Suspense/Horror-ish. Cloud/Aerith.
I know, this might not even fit in with Final Fantasy. This probably would've gone better with another series, but screw it, I alreayd wrote it. XD I tend to use Cloud/Aerith as a personal metaphor to describe a certain situation in my life.
A Chinese myth says that those destined to be together, are bound by a red thread. This thread may tangle or stray, but it will never break.
This was anything but the first time I'd found myself within this place again.
Comatose dreary, I poised myself in front of a bleak church, vines cascading from its windows and tumbling down to hug my ankles. The church was now flooded with life, yet something seemed oddly dead about the place.
Wherever she was, my life would be blooming with acivity and radiant happiness...
She was definitely here.
I continued to walk, until I felt my boots crunch underneath a photograph.
Not one, but three All were of Aerith and I. One was in a church, another was walking within a forest, and the last pulled into an embrace.
She looked so happy in them.
My heart churned at the thought of her happiness being robbed from her so very suddenly.
Aerith, where are you...?
I walked again, taking the photographs with me. They seemed too important to scatter. As I continued my voyage through the vast church, I could only think of one thing: why was the church so strange-looking? This wasn't her work...
Then, I stepped on something else.
Another photograph, a polaroid stained with reds and browns. It was of Aerith alone.
This time, it was a smiling Aerith. But something was horribly wrong with the photograph.
Her gaze reflected nothing, devoid of her characteristic animosity and beauty. Shadows loomed beneath her eyes, forming into tired and lifeless bags. Her smile was fading...
This was taken underwater, where I'd released her after her death.
The photograph fell from my hands, fluttering gracefully towards the debris-coated floor, despite my completely contrary reaction. I felt my face contour into one of fear, my still hands transitioning into a light shake. What the heck is going on?
"You found it." An angelic voice flowed into my right ear, slightly wisp but sweet.
I turned around, it was a smiling Aerith. "I was hoping you'd come."
"Aerith, what is all this?... Who did this?" I took a healthy look at my surroundings, around the debauch church. It was dead, gray, sad... and surrounded by pain-inducing photographs... this is nothing like a place you'd conjure."
But Aerith stared back at me with a welcoming smile, poised like a sort of greeting doll before me. A robot trying to process her next phrase. She looked unnatural.
"Can you hear me?"
"Aerith..."
She seeme doblivious to my questions.
"Aerith, answer me!" I pleaded. "I... I missed you so much..." It became too much. I succumbed to a crouch at her feet, gathered into a crying mess.
She laughed that laugh I loved, causing my heart to ache and accelerate. "I love you, Cloud."
And so, I was fooled by her systematic words. I stood up, slowly, staring at her with tear-encrusted eyes. I pulled her into a tight embrace, which she welcomed.
We stood there, hugging for a long period of time.
"... But you don't have to wait any longer." She extended her hand towards mine, in await of acceptance.
An ultimatum.
I saw a flashback. Tifa's frowning face.
What the...?
She was kneeling over my body, saying something to Barrette. They both looked worried.
Suddenly, I found myself lacking sense. I thought little of my terrestrial body, the leisure pain I'd felt, I took her hand. I thought nothinng of what I could lose. I forgot about Tifa and everyone else. All that mattered was fulfilling my desire to be with her again.
Aerith continued to twist her fingers into my own, seeing if I'd succumb.
I missed her. I missed her. No, I didn't.
A rather selfish desire, alloted by human nature.
A reality little people accept.
I didn't miss her. I missed how special she made me feel. Ultimately a selfish wish.
"It was you this entire time. You were the one who scattered the photographs. You wanted me to see you here, didn't you? It's because you can't leave this place..." I whispered harshly.
"CLOUD!" I could hear Tifa yell.
She stuttered a laugh, musical and penetrating. A shiver travelled down my spine as I heard her. She didn't answer my question.
"Don't leave." The words dripped from my subconscious, bouncing off of her tongue like a dreary echo. "Stay with me. Stay with me. Don't look back any longer."
I saw another flashback. Tifa's frowning face.
Ultimately, I found myself poised in that same patch of grass, stems threatening to swallow my boots. For a moment, I could only see photographs scattered on the floor. Then, a flashback came.
Tifa was kneeling down next to my body. "He doesn't respond... Cloud! Cloud!" she cried.
"Follow me." Aerith grinned, angelic and beckoning.
I complied, accepting of her offer.