CHAPTER 6: SECRETS

Cloud didn't meet Tifa for their walk through the snow to school the next morning. When she knocked on the door to his house, his mother said that he had come down with a fever and would need to rest. Tifa hung her head in disappointment—she had never been to school without Cloud before! The short walk to school felt strange and lonesome.

Cloud hadn't held her hand since Papa scolded him for it a few weeks ago and she missed the secure feeling of his grip on her fingers. The village was silent as she walked along; the fresh snow was still mostly untouched, except for the trail of the milk man's sleigh. She wrapped her red scarf more tightly around her neck and chose to walk in the sleigh's path instead of trying to tromp through the accumulated snow.

"Hey—small fry!" a voice called behind her. Tifa turned to see her classmate hurrying towards her. It was rare to be addressed by any of the boys at the school besides Cloud and it excited her to think that she had been noticed! She was smiling wide by the time Thomas caught up with her, his auburn hair poking out from under his thick wool hat.

"Where's your blonde buddy? He's always stuck to you like glue!" he teased. Tifa dropped her head to watch her boots navigate the snowy street. Of course he asked about Cloud. Cloud was a boy, and boys just wanted to play with other boys. Girls were boring, right?

"He got sick. He's staying home today."

Thomas looked disinterested in hearing about Cloud's well-being and it left Tifa confused as to why he asked in the first place. She felt suddenly shy as the pair fell into silence. They approached the school and several students were already waiting outside. Jim and Jason ran to meet Thomas, confused when they saw him walking with the little dark haired girl.

"My pop said that you were right. Mt. Nibel is full of holes and caves! "Thomas said as he popped a piece of gum between his teeth. His friends were instantly drawn in by the topic of the mountain.

Tifa's head snapped up, "He must've seen Papa's maps!"

"He said they're like an anthill," Thomas continued. "The caves go all throughout like a maze!"

"How can you get through there without getting lost?" Jason asked.

Jim scratched his head, "No wonder no one knows what's on the other side."

Tifa's eyes widened with realization, "I do! I know what's on the other side!" All eyes were on her as she explained her about her Mama's home on the other side of the mountain and across the sea.

… … …

Tifa skipped through the snow after school, swinging her lunch pail and humming a tune she had been learning on piano. What seemed like it would have been an awful day turned out to be a wonderful one. She was convinced that being without Cloud would've made the day long and lonesome, but Tifa had had so much fun with Jim, Jason and especially Thomas. He had even let her sit next to him at lunch and gave her part of his blueberry muffin!

She felt like she belonged when they listened with fascination as she talked about Wutai and all the things her mother told her about that faraway fishing village. Maybe the fact that she was a girl didn't matter to them at all! She wasn't sure why Cloud always wanted to stay away from them; they were so fun to talk to! Her heart sunk as she passed by the little Strife cottage and thought about poor Cloud, sick and alone in his bed.

Since the night before, Tifa had been thinking of how she and Cloud could talk to each other from their bedroom windows. How useful that would be if he was sick and couldn't play! If only they had a telephone, like the one in the inn run by Thomas and his family. One time, she had heard it ring! A pretty little sound that reminded her of the jingle bells Papa had on his winter sleigh—oh! Her jingle bells! Papa had given her three and she played with them often.

Maybe if she tied a thread to one and threw it to Cloud from her window, she cloud pull the line and ring the little bell whenever she wanted to talk to him. If she fastened the other end to a second jingle bell for her room, he could do the same.

Grinning, Tifa bounced up the front steps and into her home. She had work to do!

… … …

He was so hot. Cloud had long since tossed his quilt aside and taken off his shirt, yet sweat still beaded on his forehead and his sheets were still damp with perspiration. He wasn't sure what had done it, but perhaps staying out in the snow storm with only his school shirt on for that extra half hour the day before was to blame for this wave of illness. He was so weak and it angered him. Cloud sat up, making his head spin and the room lurch. He breathed deeply and swallowed at the brief nausea that passed over him from moving so quickly. Everything was so hot and uncomfortable that he wished his mother would just let him lay out in the snow; her cool washcloths on his skin just weren't enough.

He slowly rose and padded over to his window seat, sighing with relief when he pressed his head to the window and felt the cool glass against his burning skin. He slumped there, passing in and out of sleep until he heard a small metallic sound. Just when he thought he hadn't really heard it, there it was again. Cloud knew that noise. It was a jingle bell.

Opening his heavy eyes, he peered out the window to see the silhouette of his little friend against the electric light of her bedroom. She seemed busy fiddling with something in her hands as she leaned her elbows on the sill of her open window. Cloud felt awful—he hadn't been able to walk to school with her today! He hoped she wasn't too lonesome eating lunch by herself against the back wall. He pried his window open with the intention to apologize.

"…Tifa?" Cloud called softly into the night. The dry, frigid air felt like medicine on his skin and like poison to his lungs. Tifa's head snapped up, her dark hair falling over her shoulder. He was relieved to watch her grin when she saw him. She wasn't angry with him!

"Cloud!" she gasped softly. "I'm sorry you're sick! Are you okay?"

"I'm alright," Cloud lied. "I just hope you weren't lonesome."

"It's ok, I had fun with Thomas!" she giggled and Cloud's heart sunk to his feet.

The selfish side of him hoped that Tifa had missed him, but she had made another friend. Not just any friend, Thomas of all people. What if Thomas told her that Cloud was just a weak little runt without worth and without a father? Tifa never asked about his father, which surprised Cloud because she was always so inquisitive. He had been relieved that maybe she would never find out, but Thomas and the others were sure to tell her! Cloud felt panic rise in his chest. If Tifa found out, she'd hate him like everyone else and then he'd be alone!

"Look, I made something!" she said cheerfully and pulled Cloud from his thoughts. A jingle bell glinted in the light coming from the room behind her as she held it in her palm. The bell was tied at the top with a thin line of twine that disappeared into Tifa's bedroom.

"I'm going to throw it to you. Try to catch it!" Tifa said, holding the end of the twine with one hand and heaving the heavy little bell out the window with the other. Cloud snapped his foggy head to attention and reached to catch the bell. Ping! It hit the corner of the window pane and fell to the bushes below. Tifa gasped and held onto the twine, pulling the bell back up into her window. She tried again and Cloud was surprised when he caught it against his chest.

Tifa let out a small noise of victory before turning her attention back to the boy.

"Cloud, keep that in your window, and I'll keep my bell in mine! If we want to talk to each other, we can just pull the string and the bell will ring. What do you think?"

He held the bell between his fingers and couldn't suppress his smile. Even if Tifa was friends with those boys, she still sought his company and it soothed his anxiety. As long as he had her, he'd be alright.

"How do you think of such good ideas?" Cloud praised softly, the cold air making his lungs sting. Tifa shrugged with a small smile. Tifa's father called her name from inside the house, startling the girl.

"I've got to go! Feel better, ok?"

"Thank you, Tifa…"

She closed her bedroom window and disappeared. Cloud shut his own window carefully, making sure that the twine wasn't pinned too tightly underneath so that the bell would ring if Tifa tugged the line. He pulled his curtain over a bit more so that it rested gently over the bell, obscuring it from sight.

How exciting—he and Tifa had a secret all their own!

… … …

Near to the warmth of the hearth, Brian flexed his legs and slumped further in his armchair. His cheerful daughter had been suspiciously eager to retire to her bedroom that evening, but he was too tired to overthink the mind of a little girl. Tifa was a pretty little thing—stealing her deep red eyes, flowing dark hair and perfect, porcelain skin from her mother. Since the day she was born, the very fact that she was female brought happiness and hope to the village, which seemed to be cursed with a multitude of male children.

The Lockhart family had always been well respected in the area—that fact combined with the fuss over little Tifa's birth had helped Lia find a high level of status in the local social circle. It was something his wife didn't always seem very comfortable with. Lia hailed from a less conservative area, he was sure that she didn't understand just how important it was to be well respected in a place like this. Brian turned his head to glance at his wife, who was attempting to mend a pair of Tifa's stockings on the couch. She would've had a much easier time seeing if she had turned on the lamp on the end table, but Lia stubbornly chose to rely on the light of the fireplace instead. Her quiet protest of ShinRA electricity did not go unnoticed by Brian.

"Watching you mend something is like watching a dog walk on its hind legs!" he teased with a smirk.

Lia fired back with her own aggressive smile as she threw a thimble at his shoulder. She couldn't fool him. The worried crease still lingered between her eyebrows as she thought of her parents and homeland. The war haunted his wife, hanging over her heart like a dark fog, and Brian was trying everything he could to lift her spirits. Her smile quickly faded as she rested the stockings on the cushion beside her.

"Everyone is talking about the war," Lia whispered, eyes on her lap. "All I hear is people saying: 'It's about time!' or 'Wutai will be trampled in no time.' No one knows how much it hurts, and it makes me feel so lonesome here, sometimes."

"…Come here, Lia," Brian beckoned softly, and Lia rose to stand in front of him. Gently, he pulled her onto his lap and cradled her shoulders with his arm. Threading his fingers through her flowing black tresses, he planted a soft kiss to her cheek. She rested her head against him quietly for long minutes before she spoke.

"Do you think I'm a bad daughter? When I left home…" Lia began, before closing her eyes for a moment and leaning into the warmth of his hand. "Oh, Brian…I should've invited them to stay here when things were getting tense with ShinRA. Now, it's too late."

He cupped her cheek with his hand and turned her face to look at him, "You are a remarkable daughter, Lia. You didn't abandon them when you married me—I know you think that. None of this had anything to do with you."

Coaxing her head to rest on his shoulder, Brian gently ran his hand up and down her back. Lia focused on breathing deeply and evenly to stifle the wild emotion in her heart, but her husband sensed the raging storm beneath the surface.

"I love you, Lia. It'll be alright…"

The couple remained there long after the fire in the hearth had burned away and only orange embers remained.

A/N: A special shout out to the people who have taken the time to encourage me-especially Cloufa and Sunflowerspot, who have been so kind since the beginning. Thank you!