The Other Side
Tifa's gaze followed Cloud's finger as he pointed towards a constellation of stars, carefully tracing a skeletal shape of a dipper. "Look, I found a big dipper!" He told her excitedly.
She smiled in response like a child seeing fireworks for the first time. Cloud took a look at her face and smiled back. There was always something about Tifa's smile that made anyone feel like smiling as well.
It was a quiet night at the city of Kalm. The moonlit sky was as its best; full of twinkling stars. The couple was sitting on the grassy plains situated on a generous distance from the residence area. The plains looked like it was to stretch towards eternity and the horizon was wide and clear. The soft wind was comforting, gently caressing Tifa's hair as it slowly swayed from side to side. She suddenly lied down on the soft grass as her eyes remained focused on the endless sky. Cloud turned to look at her and raised a brow. "So you're getting sleepy now?" He asked before lying down next to her.
"I'm tired. Traveling tires me a lot." She sighed as she felt her lids starting to get heavy.
"You're not the only one." She heard Cloud reply with a yawn.
Tifa turned to look at him, noticing the flawless outline of his facade. "Do you think the others won't mind if we sleep here?"
Cloud snorted and slowly shook his head. "Nah, they'd easily find us here tomorrow. I hope they will." He turned to look back at her and smiled. Tifa blinked twice before she turned away to look back at the sky.
They stayed silent for a moment, taking in the beauty of the sky; enjoying the closeness situated between them. Tifa closed her eyes for a while and savored the moment. She wished that such a night will never end. It was too good to be true; relaxing in the beautiful world with the most important person to her. She heard Cloud bidding her a good night as she continued burying herself into sleep.
**
After what seemed like a few hours later Tifa lazily opened her eyes. The first sight she saw seemed strange, but her vision was still a blur for she was just seconds from slumber. She blinked repeatedly before her eyes began seeing properly. Her brows furrowed, for the once beautiful deep blue sky had turned into a yellowish-violet wreck. The sky literally had an enormous hole on it; as if something forced itself into the atmosphere. Deeply bothered, she sat up to investigate further. She quickly turned to look at the spot where Cloud once slept on; vacant. Cloud was gone, much to her horror. It was also then that she realized that the soft, green grass she once sat on is now hard, crippled and dry. As she began to panic, she stood up and examined her surroundings. When she looked behind her, she gasped as she saw a stranger looking back at her.
The moment she set her eyes on him the first thing she thought of was that he looked a lot like Cloud. That is, except for the fact that he had black hair. Its spikes weren't as dense as Cloud's, but the stranger's hair is evidently longer than his. His eyes were as intense as Cloud's, but it was in a deep violet shade. Tifa eyed him with a panicked look.
"Hi." He said half-casually. "I thought you wouldn't wake up."
Tifa stayed silent, too bewildered to reply. She tried pinching herself, just incase she was dreaming. "This must be a dream…"
"This is reality."
Too dumbfounded to talk, she allowed sinking in those words into her head. A long and awkward silence between the two followed. Deep within Tifa's mind was a battle whether she should believe the stranger or not. "No it is not!" She suddenly cried. She looked at him helplessly. What she was witnessing couldn't be reality. Reality was what the beautiful world I was in a while ago. This ugly world can not be reality! She thought frantically.
The stranger just looked at her with a pitiful look. "You must be mistaken. You're not dreaming."
"Then where is everybody?!" Tifa spat without thinking.
The stranger just slowly shook his head. "There is nobody." He said.
"Where is Cloud?!" Tifa cried back. She could feel tears threatening to escape her eyes. She didn't even realize that she was beginning to act in an immature way due to the panic surging within her. The situation was too much for her to handle. Her eyes briefly turned to her left. The houses from the distance were destroyed. Everything around her was corrupted. "Where is everybody?" She asked again. This time she was in a calmer state.
"There is nobody." The stranger repeated for her. "There is only you and me. I thought there was only me, until I found you sleeping here on this barren grass plain."
"No." Tifa pressed firmly. "This wasn't a barren grass plain a while ago. I was with Cloud a while ago. I was sleeping here and he was right beside me. The sky wasn't ugly before!" Tifa protested childishly.
The man before her just looked at her as if she had lost it. However, Tifa continued. "Before I slept here, everything was fine. When I woke up…" Her voice traced off. "No, I haven't woken up! I need Cloud. Where is he?!" She continued.
"Calm down, miss. I have no idea who you are talking about." The stranger replied. Tifa kept her mouth shut, much to the stranger's surprise. "The funny thing is," He continued, "That same thing happened to me, but… probably due to a different reason."
Tifa began to calm down a little, but still nonetheless afraid. "How did you get here?" She asked.
"I was supposed to be in the Promised Land by now." The stranger said sadly.
"You mean-"
"Yes, I died in the world where you came from. I used to live there too, you know. However, I forgot almost everything that happened to me before I died. The next thing I know I woke up on the dry grounds of this world. This isn't the world where I belong. I belong in the Promised Land, or probably in the Lifestream." The stranger paused and looked deep into the restless eyes of the woman in front of him. "I am dead. You probably are, too."
Tifa resumed her silence, carefully trying to fully understand what the stranger said to her. After a long time of speechlessness she finally spoke. "No, I believe I'm not."
"Yes, perhaps you are not." He agreed. "But one thing I am sure of is that we do not belong here. We belong somewhere else; but not in the same place. You belong in the world where living people exist. I belong somewhere else; certainly not here."
Tifa just nodded. "So there must be a way out of here, right?"
The stranger nodded in reply. "Certainly there is. As what I have said for a lot of times, we shouldn't be here. So we can certainly get the hell out of here." He told her reassuringly. He smiled at her for the first time and offered her a handshake. "I'm Zack Fair."
Tifa didn't smile back at him, but nonetheless accepted his handshake reluctantly. "Tifa Lockheart."
**
A/N: I'm actually planning on making this story a multi-chap. However, I might just leave this as a one-shot. It depends actually if I find my inspiration. Please do review. I will appreciate it.