Martyr
Aerith never asked to be a martyr. One-shot, drabbly.
Disclaimer: Obviously, I claim no ownership of Final Fantasy VII. It is the property of Square-Enix.
They call me a saint. They call me a savior. They call me the Maiden. My name is hallowed, and I am hailed as a hero for my great and noble sacrifice. Statues have been carved and erected in my honor, and children leave flowers and offerings at my feet, and whisper prayers in my name, in the hopes that I may answer them.
Why? I wonder. I never wanted this. I never asked for this: to be a saint or a martyr, and yet here I am in the Lifestream, watching my beloved companions lives go by.
All I am, all I was, was a flower girl. Nothing more, nothing less. All I wanted was a simple life. My dream was to someday open a flower shop, marry, settle down, have children of my own. But fate would not have it so. The Planet whispered its secrets to me, and I felt its anguish and suffering as Shinra slowly but surely drained away its precious lifeblood. Its cries could not be ignored.
And so, I answered the call to my destiny, and gave my life for the sake of the Planet. I had done my duty as a Cetra-the last of my kind. Even though I was afraid, I became the Planet's sacrificial lamb as my blood stained the altar.
They think of me, still. I see them all pause to remember me from time to time, in their own ways, and for that, I am grateful to be remembered. I don't want them to mourn me forever, but I don't want them to forget me either. To be forgotten is worse than death, I think.
I wish I could say that I am at peace, that I am happy here in the Lifestream, but that would be a lie. The truth is, I envy the living, a little. I envy that they can have all the things that I cannot-they can marry, they can settle down, they can have children, they can have friends and family. While I myself can only sit here and watch them.
Am I not allowed to feel angry, even a little, that my life was so cruelly, unfairly stolen from me? That I was robbed of the opportunity to live my life to its natural end? I think of all the things that I gave up-that I'll never have that the living take for granted. I'll always be left to wonder what could have been, had I lived. Would I have found love with Cloud? Would I have found someone else? If Zack had lived, would we have gotten married? Been happy? There are so many questions that I'll never have the answers to.
I suppose that these are selfish thoughts, but it doesn't matter. I'm not a saint or a hero or anybody's guardian angel. I'm just me-a simple flower girl with a few lingering sorrows and regrets. That's all.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Inspiration strikes at the oddest moments. I haven't written a Final Fantasy VII piece in a long while, so if it seems a little OOC, then forgive me. I was just wondering what Aerith's thoughts and feelings might be. I was thinking perhaps she had some regrets about having to give up her life for the planet. I was struck with this idea while reading TVTropes, of all things. So yeah...review? Please?