Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Final Fantasy characters. This is a scene in Final Fantasy III, but I haven't played the game for a long time, so the words and actions of the characters don't exactly match the scene of the game that I'm retelling.
Celes Chere slowly opened her eyes. It had all been a long, terrible dream, she was sure of it. The fog cleared in her head and she slowly sat up in bed. Her joints felt so stiff, like she hadn't moved for months. She stared in surprise at her surroundings. A small, but neat one-room house held a desk and a bookshelf. Where am I?
The door of the house opened and Celes shaded her eyes with her hands as the sunlight poured in. "Celes! You're awake!"
It was Cid! "Cid! You're alive!" Celes jumped out of bed and hugged him. He felt a lot thinner than she remembered.
"Celes, I can't believe it, you were asleep for so long...... cough cough" Cid doubled over in a fit of coughing.
"Cid! Are you all right?" Celes cried in alarm as she helped Cid to the bed.
Cid looked at Celes as though he never wanted to let her go. "I'm all right, it's just such a shock to see you awake. I'm so glad, I didn't know if you would ever awake....." tears gathered in his eyes.
"H-how long was I asleep?"
"For a year, my child."
"A year?! So it's true then. The end of the world....Kefka." Celes pronounced his name in hatred. "I thought it was all a bad dream......"
"No, the world did end. The whole planet groaned in pain on that terrible day. When Kefka moved the statues, the world of balance ended. Now it's the world of ruin."
\par Her next thought stabbed through her like a knife. "My friends.......Locke......please no....." Her heart ached in pain.
\par "Celes, I'm sorry. I don't know if they are even alive. The islands split that day, and so many lives were lost. We and a few others washed up on this small island. All of the others wasted away in boredom or despair. I tried to give them a little hope, but I had so little myself." Cid looked beyond her in sadness.
\par "Cid, I can't bear it. I helped Gestahl and Kefka come to power. Now the world.....its people.......all of my friends.....they're all dead. And it's because of me."
\par Cid took Celes's hands in his own. "Celes, listen to me. You had no choice how you were born. They infused you with Magitek. But you chose differently, you chose to fight Kefka. He was just too powerful." Celes hung her head in shame and Cid pulled her closely to him.
\par "Thank you Cid. But it doesn't change anything. I had a part in the destruction of the world, the death of my friends. I wish I had never been born."
\par Cid looked at her sharply. "Never say that again, Celes. I love you too much to let you think that. You are like the grandaughter I never had."
\par Celes smiled at Cid through her tears. "I love you too, Cid. I mean Grandfather."
\par Cid coughed again, this time more violently. "Cid! What can I do? Are you ok?"
she cried in alarm.
\par "How good are you at fishing?" Cid grinned.
\par "Fishing?"
\par "Yeah, it's about the only thing we can eat on this tiny island. This isn't exactly the Emperor's banquet."
\par "Well, I can try." Celes answered doubtfully. "But my training as a general never included fishing."
\par "You can do it, it's easy. We don't have any nets or hooks, so you'll have to use your hands." Cid explained.
\par Celes looked at her hands, then looked at Cid. She could do it, she would do anything for him. He was the only one that she had left in this world. She left him and went outside. She stared, shocked at what the world of ruin had to offer. An eerie, hot wind blew from the north. The colorful, bright hues of the world of balance were gone, only the dark and somber tones of the world of balance greeted her. An overwhelming sense of loneliness filled her soul. The life, the beauty is gone. It's all gone.
\par A few scraggly, brown trees stuck up in the yard, and she picked her way to the beach. Here she found a little comfort. The sound of the ocean had always soothed her. She stared out at the endless expanse of ocean. What have I done? How could this happen? My friends.......\plain\f2\fs24 she shook her head, they were gone. But Cid was still here, and she had to help him get better. She set her shoulders determination, and scanned the beach for fish.
\par "Aha! Come here!" She ran into the tide and tried to grab the fish, but it quickly slipped away. "Drat!"
\par Celes silently grumbled, but then she quickly spotted another silver flash beneath the water. She grabbed the fish and held on to it tightly. "You are not getting away."
\par She held up her prize in triumph. You'll make a fine feast for Cid.
\par
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\par
\par Cid carried Celes through the directions of cooking the fish. It wasn't the easiest job in the world for her, but she would do anything to help Cid recover. "There ya go, Grandfather. A feast for a king." She proudly handed Cid the fish.
\par Cid gobbled the fish hungrily. "Munch.....Chomp........Munch........Ahhhhh..." Cid sighed in contentment. "That was just what I needed."
\par Celes smiled at Cid, he was still the same. She wondered again whether his mother had taught him any table manners. "You still need to rest, Grandfather. I can't have you dying on me."
\par Cid's smile faded. Poor Celes, all of her friends. He had not known them well, but he knew how close she had become with them in their fight against Kefka. He was all that Celes had left in the world, he prayed that he could see that she still had a lot to live for. Cid was the only family that she had ever known, she had never known about her lost twin sister, and he hoped that she never found out. He wanted to help her. "Celes, sometimes, when the others who were washed up here needed hope, or a little faith, they jumped of the cliff north of here. It's a leap of faith, and it always made them feel better."
\par Celes started to protest, then thought again. If it made Cid feel even a little better, she would do it. Besides, she needed a little faith right now.
\par
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\par
Celes stared at the tall cliff. There was even some green grass, which gave her a little hope. She climbed up quickly, the descent not very steep. When she reached the top, the magnificent view took her breath away for a moment. It was so beautiful, something she had never expected to see in the world of ruin. The heavens seemed to stretch out before her. The pale blue clouds seemed to touch the skyline, creating a line of light.
\par Then she remembered her friends, and the rest of her old world. She hung her head, her whole body trembling. "All of them......Locke, oh Locke. You said that you would always be there, that you would always protect me......where are you?" Celes thought she knew the answer, and the thought of it almost killed her. Celes knew that she had always liked him a lot, and that it had hurt her when he had doubted her. But now she knew that she loved him, with all of her heart.
\par "I found you........only to lose you." She sobbed at the pain in her heart.
\par Her guilt and pain overwhelmed her, almost unbearable. She had to leap now, or she knew she never would. With a final sigh, she ran and leaped, unafraid if she should meet her death. It would be almost welcome.........and the world faded.
\par Celes awoke to the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore. She groaned, and one hand reached to her head. "That must have been a long fall."
\par She stood up and the memory of her opera song haunted her heart. Oh my hero, so far away now, how I long to see your smile....."Locke, you were my hero, you were my heart. But you are to far away for me to ever reach. I'll probably never see your smile again, on this earth or in heaven. We weren't meant to be......."
\par She turned as if to say goodbye and started in the direction of the house. She suddenly spotted a dove, a beautiful dove. It had a bandanna around it, a blue one. Celes's mind registered quickly. "Locke!?" She knelt down and examined the dove's bandanna. It was tattered and blue, but it was definitely Locke's, there was no mistaking it.
\par Celes felt a rush of pure joy fill her soul. "Locke! You're alive! I can't believe it, he's alive. No matter what, I have to find you. Maybe the others are still alive. I won't rest till I find you."
\par Celes untied the bandanna from the dove tied it around her wrist. Then she watched as the beautiful dove flew into the sky and disappeared. She turned and ran into the house, almost breathless in happiness and wonder. Her heart stopped at the sight of Cid. He was pale, deathly pale. She ran to him and shook him. "Cid! Cid?!"
\par He didn't respond, and she shook him more. "Cid! Wake up Grandfather!" She sank to her knees and buried her head on the bed and sobbed.
\par For over an hour, she wept with sadness and exhaustion. Her beloved Grandfather, the one who had first loved her, was dead. She couldn't stay here, she couldn't bear to see his still body. She stood up, and looked around the room. What now? How can I even hope to get off this island to search for them? I'll find them, even if I die trying. She vowed to herself.
\par On the desk, there was an envelope. She looked curiously at it, it had her name written on it. It read: Dear Celes, I may not see you ever again, but if you ever wake up, I want you to know how much I love you. There is a raft in the secret room behind the bookshelf. Take the raft, and try to find some other people. I don't want you to be alone on this island. Love always, Cid.
\par Celes folded the letter to her heart and looked again her Grandfather. He had never thought of himself. He had been so caring, so giving of himself, and she had loved him dearly for it. "I must fulfill his wish. I will try to find my friends, whether they are dead or alive, I will find them, or die trying."
She climbed the stairs and dragged the raft to the beach. She climbed the raft, silently saying goodbye to her Grandfather. She turned her head to the north, letting the waves take her wherever their wish. Goodbye, Grandfather, I will live for you and my friends. She looked back one last time at the tiny island where she had slept for a year and silently said goodbye in her heart. She turned her face back to the north, and thought of Locke..................................