Lego: This is for the 100 Themes challenge. Only canon oneshots will be posted. I'm doing this because Tears of a Lotus doesn't want to be written. I was having a bad day, so I wrote a sad.
Disclaimer: The Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood franchise belongs to Hiromu Arakawa. I own only the story.
Memory
Winry stared out the window. A family walked down the walkway below—a mother, slightly plump but cheerful; a father, tall and lean with a solemn face; a daughter, blonde ponytail swishing as she walked; and a son, bouncing with every step. She watched them until they passed beneath her window, probably in through the front doors. She wondered who they were visiting and why that person was here.
"Winry," a female voice belonging to her personal nurse called from outside the door. "Ed is here to see you."
The blonde didn't break her gaze from the yard outside her window, but she could hear the door open anyway.
"I'll come check on you again in a bit," the nurse said, and Winry heard a click indicating the door had been shut again.
Silence permeated the air, broken only by the shuffling of feet behind her.
"Hey, Winry," a male voice said—her visitor, the one who came at least twice a week to see her. "How have you been?"
She said nothing despite the pain in his voice. No matter what he said to her, she didn't remember him. Last week she'd shouted, demanded he never come back. Yet here he was. Again. He was persistent.
"I know you don't want to see me"—Winry heard him sit on her bed—"so you don't have to turn around. I just had to see you one more time. I promise I won't visit again after today."
Half of her took joy in the words. Finally, he'd leave her alone. But the other half begged her not to let him leave. She squashed the thoughts.
"I know you don't remember it, but I'm sorry about the accident. It's all my fault that this happened to you."
Cerulean eyes burned with sudden tears. Winry didn't know where they came from, didn't know why they pricked. The green grass and blue sky blurred.
"Al and I are moving across the country. After you get out of here, you'll never have to see us again."
A tear escaped.
"I just wanted to tell you that and to tell you I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry."
Winry could imagine the look on his face—head downcast, golden bangs in his face, golden eyes swimming in sorrow. She shoved the image away, another tear sliding down her cheek. She heard him stand.
"Goodbye, Winry."
Her heart pounded in her chest as his footsteps clunked on the floor, slowly fading closer and closer to the door. She heard the turning of the knob and the whoosh of the door opening.
"I love you."
Winry froze. Her heart stopped. His footsteps clunked again.
Turn around! her mind screamed, but she couldn't move. The tears flowed hard, and a sob escaped her. Without knowing why, her knees gave out. She collapsed to the floor and cried.