A Casa of Flowers
by Whitelight - Fluffy
in Cloud's POV
Fourth Chapter - Melancholy
In which Cloud discovers that they have something in common.
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Yaaaawn… I'm sleepy.
Well, I'm back. In the master's bedroom, lying down, doing nothing – and it's just afternoon!
Good. I don't like noise anyway, so I don't want to go to any parties or night lives.
…Hmm… Wait…
That Aeris girl… I think I've seen her before. She looks familiar.
No, it's not just yesterday.
Ah, of course. She looks like Her a bit.
Look at that. Her picture. Nice smile. Just like that flower girl's.
Such a smile…
"She is truly beautiful."
WHOA!
Who's there?!
OH! It's the flower girl. But, hey… I didn't hear her enter. With wooden floors like these, I should have heard the footsteps and the creaking.
H-how – how come – did you?
"I did knock," she said.
She did?
Wow. I must have been so –
"I saw you were… preoccupied, however."
– preoccupied.
Yeah. Okay, well…
The flower gir– no, I must use her name– Aeris adjusts her bangs, sighs, and continues:
"I have come merely to confirm that I shall… stay."
Oh. Well, she doesn't have to be so formal.
That's great! I remark.
"I shall take the smaller bedroom."
Sure, sure.
"Well…"
Well… It's hard to speak standing while the addressee's lying down. So…
Sit down, please.
I sit up and then tap the newly-uncovered space (which is right beside me).
"Very well."
So she does as I asked.
"Oh!"
Oh!
I-I-It's an accident! I didn't mean to touch her hand!
…Though it's soft and warm… not what I'd expect from flower girls…
I immediately withdraw my hand and apologize.
She just smiles and nods.
Then… silence.
And so things are for about… three minutes.
So… I begin, breaking the stillness. What were you about to say? Aeris, right?
She nods.
And then speaks.
"She is truly beautiful."
Uh-oh. She's been looking at Her picture all this time?
"Forgive my asking so, but who is she?"
The girl I've been trying to forget.
…The girl you're forcing me to remember.
Tifa. My – my –
"Beloved?"
Yes. That. And then, much to my own surprise, I continue, It has been eight months since we had a fight, I utter, more to myself, but Aeris can hear it anyway. We had a misunderstanding. And then, seeing the painful look at her face (wow, she empathizes that quickly?), I try to pass it off as a casual matter. Well, it was just a brief fling, actually.
Who am I kidding?!
But her mien remains unchanged. In fact, she even sighs.
"Perhaps that always holds true in life," she comments. "The separation, the pain…"
Huh?!
What do you mean?
"I loved once as well."
Cold. So cold.
Brrr. Even the breeze has grown cold.
(It's already evening.)
"But we got… separated. The War…"
Oh, the war. meaningless war.
I'm… sorry.
"It is all done now."
In the same boat then, aren't we?
She nods gravely.
And silence again.
And of course, I am the one who breaks it… again.
It's been nice talking with you, Aeris.
Actually, it's depressing. But then, I realize that I'm not so alone after all. (Yeah. That cheers me up a bit.) So it's… kinda nice.
"The pleasure is all mine, Cloud."
And then, the question pops right out of the blue.
When can I see you again?
Okay… that's completely random…
"But you know where to find me."
Huh? Where?
And in response to my unspoken follow-up, she adds, "Among the flowers in the garden. Should you wish company, I will always be there."
And so she leaves...
...wait, wait. Did she just say The War?
Eh, must have heard wrongly.
Or she was talking about a childhood friend.
Yeah.
'Coz the War's over fifteen years ago.