Another Chance
Chapter 1
The ocean breeze blew across the coast of Mishimi. The sun would come up any minute now. The stars were fading, the moons luminous glow lapsing into the suns first rays. That's why she came here, to the edge between their worlds. This one and His. Her spiritual power with the planet as one of the Cetra allowed her to contact Him in her old world. It pained her that she couldn't reach out to him, that she could only see him and guide him through her voice. But she should be grateful for that. She could not have any contact with her past at all, except for her fading memories.
As the sun began to rise, the rays falling onto her outfit. Her long, pink button up dress, red, short, sleeved jacket, and brown boots. Her outfit from her old days, when she was with Him. Her long brown hair was braided and held at the top by her pink ribbon and she had two strands of hair on each side of her face. She even still wore her necklace. She turned as the sun could finally be seen on the horizon. She hadn't really changed at all. She walked away from the beach and into the streets of her new world, her new home. A single tear trickled down her cheek.
Cloud looked from the window of the Ancient house he had been staying in. This is where she had died and returned to the lifestream. He missed her. He had moved his stuff here to get away from it all. He couldn't stand seeing the world without her in it. So, he left and came to the very place where he had lost her. The City of the Cetra.
He walked over and fell onto the bed. He put his face in his hands. He saw her often. Heard her voice. But he couldn't touch her. Staying here he had thought he might have felt more close to her, instead he only felt her absence more than ever. With her death only came regret. The things he had never told her, the things he could have shown her, everything, it was all gone. To see her body go limp in his arms, that he wasn't strong enough to stop it, only mad the pain worse. That day was always with him. He could never forgive himself and now that she was no longer here, he could never ask for her forgiveness.
He lifted his face from his hands and stood up. He couldn't stand it anymore. If he couldn't be with her in life then he'd be with her in death. He grabbed his large sword and headed to the larger of all the shell like buildings. He walked inside the hallow shell and over to the small pond near the building where she had died. He waded into the water. That day was coming back even more vividly now. He fought down the tears that tried to come. He could see the greenish glow of the lifestream under the clear water. "Aeris…Wait for me." He whispered. With that he dove in swimming towards the greenish glow, prepared to lose his life to the water. A small smile was across his face.
"Thanks for coming." Aeris bowed to the young woman as she left her shop. She was surprised by how much money she was making. Her new flower shop was doing well. She had found an old church in the town and it reminded her of home. She had taken up residence and sold flowers that she grew there. The church itself had two bedrooms. She liked it. She had worked hard and turned the front entrance into a nice flower shop. The back was a replica of the church she had been forced to leave behind. She smiled as she stepped out into the sun. It was a warm and beautiful day. She looked around and rushed back inside. She quickly changed the open sign on her door to closed and grabbed her basket that she used for her flowers. If any one noticed her leaving they would think she was going shopping.
She walked along an ally way that led to a small deserted cove. It was where she had washed up when she had descended into the lifestream when she died in his world. She could come here and talk to him. She wanted to see how he was doing, feel his presence. It would make the already great day perfect. She ran down to the waters edge, dropping her basket. She smiled and waded into the water. From there she could still sense the lifestream. She closed her eyes and focused all her thoughts into contacting him through the lifestream. She waited and felt the rush as the planet heeded her request and sent her presence to the other side. She called out his name. She was in the Ancient City. The place where she had died. Not only that but she was next to the pond where she had returned to the lifestream. He was nowhere to be seen. She began to start to worry. She drifted around and looked for him. Usually she could go straight to his mind and speak to him there, but something was wrong. "CLOUD!" She screamed, knocking herself from the other world and falling to her knees in the shallow water. She began moving out of the water and once on the sand, fell to her hands and knees. She was breathing heavily and tears were slowly rolling down her face, dripping onto the sand. She had lost contact with that world. He was her contact with that world. The only way it could be lost is if he had died.
She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut, showering the sand around her with yet more tears. She bit her lower lip and stood up, turning to look out at the ocean. He couldn't be gone. But he was. Other wise she would have contacted him. She sat there, staring out into the ocean, until she had gained her composure. She walked over, grabbing her basket, and slowly walked away from the cove, her head hanging. She didn't look back.
Cloud was floating in the green essence that was the lifestream. He opened his eyes slowly. The green swirls of life moved around him. She was here in this place somewhere. He would find her and tell her how he felt. He looked for her, for Aeris. The lifestream suddenly gave him a rush, throwing him from its comforting glow.
When Cloud opened his eyes again he was in a large body of water. He was floating on the surface. He flipped and began to swim. He could see the outline of the coast. 'Damn.' He thought to himself. 'Why am I not dead?' He pushed it away from him.
As he reached the coast, he began to notice that he had never seen this place before. He walked out of the water and a breeze blew by. It smelled of the ocean. 'That can't be. I was in a pond. I was nowhere near the ocean.' He walked out of the water, his clothes were soaked. He stepped onto the warm sand. It was very hot here, wherever here was exactly.
He looked around him and saw that he was in a small cove. He was most definitely not in the Ancient City anymore. But how had he gotten here? He'd have to worry about that later. He needed to find a place to stay… and he didn't have much gil on him.
He began to walk towards the exit of the small cove.