The Love that Began from Afar
When Tifa and Cloud fell into the Lifestream together, Tifa uncovered many of Cloud's secrets and ambitions. However, what Cloud didn't know was that Tifa had a secret of her own; one that she had kept hidden deep within her heart. It was a secret memory that she greatly cherished, as it became one of the few happy memories of a time full of sadness. Looking back, she thanked herself for leaving the window opened on a cold sad night…
1998: Tifa's Bedroom in Nibelheim, 6:04 A.M.
Inside the bedroom with a large standing piano, a little brown dresser and a small pink bed lined with many stuffed animals, laid a sleeping 11-year-old Tifa. She wore cotton blue pajamas as she tightly hugged the stuffed pink rabbit in her arms. Contrary to her usual cheery personality that she showed to the people in Nibelheim, the face that she was showing in her sleep was one full of sadness and sorrow. She squirmed back and forth and a tear rolled down her eyelid as she dreamt about the day that her mother died, a day that had haunted her dreams for countless nights. Even after 4 years, the pain was still fresh in her mind.
Tifa violently shuddered as she woke up to the distant sound of footsteps. Very slowly, she pried her eyes opened to the darkness in her room; with one miniscule ray of light shining through her window, she was barely able to make out her room. Letting out a light yawn, she looked at the clock, which said, "6:05 A.M." A breeze of cold air blew through the room and Tifa pressed her blanket and stuffed rabbit closer to her so she could keep warm. She had apparently forgotten to close the window when she went to sleep the night before. Too tired to close it now, Tifa tried to go back to sleep, but she continued to hear the footsteps echoing outside. No longer able to sleep because she was curious to see who would be walking around this early in the morning, Tifa wrapped herself tightly with her blanket and crept up to her window.
At first, Tifa didn't see much because it was still quite dark outside, the sun barely visible from the mountain. Everyone in Nibelheim were still sleeping and the village was as dead as night, but for one running boy wearing a white t-shirt and blue shorts. With the help of the lampposts, she could see that he was running around the village with all his might as if he would die should he slowed down. His mouth was opened wide and his breathing was rapid and hoarse, his white breath visible to her sleepy eyes. Ignoring the large buildup of sweat on his face, he continued to run the invisible path in his mind as he paid attention to nothing else.
After getting a good look at the boy's hair, she finally recognized who he was; there wasn't anyone in the village or probably even the world that had his unique hairstyle. The only one with the unnatural spiky blond hair like a Chocobo's, belonged to Cloud Strife, her neighbor. Tifa didn't know much about Cloud even though she lived right next door to him all her life. She wasn't even sure she ever talked to him before. If they had been friends, then she may have understood why he was running around the village when everyone was sleeping.
Forgetting about the freezing cold temperature, Tifa gazed intently at Cloud as he continued his regimen. There was something about his intense determination that Tifa couldn't take her eyes off him; a small and faint feeling had already begun to grow within her. Just when she was growing comfortable watching the young boy, he suddenly came to an abrupt stop and with legs slightly bent, he hunched over and kept his arms on his knees to support his body as his chest heaved with exhaustion. After about a minute, he wiped the sweat on his eyebrows and walked to his home before quietly opening the door and disappearing from view.
Even after Cloud had gone home, Tifa continued to look at his door; hoping that he would walk out and continue his run. She wasn't sure why she wanted him to do it; she just knew that it made her felt good. When it became apparent that he had gone to sleep, Tifa returned to her bed and closed her eyes. In no more than 10 seconds, she was out like a light; a small smile formed on her young face.
The Day After
When dawn came, Tifa went to search for Cloud to ask him what he was doing the night before, but he was nowhere to be seen. Not trying to look invasive of Cloud's personal affairs especially when they weren't close friends, Tifa didn't bother asking anyone else where he might be. Disappointed, she hung out with her friends during the day until nighttime had come once again. Tifa wasn't sure that Cloud would be running around the village again in the early morning, but she left her window opened just in case. Tifa plopped down on her bed and waited for sleep to take over.
That night was similar to the night before as Tifa squirmed back and forth in her sleep; dreaming of that sad day. The moment she heard the faint sounds of footsteps, she slowly opened her eyes and mumbled something incoherent; confused as to why she had woken up. When the sounds of footsteps became faster, Tifa opened her eyes wide and remembered about the night before as she jumped out of bed and went to the window.
Just as Tifa had hoped, Cloud was running around Nibelheim once again. Turning her head to look at the clock, she saw that it was only 5:15 A.M. and it was completely dark outside, but for the light from the lampposts. Crouching down on her knees, she rested her head on the windowsill and gazed calmly at the oblivious running boy. Even though all he did was run around like the night before, Tifa found the mundane act both interesting and relaxing. The faint warm feeling had returned and it brought her a sense of peace that she had forgotten; the nightmare that she just had was beginning to leave her mind as she only had Cloud on her mind.
Before long, an hour had quickly passed and Cloud returned home; completely exhausted by the running. No longer disappointed because Tifa knew that she would see Cloud again the following night, she crept into her bed and went back to sleep as she snuggled the warm blanket and wondered why the spiky blond boy was running under the silent lonely night.
From that point on, Tifa had woken up early every morning so she could secretly watch Cloud run. She always set her alarm at 5:15 and left her window opened so she would be able to watch him from the beginning to end. The early morning watch became something that she would always look forward to as she went through her daily routines. In the meantime, she had on many occasions tried to have a talk with Cloud, but he always disappeared from the village or he avoided her when he saw her.
One day she was walking with her three friends as they chatted about the same boring things, she saw Cloud walking toward them. He must have been daydreaming because he didn't notice them until he was within twenty feet. Realizing that Tifa was staring at him, he turned around and ran away with an embarrass expression. One of her friends then began insulting Cloud about how his father ran out on him and that he was an outcast. That prompted the other two to jump in and join in on the insults.
As Tifa listened to her friends continue to badmouthed Cloud, she felt that her heart was being twisted and squeezed as if caught in a vice. An anger that she did not know she had, accumulated deep within her before it exploded when she was no longer able to tolerate the insults. She screamed in a high pitch voice to stop, which shocked her three friends as they wondered what had gotten over her. She told them that they shouldn't talk that way anymore, but they said they had been doing it for many years so why stop now? Completely taken aback by what her friends said, Tifa didn't realized that she had tolerated her friends' treatment of Cloud for such a long time. Feeling ashamed for having such friends and being ignorant of the matter, she bit down on her lip so hard that a trickle of crimson blood appeared. With an angry sigh, Tifa said that she no longer wanted to be friends with such people before she walked away fuming with anger.
After that day, she no longer hanged out with the three children and they stopped visiting her house. At first, she felt lonely, but those thoughts eventually disappeared as she watched Cloud run in the early morning. She decided that she wouldn't try to look for Cloud during the daytime anymore if it meant that he would find it troublesome; she was just happy being able to watch him from afar.
As the months went by, Cloud had not missed one day of running and Tifa too had not missed a day of watching him. She found that every morning was not the same however; such as a few times when Cloud looked up at Tifa's bedroom window and she had instinctively ducked down to avoid his gaze, her face inexplicably flushing a scarlet red. Fortunately, for her it was still early in the morning so her room was pitch black so he couldn't see her unless he had a flashlight.
There was also a day when it rained all day long and Tifa felt disappointed that she won't be able to see Cloud. However, something told her that he would be running regardless so she set her alarm like every night and went to sleep. When her alarm rang, she hurried to the window and sure enough, saw Cloud running around in a blue raincoat, his black boots making splashes as he ran over puddles. Watching Cloud's unshakeable determination, Tifa felt tears welling up in her eyes. It was then that she realized Cloud exuded such life when he runs that she couldn't help, but be drawn into. For the past few years, she hadn't been "living", she was merely dragging a sad memory around with a fake smile on her face. She had been trapped in the darkness and Cloud became her light that guided her way. Deciding that she had to move on with the past and embrace the future, she thanked Cloud with her deepest sincerity.
After Tifa had made the secret vow on that rainy morning, she no longer suffered from nightmares about her mother; instead, she dreamt of a certain spiky haired boy. Even though she no longer had to, she continued to watch Cloud on his morning runs and hoped that she could someday join in the fun as long as she could come up with a logical reason for spying on him for months without telling him. She wasn't able to find one as more months flew by and almost a year had passed since she woke up on that fateful morning.
Tifa thought that Cloud would run every morning for the rest of his life, but one morning she was surprised that Cloud was not outside when she woke up at the usual 5:15. Worried about what had happened Tifa pranced back and forth in her room thinking about the worse possibilities. After an hour and still no signs of Cloud, Tifa gave up and tried to go back to sleep. Feeling anxious, she couldn't fall asleep and found herself staring at the ceiling until it was 8:00, the time she usually got up.
Skipping breakfast, Tifa decided to head next door to Cloud's house. As she opened her front door, she found a shocked Cloud standing outside her door. Feeling very embarrassed as her faced became red as a tomato; she left her mouth hanging open without saying a word. Cloud got over his initial surprise and looked around before whispering something to her; he told her to meet him at the well later that night. After that, Cloud walked back home leaving a slightly confused Tifa standing at her front door. After digesting the information, Tifa ran back upstairs and jumped into her bed as she tightly hugged her stuffed rabbit. Feeling a little giddy because she heard Cloud's voice for the first time that she can recall, she then became nervous and worried about what he wanted. She spent the remaining day thinking over what could he possibly want to tell her until it was time to leave.
Tifa would later learn that Cloud had decided to join SOLDIER and become a hero like Sephiroth. However, Cloud did not know it then, but he was already Tifa's hero, the hero who saved her when she needed him the most. Whenever she would feel down, she would always recall that beautiful memory and know that everything will be okay.
The End