Wind
For Chris Redfield, the word 'partner' was very familiar. One of his favorites, in fact. Well, it was.
It used to bring a beautiful face to his thoughts. Memories of the woman that he loved and fought beside. It made him think of the only woman he wanted to be with. He used to like thinking of her.
But now, the word 'partner' only brought pain. It brought a picture of a tombstone to his mind, carved with an angelic name that death had brought it's gruesome factor onto.
Jill Valentine was dead.
Every year he visited her tombstone on her birthday, the day she had been declared dead and every holiday that he had spent with her.
Every year, he stood all night before her grave, no matter how cold the night was. He would sit, leaning against her grave, talking to her. Expressing his veiws on things. Most of which, she already knew. He'd tell her stories about things that were happening to him.
Claire thought that he was slowly going insane. Or maybe it was some kind of post-traumatic stress disorder. But the BSAA psychiatrist said it was a harmless coping mechanism. So she let him go there.
And that's where he was.
He sat facing her marker, flowers in one hand. "Hey, Jill..." he whispered. "I know it's not a holiday or anything, but..."
There was no answer of course.
"I'm leaving soon... For Africa. It's for BSAA. More B.O.W.s are showing up..." He trailed off. "They're p-... having me work with someone. I've never met her."
He sighed and settled down. He planned to stay there the entire night. "Her name is Shian or Sheva or something. I only glanced at her file."
He ran his hand through his hair. "I miss you, Jill. I know I say that everytime I come here, but I can't help it. It should be you that I'm fighting B.O.W.s with. Not... Not some girl who doesn't know what she's up against. Who doesn't know what happened during the first fight back in '98..."
He placed a hand on her memorial, tracing each letter of her name. He talked to her through the night, never speaking in more than a whisper.
In the morning, he stood, keeping his hand on her name. "Goodbye, Jill... I love you."
The wind blew over him as he spoke the words, warming him. In his mind, it was her reply.
