Epithet
She doesn't like her name.
When she meets new kids they always go, "Tiifaaa… what? You mean that's your actual name?"
She cringes, remembering the typical response. If only her parents hadn't given her such a short, strange name!
"But you should be proud!" Her mother tells her when they walk home from school. "You're named in honor of both your father's mother and my mother! How many kids do you think get to have a name like that?"
She imagines there aren't that many, kids that is. Still, this doesn't really make her feel much better. Her dad's mom had a nice full sound to her name: Tiffney. Apparently she had been a fun, outgoing lady. Meanwhile, her mom's mom was named after the legendary ice goddess: Shiva. She had been an elite warrior in the military. When her parents later had her, they decided that they wanted their daughter to possess the best qualities of both of these women someday.
So they named her Tifa.
The worst of the teasing about her name stopped a year or so into her first year of school. At 8-years-old, she is now going into her third school year and is looking forward to it.
Or, at least she was until her mom passed away a few weeks ago and her dad decided to move away from their little village in the mountains to the sprawling capital several towns over—Radiant Garden.
As they travel, her mother's last words fill her head.
— "It's okay, it's okay… Tifa, my dear, dear girl. I'll always be with you in your heart; no matter what, I will always be there for you. Take care of your father, but make sure you take care of yourself too. I want you to make friends, experience many things, live, love… You know, you'll be fine if you do one thing for me. Would you please do this for me? Remember who we named you for. I know, I know, you've always disliked your name, but we gave you that name in order to give you strength. Be strong, my love. Be strong." —
"—It will be all right, Tifa," Her father assures her as they pass through the gates into the castle proper. "Today we're moving into a new house; tomorrow I'll go to my new job, you'll go to your new school, we'll meet new people and make new friends—it'll be great! You'll make friends in no time."
Except she doesn't.
That first day at school she speaks only when addressed by the teacher, and keeps to herself during breaks to avoid having to explain her strange name.
She lies and tells her father that school was "Just fine."
However, the next day she discovers the school garden.
She likes plants; they don't look at you funny if you have a weird name, and she would sometimes help her mother tend to the garden at their old house. It was such a pretty sight. The yard at their new house is barren in comparison.
Once class lets out at the end of the day, she leisurely walks about the garden when she spots a bed of flowers with blossoms of every shape, size, and color of the rainbow, and she stops—the hints of a smile forming at the corners of her mouth.
"Hello," she whispers, clasping her hands behind her back and leaning in close so that only the flowers will hear. "What are your names?"
She chuckles at that — some flowers have even stranger names than hers.
"Let's see, Foxglove, Iris, Black-eyed Susan, Chrysanthemum, Tulip, umm…"
She hesitates when her eyes fix upon a set of tiny light-blue flowers sitting in a neat little bunch on their stem.
"Hmm…"
"Those are Forget-me-nots," a quiet voice behind her confirms.
Tifa straightens abruptly, her face flushing bright red having been caught talking to flowers.
But the other girl simply smiles at her.
"It's alright, I like to talk to them too, y'know. It's not a bad thing; I mean, I do it all the time!"
Relaxing when she hears this, Tifa chances a glance at the nice stranger.
The girl appears to be a year or so older than her, judging by the height. Her hair is done up in a neat braid that sways slightly with the passing breeze.
"So, now that you know Mr. Forget-me-not over here, may I ask for your name?"
"Tifa Lockhart," Tifa responds in a quick manner, surprising herself. Yet somehow, she gets a sense that this girl will not poke fun at her name.
The older girl's grin widens.
"Tifa, huh? That's great! Sounds like the name of a warrior!"
Suddenly the flush returns to Tifa's cheeks and she bashfully looks back to the flower bed.
"You sure like flowers, eh?" the older girl asks seeing Tifa's reaction.
Tifa nods.
"Well, so do I. By the way, I'm Aerith Gainsborough — a 5th Year student here," the girl announces at last, and Tifa can't help but wonder why this girl two grade levels ahead of her is here talking to her, and now offering to shake her hand.
But she shakes Aerith's hand anyway.
"I tend to this flower bed," Aerith goes on explaining. "There was nothing but some stray rocks here at first, but with some seeds and a bit of attention all of these flowers popped up!"
This stirs something in the younger girl, and before she can stop herself Tifa blurts out, "Would you like to help me with my garden back home?"
The older girl blinks at the sudden request, but smiles warmly when she recovers.
"Sure! We can start right away!"
Excitedly, Aerith begins pulling out small packets from her pockets, placing them in Tifa's hands as she lists off their contents."
"I've got Snapdragons, Marigolds, Alstromerias, Balloon Flowers, Balsams— Ohh, and my mother could help me get you some shrubs, ferns, lilyturf— and edible plants! You could have vegetables, berries, herbs that you can use for cooking or even healing…"
Already, she can feel the wound on her heart caused by her mother's death beginning to mend as the older girl talks on and on about the strangely named plants.
I've made a new friend, Tifa realizes, feeling happier than she's felt in weeks.
Remember who we named you for.
Her mother had said.
An outgoing woman and a warrior. I'll try my best to live up to those names, she thinks faintly before joining Aerith in conversation.
Be strong.
A/N: Back with a new chap! Okay, slow start. But! Beginning next chapter, things will start moving more quickly as we get into some of the more critical elements of the overarching plot. Until then, I hope you enjoyed. Thanks—mc13
