Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters, locations, and references to the game are all owned by Square Enix. I have created, and only own my original character: Adriana.

Chapter 10: A Ghostly Visit From The Lifestream

Could this be real?

"Mum is that... Is that really you?" Adriana asks shakily, choking back a whimper of fear.

Tears of happiness slip down the ghost's face. "Yes, it is, Adriana. Oh, how I've missed you so much."

With a small cry of joy, Adriana quickly gets up from the kitchen floor and flys into her mother's arms, hugging her as hard as she could.

"Oh, mum!" She cries, rivers of tears stream down her face. "Ohh, mum! I've missed you too!"

The ghost hugs her daughter, covering her moist face with maternal kisses. For several seconds they cry in each other's arms. In her mother's arms, Adriana feels safer than ever. For the first time in a long time, she didn't have to force herself to smile or pretend; Adriana was for real. And the feeling of joy, although almost unfamiliar, exhilarates her.

Thank you, Gaia.

'Oh, Adriana...' Her mother whispers into her neck, her voice is raw and throaty. "Why do you let him hurt you so much?" She asks, concern for her daughter.

Because I love him.

Adriana pulls slightly away and looks at her mother. She sighs, sadly as she looks down at the tiled kitchen floor. The ghost reaches up and touches the deep purplish bruises on her face. Her beautiful mouth was cut and badly bruised. As her mother looks at her face and down towards her hands, she notices the bruises up and down her arms and wrists and around her throat. The ghost also notices the way her daughter is skimpily dressed in tight, short and revealing clothes.

Adriana looks soulless... lifeless. This was not the young woman she had raised.

"Oh, my sweet child, look what he's done to you, you poor soul!" Her mother says tearfully. "He assaulted you again, didn't he?!"

After a couple of seconds, Adriana nods and then bursts into tears. Her mother sees her daughter's distress and hugs her tightly, tears forming in her eyes as she clasps her daughter's trembling body. They both stand there hugging for several minutes.

"I'm sorry," Adriana whispers in between tears. "I'm so sorry..."

"Shhh," Her mother says as she affectionately strokes her daughter's long dark hair. "Adriana, you must leave Angeal. If you stay with him," Her mother tells her, worriedly, "Angeal will kill you."

On hearing this, a cold chill slides over her daughter's body as she stares at her mother. The ghost senses her discomfort.

"You must escape. Adriana, no matter how much you love him, you cannot change him and his violent nature." The ghost tells her, sternly. "You don't want to stay with that vile and vindictive monster! You want to leave, today before it's too late! It's the only way!"

"Today?!" Adriana asks, tears falling silently down her face. "Oh mum, how do I leave? Angeal said he will kill me if I try to leave him, again... Ohh, what do I do?!"

"Don't worry, my dear. You are my daughter, and I love you and will protect you." Her mother says as she gently wipes her daughter's tears away. "I will not let that violent bastard get to you, Adriana if it's the last thing I do. I promise."

Just as the ghost finishes her sentence, her image begins to fade and grow blurry.

"Mum, you're fading!"

"I know, you're fading too. My connection with the physical world is beginning to fade rapidly. However, there is one more thing that I want to give to you before this contact ends." Her mother says in a more serious tone. "For now."

"What's that?" Adriana says with quizzical teary eyes.

Her mother takes her hand and in it places a chain with a gem. The necklace she gave to her daughter before she died. She told Adriana, she wanted her to have it and wear it always as a reminder and to never forget when she looked at it how much her mother loved her.

The necklace that Angeal had taken and thrown away to test her loyalty and commitment to him. And he knew it meant so much to her.

But he didn't care; Adriana belonged to him.

Adriana looks to see the small silver chained necklace with a beautiful small crystal heart hanging on it.

She looks at her mother, as a warm brightness fills her eyes. "My necklace! How?!"

Adriana's mother lightly chuckles. "I have my ways, my love." She says. "Keep the necklace safe at all times. And please don't let that monster see it."

"I'll hide it from him," Adriana says as she clutches the necklace tightly to her chest in her hand. "I promise."

"I will always be with you, my dear. Always. As long as you wear this necklace, I will protect you."

All of a sudden, a swift look of worry rises on her mother's face. "Now, my daughter, my time is up. I have to go now; I've almost used all the power I can to see you."

Tears begin to form in her daughter's eyes as she begins to beg. "No! Mum, please don't go! I need your help. You can't go!"

"Adriana, I believe in you, and you must believe in yourself." She places her hands on her daughter's face and looks at her for a few seconds. "Please leave this place as soon as you can. Can you promise me, Adriana?"

Adriana nods. "...Yes."

She kisses her daughter on the forehead. "Goodbye, my little princess. I love you so much, and your father does too."

"No mum!" She falls into her mother's arms. "Please don't leave me here. I love you, too. Please!

Her mother smiles at her daughter as she begins to fade away. For the last time, she hugs her daughter.

"I love you, Adriana."

And then...

The ghost disappears.

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