Note: I would just like to thank everyone reading my fics! I really appreciate the feedback and I will do my best to look at some of your work if you review mine . However… if you have nothing to say about my fic other than the fact that you think I spell the cute little blonde mechanic's name wrong, please don't review at all. I have taken three years worth of college level Japanese language classes, and many words that are translated from English into Japanese replace the 'L' with an 'R' because the 'L' sound does not occur in the Japanese language. For example, the word 'love story' is translated as 'rabusutorii,' and even Alphonse's name is translated as 'Aru' or 'Arufonsu.' So to me, the name 'Winri' as it would be pronounced in Japanese could either be translated as Winly or Winry in English. I think Winly sounds more 'English' and less awkward so I prefer that spelling and that is the one I will use. I don't disapprove of the fact that other people have a different opinion, and I don't give other FMA fan fiction writers a hard time for their choices. However, I'm tired of hearing it, and I am not changing every instance of her name in all of my fics to appease those who cannot get over the spelling. We all know who I'm talking about here. Anyway, I do really appreciate the readership and the other comments; its all very encouraging and makes me want to write better and more often! Thanks again!
Hope
Rain poured down in heavy showers across the small, rural town of Rizenbul, rattling the windows, doors, and cabinets in the Pinako household. These storms came and went as the seasons changed, and all the residents, except for maybe the younger children, were so used to them that they rarely found the rolling thunder and bright flashes of lightning lancing through the sky frightening.
Sitting in the window seat that overlooked the road that led in and out of Rizenbul, Winly twisted her long blonde hair between her fingers anxiously, desperately missing both Al and Ed on these boring, rainy nights. 'We always used to spend them in the attic,' she thought wistfully, remembering their hide-and-seek antics among the various crates of machine parts.
A bolt of lighting shot across her vision, startling her into an embarrassed gasp, and returning her thoughts to the present. Those days were long over; Ed was gone – lost somewhere in the alchemic void two years before, and not likely to return. Al was still training with Izumi-sensei, who would no doubt discourage him from following his brother into the Gate. Scheizka had returned to Central where she was needed to follow up on the assassination of Maes Hughes, and was offered a permanent job in the military after the report was completed. Winly had visited Central as well, attending the funeral for Colonel Mustang and keeping Lieutenant Hawkeye and Hughes' family company through their grieving.
She wished, no – more like ached, for the gaping whole in her own soul to heal; to find someone, anyone, that could lessen the pain of lonely nights like this one. She could not have done anything to save Hughes or Mustang, and now, she was powerless to bring Ed back. If that was even possible. If he was still alive.
Sighing sadly, she muttered to herself as she stood from the padded seat, struggling against the oncoming tears of loss. "It's useless…"
Footsteps on the stairs attracted her attention suddenly, and her grandmother's short form appeared as the sky lit up once again. And her grandmother, rather than grief-stricken and heartsick, looked rather determined and hopeful. "Worry is useless," she replied wisely. "Do the only thing you can, Winly. Hope."
Surprise shocked the young blonde out of her grief, and her tears fled, replaced by an expression of thoughtfulness. 'Hope. Hope that they are okay. Hope that they will come home safe…'
"Remember Al?" Ed had asked, sipping his mug of tea and leaning back so casually and contentedly in one of the wooden chairs at the kitchen table. "Mom always used to flash that light in the window if we stayed out too late – said it was so we would always come home safe."
"Safe…" she muttered allowed, and came back to reality, her grandmother having already wisely left her to her own thoughts. Before she could think about the idea too closely, she pulled her hair back into a sloppy ponytail, and began digging through boxes in the attic – boxes full of obsolete devices that Winly had either built or found replacements for. They had long ago started using less flammable materials for lanterns, but she thought she had the old kerosene one tucked away somewhere for an emergency…
"Aha!" She exclaimed quietly, as she finally found it, fortunately already filled with kerosene, and quickly lit it with a match taken from the same box. The flame caught almost immediately and Winly had to jerk her hand away rather quickly to prevent her fingers from burning. 'I guess I haven't lit one of these in a while,' she thought, returning to the window and setting the lamp on the pad next to her.
Staring into the mesmerizing flame, she became lost in thought once again, reliving memory after memory until she could dredge up no more. Looking to the road, she half-expected to see Ed or Al walking toward the house, and nearly choked as her eyes failed to make out any figure, coming or going. "Please…" she mumbled, almost incoherently. "Please come home safe."
Without thinking, she lifted the lamp into her hands, and toyed with the gas control, making the flame flicker in the dark, just like their mother had. Tears dripped down her cheeks, falling like raindrops to polka-dot her greasy jeans. She was nearly sobbing now, eyes blurred and burning, feeling grief threatening to overwhelm her yet again. Seemingly out of nowhere, her grandmother's voice spoke again into her mind. 'Hope.' Winly knew she had to try – it was the only thing that could bring Ed back to her; the only way…
"Come back to me, Edward. Come back safe, come back whole. Come back…please come back…" She cried softly, hardly able to force her fingers to continue turning the gas control knob back and forth to keep the flame flickering. "I… Edward… I…Edward Elric – I love you!"
Replacing the lamp on the pad once again, Winly fell back against the windowsill sobbing uncontrollably, a mixture of both hope and despair confusing her thoughts, leaving her unable to choose one emotion or the other. Returning her gaze to the window, she yearned for this stormy night to end, so that she could forget…
Lost in her own misery, she almost failed to notice the slowly moving figure on the road. She didn't dare to hope – but whomever it was had to be soaking wet, with no umbrella, and Pinako always offered a place to stay for travelers, as there was no local inn, and the house was easily big enough for a guest with only Winly and herself living there.
As the figure on the road stumbled and fell, Winly's hesitation broke, and, not even stopping to pull on a cloak, ran past her grandmother in the sitting room and out into the storm. The figure on the road hadn't yet risen from his fall, and knelt on hands and knees in the mud, obviously struggling for breath. Winly called out to the person, obviously a "he" from the broad shoulders and collared shirt, but her voice failed to carry over the howl of the storm. As she reached him, almost slipping in the mud herself, she immediately recognized the sign on his read cloak; the same one tattooed on Izumi-sensei's shoulder. Stopping just in front of him, she put her hand on his shoulder, and began to ask if he knew Izumi-sensei and would like a place to stay –
And her breath caught in her throat as a pair of unfocused golden eyes met her own, eyes that she knew as well as her own, that now held such pain, but had once been so joyful. They seemed to focus for a moment, seemed to recognize her, and then rolled up inside his head as he fainted with exhaustion.
Winly snapped out of her astonishment, no longer caring what or why or when Ed had been brought back, only that he was here, and obviously in great need of rest, a bath, and food, in that order. She had no doubt he was ill; anyone out in this storm for longer than it took her to find him and drag him back inside would certainly catch something. She only hoped it wasn't serious and swore to do everything in her power to help him through this, because she flat out refused to lose him again.