"We'll be coming up on Kalm soon," Cloud said. I took in a shaky breath and released it, "Will, Mary? You okay?" He asked softly.

"We used to live in Kalm," she said.

"Do you have any family there?" he asked.

Mary shook her head and held onto me, "Not anymore..." I said looking away.

"I'm sorry..."

The four of us walked in silence the rest of the way to Kalm. Honestly... I thought I would never return to Kalm... I didn't think I would be able to. Physically or emotionally... "At least we may be able to see our old neighbors..." Mary said quietly. That made me realize something... I don't really remember much about this place... I must've blocked it out...

We arrived at the city an hour or so later. It was getting dark. Even with the warm summer breeze I felt extremely chilled. I stopped and squeezed my eyes shut. I don't wanna go in there without mommy... I felt arms wrap around me, "It's okay," Danny was holding us both.

"I don't wanna go in there..." I heard myself say. I hadn't realized I was crying. "Please... I don't want to..."

"I understand."

"It's alright," I felt Cloud's hand on my shoulder. "I'll go inside to see if the others are there and then I'll come back out... We don't really have supplies to camp out here though and it's getting dark..." He added.

My lip trembled. Would it really kill me to go into the village... It feels like it will... Mom not being here to take care of me has been hard, but I'm afraid that if I go in there... Everything will become even more real... I didn't think I would get her back, but still... "I'll be right back," Cloud told us.

"What are you thinking?" Danny asked us softly.

"Mom and dad are gone..." Mary said, "But maybe, we could find our other family?" Mary suggested.

"Other family...?" I asked.

"Yea... Don't you remember?" I shook my head, "That's okay. I understand," she said, "Come on... Let's find them."

"Mary I-I can't..."

"It'll be okay. I promise."

"I'll be right here for both of you, it's okay."

I bit my lip but nodded. Mary held my hand and led us into town. I looked around trying not to think about the pain. The place was close to how I remembered it; green moss trying to swallow up the cobblestone streets, cottages with planter boxes overflowing with flowers, and the warm soft glow from windows spilling into the streets, among other things. I saw Cloud walk out of a nearby building. He gave us a comforting smile when he saw us, "You okay?"

"We're going to try to find our other family," Mary said.

He nodded, "I'll go with you. I got a room for all of us, but if you want to stay with your family that's okay too."

"Thank you."

We continued along, the light fading slowly, "Do you know where you're going?" I asked. I was completely lost. I don't remember Kalm being so big.

"Yeah..." She didn't sound as confident as I hoped she would. Then again she hasn't seen this place since she was five... I should be able to remember more than her...

"We lived on the edge of the village, closest to Midgar right?" I asked.

"Yeah!" She sounded a little more confident then. The hair on the back of my neck prickled, I scanned the street to my right. A lot of people were still out walking around and talking in the fading light, a few kids laughed and chased each other down the street, but behind it all in an alley, I saw a man staring at me. Our eyes locked for a moment, then he turned and walked away.

"Will?" I slowly took my eyes away from the retreating stranger and looked at Danny.

"Who was that?" Mary asked.

"... He was staring at me..."

"Who do you think it was?" Danny asked quickly.

"I dunno but he gave me the creeps," I said.

"Oh..." He spoke quieter as he got closer to me and Mary.

"Let's get going," Danny and Cloud said.

"Yeah," we agreed. We headed towards where we used to live, or at least that's where we hoped we were going. Honestly, I'm really glad Cloud is here. I have a feeling something really bad will happen. I stopped as the feelings grew worse, "We should go back to the inn," I said.

"What?" Mary asked.

"You're right," Danny said, "It's getting really dark."

"Oh..." Mary said looking around, "I guess we could always find them in the morning..."

We started heading back. To my dismay that anxious feeling kept getting stronger. I looked behind us and saw the man from before, I felt Daniel's arm wrap around me.

"Why is he following us?" Mary whispered.

"Maybe he's part of Shin-Ra," I thought aloud. Daniel cursed.

"Don't worry. Just act natural and stay alert," Cloud told us.

I was really worrying about who he was. Was he Shin-Ra? Maybe he used to live here and recognized us? Whatever his intentions were, I had the feeling we didn't want to find out. My mind drifted for a moment to our family. Mary said that our family would probably still live here. I stopped abruptly, "Will?" Danny asked.

"Our family won't be here anymore..."

"How do you know?" Mary asked.

I looked down, "Because they're our family Mary. He wanted to experiment on us, we have the same genes as our family," tears stung my eyes again. Just for a second I thought I might not be alone. That I might see my family again. Danny, Mary and the others are my family too but, what about my relatives? The people who knew me before. I could even have aunts, uncles, and cousins! But... They were probably taken or killed too. I wouldn't even know who they are.

Marylyn started crying again, "I miss my aunt Betsy! And my grandma! And-and your uncle and your aunt-!" she wailed.

What? My aunt and uncle? Little flashes happened in my mind as I began to remember them. My uncle would always smile at me and hold me... He was there for me... He was like a dad to me... How could I forget him? I placed my hand to my temple and closed my eyes tightly as if I could pull the memory out from behind the locked iron gate of my mind. We played tag.. And went on picnics.. And he would even carry me on his shoulders...

"Honey, everything's going to be okay," a man said in a soothing way. He looked like me... My dad's brother...

"But I want my daddy!" I wailed.

He held me close to him, "I know sweetie. I'm sorry," he kissed my hair and pet me.

"Why won't he come home?" I cried, "I want him! I need him!"

He shushed me and rocked me, "I know honey. I know..."

"He doesn't want me does he!? He hates me! It's all my fault!"

He put his hand on my shoulder to look at me then pet my face, "No, its not that honey," he stroked my hair with his other hand, "He doesn't hate you. He loves you!"

"Then why wouldn't he come back!"

"He-he really wants to honey. But he can't-."

I pushed him away, "Don't lie to me! You know the truth! He hates me and he's never coming back!" I ran out the door and into the backyard, I tripped and fell into the grass wailing. It felt like my heart was being ripped from my chest... My own father couldn't even stand to look at me, so he ran away and never came back... He abandoned us. He abandoned me...

This is why I keep feeling so alone... I realized. I still had that deep fear inside of me; what if everyone else abandoned me too...? I jumped when I felt someone wrap their arms around me. I hugged them back and opened my eyes, even before I did I could tell it was Danny. I breathed in deeply, his smell was so comforting. I realized I was acting too girly and pulled away, "Thanks..." I could feel heat rising in my cheeks as I looked away.

"You're welcome," I took a peek at him for a moment and realized he was smirking.

I looked away quickly, "Let's go."

"Yeah," Mary said. I saw Cloud nod as we walked in the direction of the inn. We got there quicker than I thought we would, I was glad. I feel exhausted. When we arrived I had the misfortune to realize there was only one bedroom and some of us had to sleep on the floor.

Only five beds for eight people. Tifa sat on the one closest to the stairwell, Aerith sat on the bed next to her, "We decided ta give the beds to the women," Barret said "Didn't think any of ya would disagree."

Cloud nodded, "That leaves one bed. Will? Do you want it?"

"What? Why?" I asked nervously.

"You've had a rough day kid," Barret said "You get the bed," He said dropping himself on the carpet with a thump.

"I don't really-," I started.

"Tough," Danny smirked as he laid down next to my bed, folding his arms behind his head.

I looked at Nanaki who was laying down next to Aerith's bed. They seemed pretty comfortable with each other, considering his act. That looked pretty convincing. Cloud was the last one, I looked at him. He looked lost in his own thoughts, like something painful was gnawing at him. "Yo," Barret said, "Let's hear yer story Cloud. You know, the one about Sephiroth and the crisis of the planet."

Cloud seemed to snap out of his thoughts slowly, "... Yeah." As he told his story I really realized why I connected with him so well... We've both had a really rough childhood. We're both orphans in a way, same with Mary.. Actually. Now that I think about it we're all orphans... Except Aerith has her adopted mother and I have... I buried my face in my pillow. Nothing...

... But what if I do have something...? What if they weren't really lying to me...? What if he really does love me...? I bit my lip to keep from crying but I could feel tears slip out of my eyes. Why did they have to take them from me? Why did they have to take away everything I love? I desperately needed to cry. To be myself again and just let all this pain go... I want my daddy! My soul seemed to cry out. I felt strange when I realized I just thought that. I do want him, I admitted. I want him to hold me and make things all better... But I can't... Somethings, even the things we want the most, we can't have... And we just have to accept that. I wiped my eyes. Did he really want me..? I wondered again. I'm scared to find out... I don't think I could handle it if he didn't love me, didn't want me... Why have I lived for so long...? It feels like my life ended a long time ago, all of this is just extra torment... For so long I wanted to die... To die along with her... At least then we'd be together... Right...?