Notes: As told from the POV of the Weapons Seller outside the gutted out trailer in Sector 5. Just turn on the game and you'll see who I mean. :)

Memories

When Elmyra came by for groceries one day, she brought a little girl with her. Such a talkative child, interested in absolutely everything we had in the store and how it worked. When I asked Elmyra about her she said she had found the poor thing crying over her mother at the train station. They had escaped from some Shinra facility far away before just barely making it here.

I thought to myself, 'You'd never have guessed.' She looked like she hadn't a care in the world. Elmyra just shook her head and said it was one of the mysteries of youth as we watched her unearth a basket from a box of old stock. I've never seen a child so happy over finding such a simple thing.

Knowing what I did of her past, you can imagine my surprise when I saw her walking home one day with a Shinra soldier, laughing the whole way. As the days passed and I got to know him, I began to understand what she saw in him. The uniform didn't suit him. With an easy smile, kind eyes, and plenty of jokes to entertain anyone he spoke to, I'm sure any young woman would've found him attractive.

Then one day, she came back, no longer smiling.

I asked what was wrong and she said she didn't know; just that something had happened and she felt he was no longer here. I couldn't understand how, but I believed her...

A few years later, I was outside bringing in some goods from a chocobo merchant when I saw her in the company of the young soldier again. I was so happy to see she had been mistaken, I was a little surprised when the boy didn't wave back. She explained something to him and he took off to the east as she came over to speak to me.

I teased her, saying that a dye job couldn't disguise a good-looking young man like that. She laughed and said no, the smiling and kind-hearted boy was indeed gone. This young man had helped her in the church and she was going to show him through Sector 6 in the morning to return the favor.

I warned her to be careful; the uniform suited this one. He seemed cold, I said; aloof. She laughed again and said there was nothing to worry about; he was just a little misguided and wanted to find his friends again. I hadn't seen her laugh like that in a long time, so I let it go. She had a good head on her shoulders, and was old enough to look after herself. Maybe he would decide to stick around and they could be happy together.

That was the last time I saw her before the world fell apart.

After Meteor appeared in the sky, all the joy in the world seemed to evaporate. Any hopes people had of a better life ahead were crushed as the blazing rock drew nearer. That was when she came back, looking the same as she always did; a smile on her face as she headed toward her childhood home. She came back a few minutes later, inquiring if I'd seen Miss Elmyra lately.

I told her no, she had never returned from Kalm after leaving a few months ago with a little girl in tow. After martial law spread throughout Midgar, it was impossible for anyone to get into the slums. There were simply too many soldiers on duty.

She thanked me and smiled again; something in her eyes I couldn't quite read. It seemed like some weight had been lifted from her shoulders though, because she turned and walked back down the path to the entrance of Sector 5, a little lighter.

I never did ask how she got past the guards.

You can imagine my confusion when the blonde-haired soldier showed up again a few days later, asking for the same person.

I told him my story, and after a few questions, he seemed satisfied. As he turned to leave, I asked him why he hadn't just gone to Kalm with the young lady. He turned puzzled eyes to me when he realized who I was referring to.

"You mean Aeris..." he said slowly, as if he had just remembered, "She...died. Two weeks ago..." he whispered, staring off to the east toward her house with a strained look.

And then I understood.

She had come back to make sure her mother and the little girl were safe before passing on. She was never really here at all.

It wasn't until a year later that I saw anyone from that group again. Those of us who had survived Meteorfall wound up in a place called Edge. It was a bustling city, as filled as Midgar had been, if not more so. I was shopping for groceries one afternoon when I noticed a brunette woman putting up flyers about a delivery service. To my surprise, the little girl Elmyra had taken to Kalm was with her. I didn't think the child would remember me, but she waved before trotting off to clutch the young woman's hand in her smaller one.

I was turning back to examine some produce when the flash of pink caught my eye. I'll never forget that moment, you see, for the ribbon in the little girl's hair was unmistakable...

It seemed the young lady had found them after all.

Notes: I hope you had as good a time reading this as I did writing it. As you can guess, Aeris is one of my favorite characters. She portrays a timeless figure of peace to me and I've always wanted to write something in tribute to that quality. I hope it succeeded. :)