~Chapter 1~
Squall- A brief but noisy disturbance. Squall my father- A brief but not unnoticed life force. His name describes him well, brief...very brief. He died before his time. But this story isn't about him it's about me, Aiden. I never really had a father he died when I was young but I guess in some sense this is about him too. Him, my mother, all his friends, their kids, and me. We're all connected in some mystery loop that will forever bind us together. Even after returning to the Garden after their big fight with Ultimecia they all remained together as friends. My parents got married a year after the fight and their friends Selphie and Irvine two years later. Each of them growing together. Quistis also got married to someone that was not in the original group but who fitted in with the rest nicely. Zell married as well. They were all happy with their lives at Balamb Garden. None of them worrying about what the future was going to do to them. It had its plans to rip them apart, to scatter them all around the globe, and to leave their wounded bodies to die. They had faced the impossible task of defeating a sorceress and had come back alive but would they make it through the future.
They lived calmly at the Garden for many years. Through my birth, through the birth of Selphie and Irvine's two kids, through Zell's daughter, and Quistis' son all was peaceful. They never expected what would happen. My father was the first to go. I was seven and at an impasse. I hated but loved at the same time my father. He was famous you see, famous for the defeat of Sorceress Ultimecia. That's why I hated him, I loved him like I should but hated him for leaving me to follow in his footsteps. I couldn't decide what to feel about him. Then he died.
His funeral went on as any funeral should the weeping the sad noises and the sympathy. I never wanted to go to another ever but fate, destiny or the future what ever you want to call it was not about to let me get away that easily. His friends all stood around the casket hugging my mother and trying to hug me. I pulled away from them all and stood in a corner far away. Her sobbing still reached my ears. My mother it seemed to me had not stopped crying since "it" had happened. He was on a mission for the Garden and was due back in a few days but he returned differently than anyone would have expected. Mother was in our rooms waiting to hear the familiar sounds of his boots walking down the hall. Instead of him entering it was Quistis and Xu both wearing sad expressions. I knew right then something was wrong. "Rinoa we have to tell you something." Xu said and led my mom to the couch. Quistis gently pushed me into my room and told me to wait in there while they talked to my mom about something important. I usually would have refused I didn't like Quistis much but she had tears in her eyes and I knew my mother would soon too. I sat on my bed and waited…just waited. Didn't move a great deal only swayed from side to side or front to back I don't remember now it was so long ago. Anyway only a few minutes had gone by when I heard mom yell and run out the house. I peeked out of my room and saw Xu standing by the open door and Quistis getting off the couch. Whatever the bad news was my mother didn't believe them. Quistis saw me and made a move to come into my room. I slammed the door in her face and locked it. She fumbled with the handle for a few seconds then left. Xu stayed behind and knocked on the door. We got along all right Xu and me I admit now I had a crush on her so I let her in.
"Aiden there's something I have to tell you. It's about your dad." she began.
"Where'd mom go?" I asked ignoring her anxious tone.
"Oh…she went to see Headmaster Cid about something she'll be back soon. But there's something I got to tell you now. Aiden it's your father he's not coming back from his mission."
"What happened?" I said calmly. As I look back at this now I realize that at that moment I wasn't sad scared or anything. No emotion I was just there like statue not feeling anything. I remained like that all day and that's what got my mother mad. I'm skipping ahead though.
"He died…"
"I figured that out." I cut her off.
She only nodded and continued, "Something went wrong on the mission and he died while saving another team member."
I sighed bitterly then Squall the hero. Damn him.
"Are you gonna be all right?" Xu asked.
I shook my head yes and Xu got up off my bed. She patted my head and went to find mother. I was left alone in my room still not feeling anything. Mother returned shortly after Xu left with tears silently streaming down her face. She sat down on the couch and waved me over to her. I went unwillingly sometimes I think it was her sorceress power that had me do all the things I didn't want to but it could just have been that she was crying. I sat down next to her and she put her arm around me. I finally rested my head against her shoulder she sobbed into my hair. Not knowing what to do or how to comfort her I just sat there. Then she got mad.
"What you won't even cry over your father's death?" she yelled.
I stood up startled and said, "Mom" quietly.
"Is your heart made of stone your father died he's not coming back. We won't ever see him again," she was crying as she said this. I think she was trying to make herself realize all this instead of me.
I remained standing not crying not moving. I stood there and watched her cry and yell knowing she didn't mean what she was saying. Finally it came, a sharp slap to the face that made me feel something for the first time that day. Mother was looking at her hand and then at me I could tell she was sorry and didn't know what to do. She just sunk back onto the couch and tried to put her head on her knees. A newly round stomach blocked the way. I had forgotten she was going to have another baby. She half fell half rolled onto her side and lay on the couch weeping loudly. For another minute I stood out there with her my face still red and hot from the slap eventually I walked back into my room and shut and locked the door.
When I emerged hours later mom was asleep still on the couch. She had cried herself to sleep. I covered her with a blanket and left the room. A quick walk around the Garden left me at the Quad. Since it was so late there was no one else around I could have had the whole night and the whole Quad to cry for my dad but I still couldn't. Instead I sat there back up against a wall looking out into the ocean.
At the funeral Xu stood near me and Selphie kept taking me into her arms and talking to me. Both of them seemed really concerned about me and I didn't like it. I was strangely enough fine. No real emotion just a sudden bugging out of the eyes when they lowered the casket into the ground. My eyes had been fixed on the casket the whole service I hadn't looked at anyone or anything else all day. After the casket disappeared from sight my mother starting sobbing louder than I ever thought possible. Selphie and Quistis put their arms around her and held her until she quieted. The sadness of all the past days caught up with me as Selphie walked me back to my room. Quistis was leading mom through the door Xu, Zell, and Irvine were all walking behind us. My dad's death had affected them more than I thought it had. He was their leader and their friend they missed him, but not as much as my mom did. She couldn't and wouldn't live with out him.