Just By Living
By Any Unborn Child
It was a quiet Sunday morning.
The sky was as grey as it could be. The remnants of the previous night's storm still hung in the air, a dampness mixed with the melancholy and disruption that it had left behind.
Usually Edward would still be sleeping at this time, but today he decided to do something a little different. He left a small handwritten note on the kitchen table, stating where he would be and that he would be back soon, before heading out of the door and closing it gently. Breathing in the oddly invigorating cold air, he started to leisurely walk towards his destination. A destination in which he had not gone to for a long time…
For the first time in a long time, he decided to go to the library.
This would be the town's local library; there was only the one, and it was fairly small. If anyone was interested in the latest books released or the current newspapers, they would have to go into the next town. It was sometimes a hassle, but it was doable.
At around nine thirty, he walked in, and within moments a flood of memories came rushing back to the precipice of his mind. The smell of aged books met his nostrils, the nostalgia of times past reaching him with a great force.
To Edward however, this library was special.
Even before he could talk, reading was one thing that kept him going. His quest for knowledge never seemed to cease as he grew older. Even as things drastically changed, he devoured each book that he was able to have, for each word would became a morsel of knowledge, something closer to the realization of his dream.
Books were like food to him, food for his mind. Reading was how he grew to have so much knowledge of alchemy. Reading brought Alphonse and himself even closer than ever realized before.
There was a point in time – several points actually – when Edward felt as if his wishing and hoping, all of his struggling and fighting, were for naught. Why was he going through all of this if it would mean nothing in the end? Why was he trying to prove himself worthy if no one would listen?
It would be then that he would remember…not just anything that he read, or anything he had done as a result…but it would be something else. There was always something else that propelled him to the next step of his journey, something deep down inside that even he did not realize that he possessed…
Was it a gift that had been harnessed just for him? Was it a wish that had to be granted despite everyone else's? Was it something that he had to teach himself over the past years, something that he had worked hard for?
He stopped for a moment, gathering his thoughts. What occurred to him next was something that he had known all along, but sometimes had to be reminded of, time and time again.
Yes…he had done a lot with his life, with both the knowledge that he had gained, and with the knowledge that he had to learn over the course of that time. Within time, he would obtain more knowledge, without a doubt.
Without a doubt, he would keep on living, for himself, for his family, and for his future.
He would not linger on the past anymore.
It did not hurt to go back every once in a while, however, and relive whatever memories happen to fall by the wayside.
Their eternal fall would remind him of what he had accomplished, what he had achieved, and what he had lost, just by living.