010 AF
When I open my eyes, it's dark.
Where am I?
What am I doing here?
Where's Noel?
When my vision focuses, I feel a hand touch mine. "Are you okay?" says Noel's voice.
I nod. "Yeah . . . I'm fine."
"Time travel can be weird the first time," he says.
"For sure. Do you know where we are?" I look around me. Wherever we are, it seems to be nighttime. "Is this an eclipse?"
Noel nods. "I think we're in the Yaschas Massif. This is the home of the Farseers—what's left of it, at least."
"Let's start walking," I say. We don't know where we're going, of course, or what we're looking for, but we're going. I'm determined to find my sister. I will find her. I'll do everything in my power to, even if it means that I have to die. "So you met my sister, huh?"
Noel says, "Yeah. What's she really like?"
"Growing up, we used to get in fights all the time . . . because she was so serious. She grew up quickly. Maybe more quickly than she had to. She's protective of me. She thought I was too young to marry Snow and that I didn't know what I was doing. I mean, despite all of that, I love her. She was all I had. I could tell her all of my secrets and she wouldn't yell at me." I chuckle. "At least, not right away . . ."
Noel frowns. "Are you okay?"
I realize that I'd let a few tears slip through. "I'm okay."
Noel stops in his tracks. "I promise you . . . that we'll find your sister. I'll do everything I can, okay?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Why are you helping me?"
He begins walking again and I follow. "I figured that I should use my life to help people. You have something to live for. You have people that love you. I have nothing. I have no one. I used to think that, maybe, if I died that things would be better off . . . but then, one day, I decided that I didn't want to die."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
He continues. "I was the last person alive where I'm from. It was just me, walking the land alone. The world had been dying all along, taking everyone else with it. First my parents, then my grandmother . . . and all of my friends. And . . . Yeul."
I put a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for helping me. We can change the future, Noel, for the both of us, right?"
In the distance, I see a couple of people. Who are they? What are they doing here?
I see someone familiar. I can tell by the way he's walking. Hope.
It's Hope and I find myself running toward him, faster and faster, with Noel running directly behind me. I haven't seen Hope since Cocoon fell. It's been ten years, making Hope twenty-four years old. I, however, remain twenty-one in this time period. Some guards cut me off, though.
Hope says, "It's okay. I know her."
He walks toward me and I run into his chest to hug him. "Hope! It's been so long . . ."
He pulls away from me, taking me in once more. "I can't believe you're here. How are you here right now? I thought . . ."
Noel walks over, finally catching up with me. I say, "This is Noel. He helped me get here."
They awkwardly shake hands for a second and then a blonde woman with short hair appears at Hope's side. "Hi. I'm Alyssa, Mr. Estheim's assistant." She shakes my hand, and then Noel's.
"Alyssa, why don't you show Noel around?" Alyssa nods and pulls Noel away, into the building. Hope leads me into a different part of the building.
"So how have you been, Hope? What have you been doing all of this time?" I ask as we walk down a long hallway with bright lights.
"I've been pretty good. Can't complain. I've been running the Academy. It's an institute that my father helped start. But I'm in charge now. We've been working on a bunch of things based on science and technology. What about you? How have you been?"
He leads me into a small sitting area and motions for me to have a seat before he disappears. A moment later, he returns with a glass of water. He hands it to me. "Thank you." I take a sip as he sits down next to me. "I'm a teacher. I was living in New Bodhum . . . and now I'm on a mission to find Lightning."
"Do you really think she's alive?"
"I do. Noel met her. He says that she sent him to find me. I have to find her. He said she's in a place called Valhalla. Do you know where it is?"
Hope shakes his head. "I don't." Then Hope smiles. "I hope you find her. I know you will."
"What about the others? Have you seen anyone? Sazh? Snow?"
"Unfortunately, no. I haven't heard from anyone in a long time." He pauses. "I've been working on a way to get Fang and Vanille out of the crystal. I just don't want anything to happen to them . . . and maybe, one day, they'll come back."
"Maybe I can save all of them . . ."
Hope shoots me a smile. "I'm really glad you're here, Serah. At least I have someone I can talk to. Someone I can reminisce with."
I think I blush a little. "You've grown up a lot, Hope. I'm so proud of you."
"Yeah. I'm a lot braver . . . and more responsible than I was before. No longer whiny and scared all of the time," Hope says. "I have your sister to thank for that."
"Same here. The kids I teach sometimes call me 'Meanie Miss Farron.' Maybe I'm too strict. Must've gotten it from Light."
Hope laughs. "I never would've thought sweet Serah could ever be mean."
I smile when I hear those words. Hope is so kind. He's everything that Snow isn't. Hope is gentle. Snow is rough. Hope is so much more different. Am I beginning to like him?
"You and Noel can stay here until you're ready to go Stay as long as you need to. It's no trouble."
"Really? Thanks Hope. That means a lot." Only I'm not so sure I want to leave. I feel so comfortable around Hope. And I want to catch up on what's been going on for the past ten years. I want to know everything.
It seems like just yesterday that Hope was fourteen and innocent. He's matured so much and he's gotten so attractive. He's a man now.
I can see why Alyssa seems so eager to help.
A few minutes later, Alyssa and Noel show up. Hope stands from his seat. "Hi, Noel. I was just telling Serah that you two are welcome to stay here if you need to."
Noel nods. "Thank you."
"I can show you to your rooms," Alyssa says. I get up and follow her.
Hope says, "I'll catch up with you later. I've got a couple of things to attend to. Rest up!"
Alyssa leads us downstairs, where the dormitories are.
"So how long have you been working for the Academy?" I ask, in order to break the silence. Noel is usually sort of quiet, but he seems to be less talkative than usual.
"For about a year," she says. "I was eager to learn . . . and then I found out about the Academy. I sort of just ended up here." We turn a corner. "Rooms 122 and 123 . . . or do you just one?"
I can feel my face get a little hot. "We're not together. It's not like that."
"Sorry," Alyssa says, laughing it off. "I wasn't sure . . ." She clears her throat. "Are you hungry? I can bring you something, if you like."
Noel shakes his head. "No thanks."
I say, "Yeah . . . I'm not hungry."
"Just let me know if you need anything." She gives us one last smile before handing us key cards and walking off.
"Are you tired?" I ask Noel.
"A little bit . . ."
Noel smiles. "Get some sleep . . ."
"Goodnight, Noel."
"Night, Serah."
I toss and turn in the bed. I can't fall asleep. My thoughts are jumbled and all over the place. I roll over onto my back.
I feel overcome with sadness. I miss Snow. I never wanted to leave him, but I had to. Tears start falling down my cheeks and I almost knock on Noel's door. I hesitate and find myself walking toward Hope's room.
I knock on the door softly, hoping that he's awake. He comes to the door in a T-shirt and plaid pajama pants. When he sees me, he frowns. "Serah, are you okay?" I shake my head. "Come in."
I sit down at the foot of his bed and cross my legs. "I broke up with Snow . . ." I wipe my tears and Hope sits down next to me.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Hope says sincerely. "Is there something I can do?" I shake my head no. Hope doesn't say anything for a long time, but I can feel him looking at me still. "Do you want to stay here tonight?"
I nod. "I just feel so alone . . ."
Hope shakes his head and takes my hand in his. "You're not. I'm here for you. I'm sure your friend, Noel, is too."
"Thanks. I just didn't want to be alone tonight."
"No problem." Then he does something that takes me by surprise. Hope removes his hands from my grasp and leans in to press his lips against mine. Then he pulls away. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that . . . with everything that you have going on."
I say, "It's okay."
"Can I kiss you again?" I nod and he obliges. I let him kiss me. His mouth is warm and the kiss feels right. When we pull apart, Hope smiles. "I've always had a crush on you, Serah. Did you know that?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. Since I was fourteen. And I spent ten years wondering if I'd ever see you again. Ten years wondering if when I did, you'd still be with Snow . . . Ten years wondering if you and I could be together . . . Ten years wondering if you'd ever like me back."
"I think I do like you."
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-one. Well, in this time, I'd be twenty-eight."
"I guess that makes you a cougar, huh?" He jabs me in the side.
I giggle. "I guess so."
A few seconds of silence go by. "Are you tired?"
I nod. I am tired—mentally and emotionally. He pulls back the sheet and the blankets for me and motions for me to get under them. I crawl under the sheets and Hope gives me one last kiss before going toward the loveseat in the corner. "Will you sleep in the bed with me?"
Hope turns to me. He just smiles and says, "Sure." Then he climbs into bed next to me. "Goodnight, Serah."
"Goodnight, Hope." I close my eyes and drift off into a dreamless slumber.
