I felt my heart skip a beat, or maybe it was five, when I heard the bell ring, signaling a new visitor to the clinic. I was working there as a volunteer, to pass the time while Cloud was away. I put down my magazine on the desk. There were two visitors, actually. One in tatters, his ancient shirt reeking of sweat and life on the streets, his feet bare and scarred. He held his head low, and mumbled continuously. I couldn't tell if it was anything specific, but from so far away it sounded like the wretch drifted between groans and snatches of semi-coherent speech. The other though, he was different. So marvelously different. He towered over the companion slumped against him, his clean cut brown hair flowing back from his forehead like feathers. He was tall physically but also in presence, that was one of the things that hit me most.

"Miss…Lockheart." I noticed him pause as he read my nametag, but even so something struck me as though he had known it all along. "I was wondering if you would be able to admit this man to the clinic. He has Mako poisoning."

Mako poisoning. The thought sent a cringe jolting through me. I remembered clearly the damage it could do to a loved one, and how close I myself came to the illness when I fell in the Lifestream. The wretch in front of me had a moderate case, I could see that much even though Mako poisoning had become rare over the years. Cloud, when he was poisoned, could not stand, nor could he form half a sentence.

"I'm sorry sir, but I'll need to ask the doctor. I'm just a volunteer, filing paperwork."

A blush crossed my face, realizing I just made a barefaced lie. I had finished my work over an hour ago and was reading magazines while I waited for my shift to end. Though I saw scores of the sick and the mad in the streets, few admitted themselves and fewer still forced others to reconcile their problems. Perhaps it was the Midgarian pride that ran through all of them. On the other hand, maybe they were too busy trying to reach the stars to notice those that fell and rotted at the roots. Either way, the lack of patients led to lack of work for me.

I picked up the phone and dialed the doctor's number, my idle feet clicking against the tile as I swung them back and forth.

"Doctor Godel, please come to the front desk." I said, hearing my own voice echo distorted over the PA system. This place was so empty. I set down the phone and entwined my fingers nervously. "You can set him in a chair until Doctor Godel arrives." I told the tall stranger.

He did so without comment, then returned to my desk. I felt hot all over; the way that he was looking at me confounded my thoughts until they tumbled over each other and disappeared into muteness. It wasn't a leer, nor a doleful gaze. I only saw an intense interest tempered by age and wisdom. The age and wisdom of hundreds of years, maybe as old as the Planet itself. He blinked once and the cast was gone. I saw only eyes on his face, human eyes and nothing more.

"So… um, what's your name?" I asked, if only to break the silence

"You may call me Theodore, or Theo if that's more to your taste."

Theo. The name rolled around in my mouth and came out sweetly, much in the same way Cloud's name did. It had a softness to it, maybe from the relative lack of plosives, but the full three syllables of "Theodore" sounded regal. Of course, no common name could match the mystique of "Cloud". I caught myself at a brink and reminded myself that I had found my soul mate already, and there can be only one.

"And your name?"

"Tifa."

"Do you volunteer here often?"

"Yes, as often as I can. Mostly Wednesdays though. Do you volunteer a lot?" I struggled to find something to say, my conversation skills rusty from several years of disuse. I only realized it then.

"No. As a rule, I am too busy to take myself away for any extended period of time."

"Really, what do you do?"

"I teach the finer points of swordplay. I do not have many students, but the ones I do have are eager."

I smiled, remembering my old teacher Zangan. Was this Theodore a man after my own heart? Doctor Godel came and went, but I was too absorbed to remember that I needed to give him a memo. Theo left too quickly, but not before asking my number. I gave it willingly, but felt that it would never lead to anything.