and swung her nearly completely limp body off the bed.only to fall back down onto the warm sanctuary of covers once again as soon as the warm flesh of her bare feet connected with the cold wood floor.
"Aeris, you can do it, it's a wonderful day for flower selling and yet you're still in you're pajamas in you're bed no less!" the beautiful, young, twenty-two year old Aeris Gainsborough began, "Now, arise!"
Still nothing. Fifteen minutes later after much time and effort the young woman was finally able to muster up her courage, and shakily get out of bed. She padded quietly over her to her bureau yawning, and taking her hairbrush she began to run it through her long, thick auburn-brown hair trying desperately to untangle it. Finally, upon finishing brushing her hair the young Aeris, decided to dress before braiding her hair and grabbing a bite to eat.
She walked to her closet door, and opened it. Thumbing through the outfits she had hung neatly in the vicinity of her closet, she came across one of her favorite outfits: a cute pink dress, with a red jacket and a matching pink bow with her sentimental keepsake from her real mother, Ifalna. "This'll work!" the young Cetra said absently before squirming out her wrinkled pajamas, depositing them on her bed, and changing.
Once done changing she topped the outfit off with two silver bangles, and a black lace necklace. "Now.to finish the hair," she said, quietly, looking at her reflection in the mirror.
She once more picked her brush up from the bureau, and brushed through her wavy hair before braiding it very neatly, and securely tying the bow on. She looked in the mirror and smiled at what she saw. The reflection showed a twenty-two year-old female with beautiful auburn-brown hair, deep-green 'I'm in on the joke' eyes filled with joy and happiness, a slim figure outfitted in a cute pink dress that was unbuttoned to the knees; she looked much like how the dead Ifalna once looked.
"I guess this will work," the cheery faced Aeris said to herself before walking to her bedroom door, and stepping out. She walked down the steps and a memory of Cloud sparked her mind. 'Strange, I usually try not to think about him,' Aeris' thoughts began, 'But then again.it's 'that day' again, the day I met Cloud.the day I lost Zack. Jeez, I miss them both.'
She wasn't surprised to arrive in the kitchen to find her stepmother, Elmyra, gone. It had been like this every since ShinRa had taken its downfall. Aeris walked to the counter and found a note reading:
Aeris,
I've gone out today. Be careful and try to be back soon. Don't have me worrying about you like yesterday, understood? Well, I've already made breakfast for you, it's at you're place on the kitchen counter. It's your favorite. Enjoy.
Your Loving Mother, Elmyra Gainsborough
"Mom, she's always one step ahead of me," the contented Aeris said aloud as she took her place at the kitchen counter. She ate in peace and content. It truly was her favorite breakfast meal: Fried eggs, French toast, and bacon. 'Mom knows best,' she thought with an inward giggle.
It didn't take the young woman long to finish her breakfast, and grabbing an empty whicker basket she headed outside, planning to stop by the church to gather her flowers. She walked slowly out of the private vicinity that her house stood in; she was at perfect ease with the world. Since the planet had been saved from Meteor, ShinRa taken it's downfall and she had been revived she had learned to live life to it's fullest even more so that before.
She passed by the small slum area, waving to those that she knew and those that she didn't know. They all loved Aeris, even though they'd never tell her that. Trotting down the path towards the dilapidated church building she began to feel uneasy for the first time in a long time. It was like.someone was watching her. 'Strange,' she thought, turning around, 'No one's there.Ugh I'm getting to paranoid,' she mentally scolded herself before heading back on her path.
Reaching the door to the church she gingerly opened the door, knowing that if she was to hard on the rotting wood it would most likely crumble away in her hands. Aeris walked silently, but no matter how silent you are in an old run-down church your footsteps echo throughout the building, and this one fact brought shivers down the young woman's spine.
With a sigh of relief as she reached the flowers, after what seemed like an eternity, she kneeled down and began gently picking them, one by one, and placing them softly upon each other inside the whicker basket. After only a few minutes the once empty basket was brimming with flowers of all sorts of different colors: purple, pink, blue, a shade of lavender, a dark red.like blood, and many other colors.
Aeris began to get up, but hearing the planet's muffled voice cry out she tried her hardest to decipher the mismatched words but to no avail, failed. She stood, and deciding to concern about the meaning of this later, turned around and paced out of the church. Ignoring each gentle "plunk" as her footsteps once more echoed against the rotting wood.
'Aeris, you're getting more and more paranoid each day,' a voice inside Aeris' mind said as she began walking towards Wall Market, which had greatly shaped up since the saving of the world.
'No, I'm not,' she gently said, trying to reassure the part inside her mind that she was perfectly fine.
'You're not, Aeris, and you know it as well as I do, my child what is wrong?' the voice asked again after several minutes of silence in which the young Aeris had been able to make her way closer to Wall Market.
'Nothing's wrong, Planet,' she began, finally realizing the voice that was talking inside her head, causing sadness and angst to build up inside her weak body as tear threatened to surface, she took a deep breath.
'Then I shall believe you, dearest Aeris, at least you are not tormenting yourself upon the loss of your lover anymore,' the voice rang loud and clear inside Aeris' head, causing repercussion to rise throughout her brain.
'Zack,' she thought sadly, the tears would come soon.she knew they would. But the Planet was silent, the young woman had reached Wall Market and the thoughts of the people all around cluttered the Planet's now feeble thoughts inside of young Aeris.
She walked around Wall Market, trying desperately to forget Zack. His long, spiky black hair, his deep blue eyes, his strong muscular build; everything about him it haunted her. But she couldn't forget, no she could never forget Zack, her first love. She had never loved Cloud, not like Zack, to her he just filled in the void. He belonged with Tifa. Cloud and Tifa deserved to be together. They were perfect for each other. They were her best friends, the friends who had brought her back from the Lifestream.
'S-sir.would you like a flower?" she asked a man, who looked to be in his forties, feebly.
The man gave her a smile, seeing that she was obviously distressed, and said thoughtfully, "Why.these flowers they're gorgeous. Even now, you don't see many flowers bloom in Midgar, young lady did you grow these?"
"Y-yes sir, I did," Aeris replied, giving him a warm, thankful smile.
"I'm sure my wife would love these flowers of yours, how much would a dozen cost, Miss-I'm sorry I didn't catch your name-but still, I'd like to take a dozen," he said, smiling.
"Oh, my name is Aeris, Aeris Gainsborough, sir. And a dozen would cost twelve gil." Aeris said, sniffing to keep from crying, but still smiling at the man who was being so kind to her.
"Well then, Miss Aeris, a dozen it is!" the man said, and tossed her a bag of gil that she knew weighed much more than twelve gil, "Keep the change!" he said at seeing her confused look.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed, truly smiling now, and handed him a dozen of her best flowers all in a vibrant shade of blue. He nodded, and with a wave of goodbye, walked off.
'He mentioned having a wife.everyone's in love, but me. Why did you go away, Zack, why did you leave me? Why did.why did you die?' the girl asked herself over and over again, finally letting the tears out as she securely put the gil bag in her jacket pocket.
'I-I...loved you so much, Zack, but you left me. You left all alone. You died, and now look at me. Envious of a man who has love, whose not alone.' Aeris' sad thoughts began, 'I wanted to stay with you.forever. To be yours, and you be mine. I see now, it will never happen, I waited for you for a very long time, you know that, right? But I don't think I can wait much longer.especially since you're dead. And it's a fact. I need to love, I need to enjoy my life. I know that's what you'd want for me. But it's just so hard to except that you're gone, and never coming back. I've had crushes you know.even one on The Great General himself, the first time I saw him.before he tried to kill me-I' up until this point she'd been thinking towards Zack, but no she just decided to let it fall.no more being sad.
Noting that she had walked far from the safe boundaries of Wall Market she began to turn back, but stopped short someone was watching her, someone besides the three goons staring lustfully at Aeris. 'Wait, goons! Oh god, no!' Aeris' mind reeled, not now! Not when I don't have my staff, please no!
Aeris couldn't be more right in presuming someone else was there. Because someone was, but not just anyone, someone who could easily save her. The question was, would they, and if so.why?