Chapter 1: Reunion
"Helloooooooo"
"U…Uh…."
"Helloooooooo"
The brown haired maiden opened her eyes and blinked at the brightness of her surroundings, but not for long. A dark shadow loomed on top of her, blocking out all the rays of light that sought to pour into her iris all in a time. She blinked longer this once, and opened her eyes slowly, her vision finally adjusting itself to the new surrounding.
"Hey, you okay?" The voice was coming from the dark shadow overhead, its form slowly revealed by the light. She stifled a tiny gasp as she made out the person now bathed in the warm glow. It was the one person she has been waiting for since the past 5 years, a presence she was sure she had lost but never forgotten. "I see you wore a pink dress after all, haha" The man smirked as he lowered himself to the ground.
"Zack…" Aerith smiled, half by force, half in happiness as she tried to hold back her tears. All those years, all the accumulated pain of the past gushed forth in the sudden rush of mixed emotions. She reached out one hand towards her face, so as to wipe the tears that managed to spill out of her eyes but it was caught by a larger one. Before she could react further, another hand reached for her back and straightened her to a sitting position. Zack's guilt-ridden face, also imbued with a hint of sadness was directly in front hers as he appeared as if trying hard to come up with a proper line to comfort her. The hand that Zack caught was now held tightly in his while the other still rested on her back.
"Sorry…"
Aerith could no longer hold back her tears as she was pulled into a tight embrace, feeling the arms of the man she once loved and will always love wrapped around her brought her reassurance that they are finally reunited. The embrace was long and tight, as if trying to repay all that was supposed to be, once, long before this reunion. Zack did not shed a tear but wore an expression that was terribly ridden by pain. "Sorry I couldn't keep my promise to you, but I tried…" He released her to look at her tear-stained face, cupped it in his hands and attempts to wipe the stains away. He is hiding his pain, Aerith thought.
"Don't be silly" She smiled.
"Huh?" He appeared dazed as Aerith cupped his face with her tiny hands.
"I… know you did" Having said that, she wrapped her arms around Zack's neck and embraced him, like how she used to once, long ago, in the sanctuary of the church.
Zack returned her embrace and the two stayed longer in each other's arms, making up for time once lost. "But I was watching from here"
"Really?"
"Yeah, there's so much I want to tell you but… staying like this for a longer time isn't such a bad idea" Zack muttered into Aerith's braid as he strengthened his embrace.
"I missed you… Zack. Welcome back"