Song: Over The Hills And Far Away

Artist: Nightwish

"With love,

Your Aerith."

She stopped writing and chewed the end of her pen and glanced at her handwriting. 'Your Aerith'? Wasn't that corny? Aerith Gainsborough wasn't corny girl. She was just hopelessly romantic young woman, who believed that she met the love of her life two years ago. Live of her life was tall, dark and handsome with beautiful river-blue eyes. Aerith believed that he had the prettiest eyes in the world. Deep blue pupils with light blue and green rings around them. Yep, he definitely had the most beautiful eyes in the world.

Aerith sighed and read her letter again. Her eyebrows knitted together at the last words. She bit her lips. Maybe it was corny, but it was true. She was his Aerith. She loved him since she was still a child and would love him forever. 'Even if he doesn't love me anymore.' She thought bitterly. It was years since she heard a word from him. Maybe he had already forgot about her. Maybe she was just another pretty face to him and he found another woman. More beautiful, taller and clever. Her little heart clenched painfully and her eyes filled with tears. Hot tear dropped on white paper. She was weeping.

Soft knocking on her door saved her from terrible thoughts. She wiped off her tears and tried to calm herself.

"Come in." She said in a small voice. Wooden door opened and her mother appeared. She smiled warmly at her little girl.

"Aerith, you're still awake? You are tired, you need rest." She chided her daughter slightly and smiled again. Then she noticed Aerith's reddened eyes and her eyebrows furrowed. "You were crying? Why?" When her eyes trailed from her daughter's face to a white paper on the desk, she pressed her lips tightly."You were still writing a letter to that SOLDIER, weren't you?" Elmyra Gainsborough shook her head. "Aerith, Aerith, why you wouldn't forget that boy and start seeing other ones? There's plenty handsome guys in Midgar, who likes you."

Sea-green eyes narrowed and Aerith felt how her cheeks flushed with anger. How could she? How could she talk about other guys when the young woman's heart was still bleeding for handsome, blue-eyed SOLDIER? Elmyra didn't notice her daughter's anger and kept talking:

"He was SOLDIER, Aerith. Maybe he found another woman, so stop thinking about him..."

"No." Aerith hissed and shut her eyes tightly. How could her mother talk like this about Zack? Still, she could understand her mother's thoughts. She didn't know Zack as well as Aerith. She didn't know how sweet and loyal raven-haired SOLDIER was. Suddenly the flower girl felt shame because of her early thoughts. How could she doubt in his loyally? She knew she was special to him. Not because she was a Cetra, last survivor of the Ancients, but because she was Aerith. His Aerith.

She smiled mentally. She liked how that sounded.
"Aerith." Her mother spoke again. Young Cetra tilted her head and stared at the older woman. Elmyra sighed and placed her hand on her forehead. "Aerith, I know that you loved him..."

"And I love him and I will love him forever." Aerith replied sharply. Her normally warm sea-green eyes were hard like pieces of the emerald. "Now leave me alone." When her mother's eyebrows furrowed, she quickly added. "Please."

Elmyra nodded and closed the door. Aerith sighed and rested her head on her heads. She knew she was too harsh to her mother, but she couldn't help. She was pissed off. 'Zack would never abandon me like that.' She thought angrily. She took her pink robe off and slid beneath the covers. Her covers smelled like a grass and fresh water of the flowing river. She shut her eyes tightly and curled up underneath blankets and inhaled that scent deeply. Scent of the grass. Scent of the flowing river.

Scent of Zack.

She spun around. Everything was white. Except a small flower bed and the man standing on it. His hair was dark and long, his shoulders were broad and solid. She couldn't see his face, but she knew who he was.

"Zack."

The man slowly turned around and smiled at her. His face was more mature and his features were sharper, but his eyes, his beautiful river-blue eyes were same. Deep violet with light blue and green rings around them.

"Aerith." He spoke happily and she thought her heart would explode from happiness. She ran to him, wrapped her hands around his torso and buried her head in his hard-rock chest. She closed her eyes and felt how his muscled, solid arms encircled her into tight embrace. She nuzzled his chest and inhaled his scent deeply. She was surrounded by him and her lungs were full of his warm,.pleasant scent. She thought she was in heaven.

"I'm so glad that I can see you again." He murmured. "You're more beautiful, you know? And you are wearing a pink dress." She could hear the smile in his voice.
Aerith inhaled again, his scent and freed herself from his embrace. He gave her a confused expression, but she didn't notice it. At least, pretended like didn't notice.

"Where are you now?" She asked and clenched her long, slender fingers. Her head was lowered and she couldn't see his expression now. But she could hear his chuckle.

"Over the hills and far away." He chuckled. When she frowned, he added quickly. "I don't know. Really."

Aerith snorted. Of course he didn't know. It was just a dream, after all. Her heart clenched painfully. It was just a dream. Silly dream. Bad, ugly dream. Painful dream. She hated that dream. Because... Because it was just a dream and that Zack was just an illusion. He wasn't real. Her heart clenched again.
"Why are you so sad?" The illusion asked. "You didn't want to see me?"

"No, no." She quickly answered and her slender shoulders sank. "Just... Just..." She exhaled and tilted her head, stared at him in the eyes. "I wish it was real." She confessed and glanced around. "Our meeting... I wish our meeting was real. I want you to return to me." She said an her cheeks reddened. She closed her eyes and waited. Waited his chuckling, laughing, teasing words... But neither came.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. He was only smiling warmly. Raven-haired man stepped forward and hugged her again.
"I will return to you." He murmured in her ear. "I will return to you and you will be in my arms again. I promise."
Aerith tilted her head and stared at him in his blue eyes. She wanted to know if he was lying.
"Are you sure?" She asked in a small voice. The Illusion grinned.

"As sure as the rivers reach the seas." He reassured her and hugged her tighter. She closed her eyes and smiled from happiness.

She glanced around and shivered. Everything was black and green. And cold. Cold like the long fingers of Shiva.

She shivered again. Lifestream was really cold place.

She was now in Lifestream.

She was in the Lifestream, because she died. She was murdered by the sword of some madman with Oedipus Complex. He stabbed her and she felt how cold, sharp metal pierced her flesh. She felt coldness and then she wound burned. Her insides were burning and throbbing from the pain and freezing from the cold edge of Masamune.

And then she died.

She felt how her soul freed itself from her, now useless body. She was dead. And she was free. Free and light.

"Aerith."

She turned around and saw tall, handsome man with an X - shaped scar on his jaw and beautiful river-blue eyes. He was taller and more mature than the man of her dream. His shoulders were broader and his build was more muscular, but his eyes were same. The prettiest shade of violet with tints of light blue and green.
She could feel how her lungs emptied off of the oxygen, when she gasped.

"Zack..."

Unlike her dream, now he ran to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm so happy to see you here." He murmured. "Not because you died..." he added quickly and smiled sheepishly.

"I'm happy to see you again too." Aerith smiled warmly at him and suddenly her body tensed. So he was dead. He died when he was so young. Tears filled her beautiful sea-green eyes.

Zack misunderstood and quickly freed her from his tight embrace.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't think about it. Probably you don't feel same to me now. I can understand. I don't have any rights to you. I abandoned you." He lowered his head in shame, but quickly raised it again and smiled at her. "But it was just friendly hug, I swear." And he flashed his brightest grin. Her heart would stop if it wasn't stopped already hours ago.

She quickly wrapped her hands around him and embraced him.

"No, no. How could you think that." She chided him. "I loved, love and will live only you." She smiled at him and suddenly she remembered her heated talk with her mother years ago. And her dream. And his promise.

Her sea-green eyes locked into his river-blue ones. He fulfilled his promise. He reached her.

Like the rivers reach the seas.