Lethal sun, envious moon

Tifa

I remember how the soldiers found me and tied my hands. It was like they would have taken away my dreams, my true being. That moment I gave up – I was already suffering in my body and without at least seeing him dreaming was no use. He could have died out there and I would have never known.

And then when I was brought to the see the elders and I saw Yuffie's face…the fate liked to hit me in the heart and turn the dagger in the wound. She was my whole family, that little perky sister of mine who was always having fun.

I looked at her and only one thought spinned in my head – it was all my fault. If I would have controlled my feelings I might have forgotten all about him and this would have never happened. We would have been fine. No pain, no sorrow…my only companions that reminded me my existence.

The elders pronounced my fate and ordered Reno to take me away. He didn't want to do it but he was a soldier and so he obeyed. He grabbed my hands and dragged me along. I didn't care where he took me, my only wish was to die. That world have meant nothing to me any more and it would have been my relief, my only way out. It didn't matter when I was going to die, today, tomorrow or when I was 80. With locking me into the Black Cave they didn't want to see me any more and being a mermaid sealed the doors to the human world. I had nowhere to go, only to the other side to be with my ancestors.

Reno stopped at the entrance, he was having doubts. I had always wondered how a boy with his character had become a soldier anyway. "You better finish me here, I'm not gonna stand it…" I whispered with my head down. He looked me in silence. "Don't talk like that." He said. He tried to be comforting, like a big brother. But there was nothing he could have done.

"I'm already dead inside…let me be reborn." Silence. I would have done anything to get free. I would have screamed and struggled, only if he would have said no, but he didn't. He offered me something else. "I won't have to kill you for that…I can help you, I can make you human, Tifa." He said.

I didn't believe what I heard. How could have I become a human? It was impossible, beyond fantasies and dreams, beyond truth. I raised my head to face Reno's confident eyes. It sounded so easy for him. I couldn't tell if he was making fun of me or was he really meaning what he had just said. Reno nodded his head. "It's true. There is a way but you have to make a huge sacrifice. Come, we have to leave…"

He looked around to see if anyone was watching but when no one was around he freed me from the rope around my hands. He chose a darker area and after checking if everything was clear we left.

Was it really true what he had said? Could I really have become a human and maybe even be with him? No, he was joking. It was a joke, it had to be. But he still kept going and going. In silence we swam day and night and when we got tired dolphins carried us on. I didn't know how long we travelled like that but we just went on and on. I even started to believe his words, my dreams came to life again. My life had meaning again, with every minute I breathed I was closer to him. Closer than ever…

.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.

Then came the end to my journey. We were there. I was sleeping, my hands were tied around a dolphin who was kind enough to carry me. Reno was shaking me gently. I opened my eyes and looked around to see nothing. It was pitch-black around us and the only spot of light was above our heads far away. "We are here…" Reno said. He sounded sad, but I couldn't see his face in the darkness. "Go to the light, he is waiting…"

"I don't know how to thank you…" I said with guilt. He had risked his life to get me here and I even didn't knew why…I searched for his hand in the darkness and pulled him closer for a hug. He was startled by my action but he didn't struggle either. It was my thanks without words. Without Reno I would have probably gone mad.

He let go and I heard a sight. "Good bye…" I said. It was probably the last time I would have been with someone of my own and I even didn't see his face. "Bye…" was his last word before leaving. Who knows what was going on in his head at that moment but I felt waters movement and then he was gone. Again I was alone but then I had my hopes with me. So, I carried on and swam towards the light…

.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.

The light leaded to a tunnel. The tunnel was very narrow but I managed to move on. I finally saw the light getting stronger and swam probably to ground. I reached the surface. The tunnel head led me to a forest and the light was coming from the trees glowing. It was beautiful, like the trees would have stolen the moonlight and brought it here. While I was admiring the surroundings a man had walked out behind the shadows. He had no shadow and when he moved there was no sound.

"Another lost soul…" He said. The voice was cold and distant, like it would have come from another place. I observed him as he walked closer and for a split second it seamed like I looked right through him. I felt like he wasn't really there. He was hiding his face into a long dark robe, his steps were slow and measured, almost if he would have been walking trough time.

"Are you?" He asked. "You are too far for me to see, so are you?" he asked again if I didn't answer. He wasn't treating or ordering me but I felt something pushing me trough the water closer to him. "Now I see, Tifa." The stranger said when he saw me closer. "You want to see him, don't you? Oh, but I'm afraid his fading, and what is this…a soldier, interesting." He was reading my feelings out of my eyes like they would have been written on my forehead. And he red out everything about me with ease…

"Who are you?" I asked looking down to avoid more facts to come out. "I was once called Vincent, but that is not important now. What really matters is that you want to become a human and I'm able to do it." He said with a calm tone. He continued with his cold voice. "But I want something back. I'm asking the dark side of your soul. The other side will become a higher spirit but you will never be reborn. You will need the other side to be complete…"

I understood his words and I was ready to make that sacrifice. I knew what I had to do and so I raised my head to see him and swam to the shore. I crawled out from the water and closed my eyes.

Then I felt how something icy went through my flesh and with the image of my love I died and left my body.