Drabble #23: Wind
Summary: They say the dead whisper on the wind...
Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Characters and places belong to SquareEnix
Cloud growled as the wind continued to blow his hair into his eyes. He could hardly see ahead of him and the group were growing tired and cold, if Yuffie's constant whining was anything to go by. With a sigh, he led the group into the nearest hotel where Yuffie, for a few moments at least was silent and the rest of the group breathed a sigh of relief. He paid the receptionist enough for everyone to share a room, knowing that the more bodies in a room, the warmer they would be. And going by the atmosphere in the entrance hall, the hotel was not one that had adequate central heating.
Yuffie was the first one up the stairs, muttering to herself about how she could have died out in the woods alone without any materia but nobody paid attention to her exaggerate cries and instead, they just wandered around the hotel with nothing better to do. Tifa, Cait Sith, Nanaki and Vincent soon retired to the room to, the energy draining from them quicker than they expected. Cloud, however, went to the bar where he found Cid and Barret having a couple of pints. The bar was shabby and the reek of smoke and sick made Cloud wrinkle his nose and exit as quickly as he came in. He couldnt understand how Barret or Cid put up with it. He faintly wondered if Aeris had made her way to their room or not. He had not seen her at all since they had first come to rest.
As if on cue, Cloud turned the corner in time to see the green-eyed brunette staring out of the window. She said nothing as he approached and he didn't stop to think whether it was because she couldn't hear him coming or because she just wanted to be left alone. However, as he stood right beside her, she turned to him with a sad smile. It was an unnatural look and Cloud did not like it one bit. Aeris was not meant to be sad, she was not meant to cry. And try as he might, Cloud could not bring himself to say the words, to ask her if she was okay. Her eyes remained focussed on the word outside and it was as the wind outside howled, high, and loud, when Cloud noticed a lone tear rolling down her cheek, her eyes closed against painful memories. He shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what he should do before she opened her eyes and took a deep breath.
"You know, some people think that the wind is a messenger from the dead. It's something that allows us to touch each other through the worlds that separate us, to listen to their broken words…do you believe in such things?" she asked, turning to him as the wind picked up again. Cloud shrugged and lowered his eyes with a small frown. He had never thought about the dead before, or whether they contacted the living or not. Taking his silence as an answer, the flower girl turned away.
"I believe," she whispered in a soft broken voice and Cloud found himself glancing around the room, wondering if he had met some random woman who just looked and dressed exactly like the Cetra.
"I believe because I can hear them…the whispers of the life stream…they always heighten when the wind is here," she explained.
"I hear my mother, my father and sometimes, I even hear…him,"
"Him?" the blonde asked with a hint of confusion.
"Zack," she replied sadly, unable to look at him.
Cloud looked down at his hands, fighting down the feeling of jealousy that rose through his body like wildfire. Aeris didn't say a word after that and Cloud soon gave up and went to the room but Aeris did not follow. He lay awake, wondering if it was right to leave her alone down there but thought that if he had tried to talk to her, she would not have responded. She needed time to herself, Cloud recognised that easy enough since he often craved solitary moments. He sighed as the wind grew louder and he tried to push the image of Aeris' sad eyes staring blankly out into the world as she listened to the souls of the Planet who yearned for her company.