Silent Song

Chapter 24: Blurred Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I do own the original content in here, though.

It felt like someone was squeezing my chest.

I squinted my eyes as the sun glared from the window. The light was blinding, despite it only being barely past early morning. Soon, the sand would heat up, and the air would get uncomfortably hot.

I nodded my head, writing down what Mrs. Materson signed. She had just recently had a heart attack, and we were keeping an eye on her. Her husband and children were all busy down in the mines or farming. I looked her over, deciding that we needed to keep her here for a few more days. I quickly signed that to her, and she nodded in understanding.

"Big Sister!" I twisted my head around, finding Glory sitting in her wheelchair in the doorway. "Mom and Dad are leaving to go to Haborton."

"Okay," I called. "I'll be there in a minute."

Mrs. Materson smiled at me. Doctors going away?

She had probably read Glory's lips. Yes. We need more medical supplies, so they are going to Haborton. They'll be back by tomorrow.

Don't worry, she answered. You'll do fine on your own.

I wasn't worried, but I still replied, Thank you.

I closed the door behind me, and basically sprinted to the front yard. My mother and father were getting the horses ready for the trip, tightening their harnesses and giving them water. Glory was sitting on top of Fern, stroking her mane.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" I heard Glory say to my mother.

"We'll be back, Morning Glory," my father said in return. "Try to memorize the periodic table."

I rolled my eyes. "Dad, Glory's already done that."

My mother turned around, golden hair shining in the sun. "Have you checked on Mrs. Materson?"

I tapped my clipboard, feeling like an adult. "Yep. I gave her some medicine and checked her blood pressure. She's fine for now, but I'll keep an eye in her here."

"I'm proud of you," my mother leaned over and kissed my forehead. "You remind me of someone I knew when I was your age."

"You mean yourself." My father caught hold of my mother and brought her in for a kiss. I met Glory's gaze, and we both made an "ew" face.

When they finally pulled apart, my father patted Fern, who snapped her teeth at him, and looked at Glory. "Come on, sweetie. We have to get going now."

Glory pouted, and my father laughed. "It's not going to work this time. You know we have to do this."

Glory settled down back in her wheelchair, while my parents sat down in the carriage. I stared up at them, feeling quite small from their elevated position. "You'll get some books, too?"

"I don't know where she gets that from," my father snorted to my mother. She simply rolled her eyes with a, "Get to the point." "Don't you have enough books?"

"No," I whined. "I've read R. Gerald's textbook a dozen times already. Even I have the thing memorized."

My mother shrugged, saying, "We'll do our best", while my father chuckled, "I thought that when we gave her that exam, she would stop asking." I rocked back and forth on my heels, frowning slightly.

"I just want to know as much as I can, so I can take care of this place."

"She gets that from you," my father smiled at my mother, and she returned it, her usually serious eyes softening. "You're strong: you can handle this by yourself."

He flicked the reins, and the horses clopped forward. The carriage rolled past Glory and I, squeaking as they went.

"Bye!" We yelled in unison, voices merging together.

"Take care of each other!" My mother called.

"We'll be back soon!" My father added.

A day passed, and then another. I wasn't too worried, though. Haborton wasn't terribly far away, but bad conditions could prolong the trip.

That day, Glory and I were sitting in the waiting room of the house, idly playing card games. Except for poker. I had gotten good at the game, taking a large sum of money from the others. Unfortunately for me, my parents had found out, and forced me to return the money, along with a promise to never play it again.

"Put the seven of clubs on the fifth stack," Glory suggested, leaning over to inspect my game of solitaire. "Then move that to the first stack."

I eyed the cards, then pinched the bridge of my nose. "Nah. I'm missing an eight."

Glory blew out a sigh, obviously bored. Alex and the others had offered us to go sand-boarding earlier, but I had turned it down to watch over the clinic. I sighed in return, hoping our parents would come home soon. I would be driven crazy if all I did was sit around all day.

Suddenly, I heard the clip-clop of hooves in the front of the house. I ran to the door, and flung it open, expecting to see my parents. But only Fern and Daisy, our two horses, greeted us.

They were frantic, whinnying and shrieking. I approached them slowly, speaking in a low voice to calm them. Once they let me approach them, I grabbed their reins. I stroked their manes, and eventually, they stopped freaking out.

I frowned as I inspected them. The harnesses were ripped and their saddles were falling off. The carriage must have been disconnected from it. But one thing troubled me the most: where were my parents?

A sense of dread began to fill me. The desert was a harsh place. Occasionally, a traveler would get lost in it, and die of dehydration. Merchants would find their bodies there, but once in a while, they would find a survivor. They were often delirious-out of their minds-and die soon after they were brought here.

"Where are Mom and Dad?" Glory had come out of the house. She was staring at me with wide eyes full of worry.

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "Only the horses came back."

Glory gripped the sides of her chair. "You don't think they got lost in the desert?"

I bit my lip. She had just voiced the worry I wouldn't dare say out loud. I tried to think rationally, to use the calm that came over me when I was with a patient. But all I could think of were the ways to die in a desert.

"If they did," I finally choked out. "They'll know how to survive."

Her fingers toyed with the collar of her shirt, something she did when she became worried. Just by watching her, I became more anxious. Finally, I said, "I'll go ask some people to look for them. I'll be back in an hour."

Glory nodded silently, and I readjusted the horses' saddles. I hopped on to Daisy's back-Fern bit everyone except for Glory- and nudged her to move. She flicked her ears, a strange signal for Fern to follow us.

I returned the horses their stall, and set off into the town. Whisking around a few stalls, I spotted Mr. Kirth. He acted as a guide for inexperienced merchants, and knew the desert like the back of his hand. He would know what to do.

"Mr. Kirth!" I cupped my hands around my mouth to amplify the sound.

He turned with a start, surprised to see who was calling him. When he saw it was me, his mouth settled back into the straight line it was usually in.

"Good afternoon," he said gruffly. Mr. Kirth wasn't the friendliest person alive, but he was willing to help if someone needed it. "What can I do for you?"

"My parents went to Haborton to restock our supplies," I said as I approached him. I didn't begin with a salutation- cutting straight to the chase as I usually did. "They haven't come back yet."

"There could have been a holdup," he answered calmly. "Haborton's pretty busy."

"It's not just that," I argued. "The horses came back without my mother or my father. They were spooked." I stopped for a moment, then corrected myself. "They, meaning the horses."

"Yes, I got that," Despite my words, Mr. Kirth was still calm. "But that's not good. I'll go see who can search for them in the desert."

I thanked him, and returned to my house. Glory had taken over my game of solitaire, much to my dismay. All the cards I had put down had been moved around, messing up what I had been working on.

"Glory!" I cried, temporarily forgetting about my worries. "I thought I told you not to touch them."

"No, you didn't," she answered without looking up. "I can tell you the exact words you used, though." That was her trump card when it came to things like this.

Quickly, I changed the subject. "Mr. Kirth said that he would look for Mom and Dad."

I immediately regretted moving the topic to that. Glory finally glanced up at me, and I could see her hands creeping up to fidget with her collar again. "Mr. Kirth is looking for them? That can't be good."

"No, no, no," I waved my hands around frantically. "I'm sure that he's doing it because I bothered him about it."

Glory paid no attention to me, mumbling to herself, "He doesn't do anything so quickly unless it's an emergency."

I blinked. It was strange how Glory always took note of such subtle things. I never would have noticed something like that. My father did often say that I would see more if I talked less.

My mouth went dry. If I told Glory that our parents were going to be okay, I felt as if I would be lying, to her and myself. Lies made me feel guilty, so I disliked saying them.

Someone knocking on the door cut through the tense silence. I was grateful for it, and opened it. Mr. Kirth greeted me with a grave face.

My heart began pounding, but I kept my expression hopeful. "Did you find them?"

Slowly, he shook his head. "No."

"What do you mean, 'no'?!" I cried out. "Did you even look for them?"

He shook his head again. "Before I could, someone came into town."

"Who was it?" I asked, still frantic.

"Someone from Haborton," he answered. "Near there, they found your parents' carriage."

My eyes widened, dreading what he was going to say next.

"It was overturned. When they searched inside, your parents," he paused, looking lost for words. "They were dead."

A choking noise from behind me cut him off. I whirled around and saw Glory sitting on her wheelchair. She had come up without me noticing, and heard Mr. Kirth's news. Tears were flowing down her cheeks, her shoulders shaking.

I knelt down in front of her, and she leaned over, burying her head in my shoulder. My eyes stung, water blurring my vision, but I refused to let the tears out.

I turned my head back to Mr. Kirth, who was watching us with a downcast expression. My voice near a whisper, I asked, "Did they bring them back?"

He was genuinely shocked by the question, eyes widening. After what felt like an eternity, he answered, "Yes. The messenger brought them back. He's right out here."

"Let me see them." I stood up, gently brushing away the hair that stuck to Glory's face from the tears.

"I can't let you do that," he cried. "It's not a good idea. You're too y-"

My glare cut him off. In a cold voice, I said to him, "I've seen dead bodies before. I've seen people die in front of me. I can handle this." Mr. Kirth was speechless, and I pushed past him. "But make sure Glory doesn't see anything."

Glory didn't help out around the clinic very often, so she wasn't used to death. Besides, she was already upset enough, and seeing our parents' bodies would push her off the edge. If anyone was too young, it was her.

I stepped outside, seeing a horse-drawn wagon. I walked to them, but the man on the horse stopped me. "Miss, there's nothing to see here."

"They're my parents. I have the right to see them."

I skirted around the man's arm, approaching the cart. He didn't try to stop me again, instead unhooking the back so I could see past it.

Despite what I had insisted, I wanted to make sure it were my parents that were back there. A white sheet was covering what was underneath, but I could tell there were two bodies. However, the sheet didn't lay over everything. That was when my heart stopped altogether.

Hands, pale and unmoving, were protruding from the edge of the sheet. One was tanned, and scarred from years of fighting. The other was slender and smooth, long fingers of a doctor. A ring glinted at me. It was my mother's wedding ring

I didn't have to uncover the sheet to see them. I didn't want to. I knew what would greet me: mangled bodies and cold faces.

My parents were dead.

They were buried the next day. There was no wake: rot was accelerated by the heat and the corpses would be too gruesome to see, anyways.

It seemed like a dream. Everyone was wearing black, and all the cheerful faces I would usually see were twisted in grief. Many people were crying, but I was not one. Even when I read the eulogy, I was frozen inside. I had spent the whole night arranging the funeral, writing the eulogy, and consoling Glory. Every time I felt the urge to cry, I stared up at the sky, willing the tears away.

I had to stay strong for my sister.

"Happy birthday, Lark!" I narrowly dodged a chunk of whipped cream aimed at my face.

"Don't do that!" I chastised Lily. "I have to clean that up!"

Lily tossed her hair. "Whatever, Mom."

About five months had passed since my parents had gone, and life had regained a bit if it's normalcy. I no longer had to hold back tears, for there were no more. Besides, I was busy all the time. I was the only one running the clinic, aside from a few helpers every once in a while, and that was very difficult. Most of the time I had, I spent inside the house. However, today was my birthday, and my friends had stopped by to celebrate it.

"So, how does it feel?" Allie cut in as I glared at her sister.

"How does what feel?" I questioned, nudging the whipped topping away from Lily.

"Being thirteen. You know, a teenager."

Davis rolled his eyes. "She's practically an adult right now. She just skipped past the being a teenager."

"Hey," I said, putting my hands on my hips. "I'm right here."

Alex nudged me. "You look like my mom right now."

I blew out an exasperated sigh and sat down. I motioned at the sweets lying in front of me. "Just eat the cake before Lily decides to destroy it."

Watching my friends, I got a warm feeling inside. I hadn't seen them in a long time, and missed joking around with them. They all dove into the cake like vultures. I saw Glory giggle when she spotted frosting on Davis's nose, and blush when he attempted to lick it off.

Davis noticed I was watching them, and scowled at me. I smiled despite myself, looking away. Feeling a little left out, I struck up a conversation with Alex.

"So how's your leg?"

He blushed, skin turning a light pink. "It's okay, thanks to you."

A week ago, Alex had gotten pricked by a poisonous cactus. It wasn't deadly, but the wound swelled very badly, like a balloon about to pop. He had come to me to treat it, and I had to strip him down to his underwear to get a good look.

I hadn't been too affected by it, having seen men in less than their underwear before, but Alex had turned the bright red of a tomato. We laughed it off later, yet I knew he was still embarrassed by it.

I couldn't help chuckling at his awkward expression. "You're welcome. It wasn't that big of a deal- it was just weird how much trouble I had cutting off your pants."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lily give a sharp look. Before I could decipher what emotion it was, she had turned away. I tilted my head, a little confused, but brushed it off.

"I guess that's a good thing," Alex laughed in return, color deepening. "At least I didn't get swindled by the cloth merchant. My mom got pretty mad because you destroyed it, though."

The rest of the evening passed by in a blur. It wasn't like my parents' funeral, where I had not been in a clear mind: this night was full of laughter and light, surrounded by the people that I cared about. Inside, the piece of my heart left empty by my parents was being healed.

Before I knew it, it was late into the night. I was astonished by how quickly the time flew by. One moment, it was seven o'clock in the evening, and the next, it was almost midnight. With a few more jokes, my friend left, leaving just Glory and me.

I sent Glory up to bed, while I cleaned up the mess we had made. To be fair, my friends had tried their best to keep things tidy, but once they got rowdy, they left a trail of destruction. Of course, that may have been my drowsy brain exaggerating things.

After that, I washed up for bed as well. There were no patients in the rooms, so I didn't have to check up on anyone. When I entered our shared bedroom, the moonlight was casting a mixture of shadow and light through the window. I tiptoed past Glory, who appeared to be asleep. Just as I reached for my bedcovers, she sat up.

"I can't sleep."

I turned around to face her. "It's almost the next day. You should try."

"I am," she sighed. "But I can't help thinking of Mom and Dad."

Glory seemed to miss them more than I did. Not that I didn't, but my work kept my mind busy. I sat down on Glory's bed and stroked her hair. "Yeah, our first birthday without them. It feels different."

"Remember that one year, when we had to quarantine Mr. Forhey?"

"How can I not?" I answered, smiling at the memory. "Mom and Dad made me take care of him all by myself so they could test me. He had these brownish-purple spots all over him. I cured him, but it was the weirdest birthday present I've ever gotten."

Glory giggled. "I shouldn't have brought that up. Now I really can't fall asleep."

I thought for moment, knowing full well that if Glory couldn't fall asleep, then I would end up spending the whole night talking to her. Then, something came up in my mind.

"How about I sing that lullaby Mom used to sing us?"

"Sure. I guess that'll help."

"I hope it'll sound right," I thought aloud. I didn't sing too often, but I always hummed to myself while working. Silence made me uncomfortable, and it was my way of dealing with it. Also, to tell the truth, I liked to singing, but I would never admit it out loud. "My voice isn't as good as Mom's."

"I think it's better," Glory insisted. "People are always quiet when you're humming."

Encouraged by her words, I cleared my throat. "I hope so."

"Hold me close and hold me fast

The magic spell you cast

This is la vie en rose."

"When you kiss me heaven sighs

And though I close my eyes

I see la vie en rose."

"When you press me to your heart

I'm in a world apart

A world where roses bloom."

"And when you speak...angels sing from above

Everyday words seem...to turn into love songs."

I paused for a moment, seeing Glory's eyes flutter.

"Give your heart and soul to me

And life will always be

La vie en rose."

I hoped it always would be.

It was a cloudy day, about a month before my fourteenth birthday. The overcast sky was strange for a day in August, but it reflected my mood.

As usual, I had woken up before Glory, washed up, and made breakfast. Just like every day, before I gave the patients their breakfast, I would give Glory's hers.

When I came into our room, I found Glory standing by the side table, gripping it to keep herself up. Her body was shaking uncontrollably as she tried to support herself. With a cry, I set down the tray, and grabbed her.

"What were you thinking?" I scolded as I helped her back on to her bed.

"I wanted to come downstairs to make breakfast with you."

"I told you: you're not strong enough." Glory's health had been deteriorating ever since our parent's death, and quickly become bedridden. Just one step was enough to tire her out, and she was constantly coughing. Everyday became a struggle for us.

"Mom and Dad used to let me." She insisted. "Why won't you?"

"I already said," I put my hands on my hips. "You'll hurt yourself."

"Stop babying me!" Glory suddenly snapped. I flinched, shocked by her bold behavior. She was breathing hard, and looked another word away from having an attack.

I tried to stay calm, keeping eye contact with her. "I'm not babying you. I'm just afraid something bad will happen to you."

Glory glared at me, eyes scorching. "Mom and Dad never made just stay in bed all day. I didn't have to have somebody feed me every day. You act like I'm useless."

Something inside of me snapped, and I felt anger toward her. I was always busy and worrying, but now, all Glory could talk about was our parents. It had been two years already.

"Well, Mom and Dad aren't with us, now," I spat. "I'm sorry that I can't do everything like them. Guess I'm not perfect like them!"

Glory made no reply, which only served to make me angrier.

"You can't compare me to them all the time! They've been gone for two years now, Glory. You have to move on!"

"That's easy for you to say!" She yelled out. "You never cared about them as much as I do. You didn't even cry when they died! Not even at the funeral!"

I felt as if I had been slapped. Was that how I really was?

"Glory-" I started, but she cut me off.

"You don't know how much they did for us! You didn't even love them!"

"You don't know how much I've done!" I argued back. Glory's accusations stung. She didn't know anything about me. "I'm learning to live without them. If I don't, who will? Not you!"

Glory grabbed her blankets, and flipped over to face the wall. I let out a frustrated shriek. Furiously, I stomped out of the room. Before I closed the door, I looked back at her. She was still staring at the wall.

"Fine! Be that way! See if I care!" I slammed the door shut behind me, enough so that the floor shook.

Still growling, I shuffled downstairs and got the food ready for the patients. Halfway through, I realized I heard Glory coughing up a fit. I wanted to go back, but she would have sent me away. If she wanted to be, Glory was as stubborn as a mule. There was no shaking her when her mind was set.

I shook off the scowl that was in my face, carefully arranging it into a peaceful expression. After all, if I went to see the patients with an angry face, then I would agitate them. That was not the environment I was trying to create.

I made my rounds, idly chatting with them while checking their health. I only had two people, both in for snake bites. They were doing well, so I sent them home after breakfast.

Everybody seemed to be on their best behavior that day. Not many people came by, and by noon, I had only made a cast for a broken arm. It was a good thing that nobody was getting hurt, but that made me bored.

By the time lunch came, I was beginning to regret my actions. Glory was cooped up all day, so she bound to get fed up. Perhaps I did baby her, but it was only to protect her. The maternal instinct was imbedded in me, making it impossible to do otherwise. Maybe I was overcompensating for our parents' absence.

While holding a tray of food, I knocked on the door, fully prepared to give her an apology. There was no answer, so I knocked again.

"Go away."

"Look, Glory," I started. "I'm really sorry for what I said-"

"Just go." I heard some rustling inside the room. I took a step closer, hand reaching for the doorknob. "Please."

I stopped my hand, mulling over whether or not to open the door. Finally, I decided to do what Glory told me. I may have forgiven her, but that didn't mean she was ready to.

"Okay," I said as I set the tray next to the door. "Your lunch is outside here. I'll be in the waiting room if you need me."

There was no answer as I walked away. My heart sank, and I wondered if I had done permanent damage to my sister's and my relationship.

I walked up the stairs, my shoes clacking against the hard floorboards. It was the only sound in the house. I didn't even try to quiet my steps: silence was unnerving to me.

I edged the bottom of the door with my foot, finding that it was still closed. No light stretched through the crack, telling me that Glory had not turned on the lights. Strange. She normally didn't like being alone in the dark. To add to that, her lunch was still against the wall, cold and untouched.

I balanced the plate on one hand, and knocked on the door. I stayed quiet for a few moments, waiting for a reply. No response. I rapped on the door again, this time more insistently, but still got no response.

"Glory?" I called. There wasn't even a rustling in the room.

I grabbed the knob and opened the door, feeling bad that I was intruding. I was worried that she hadn't responded: there was no other choice. The room was dark, with only moonlight shining through the window. I could see Glory on the bed, a shape in the blankets. It was too dark to see her face.

I flicked on the lights, blinking as the brightness hit me. "Glory," I said again.

She still didn't move, not even stirring when I called her. I began to worry, and crossed over to her side of the room.

"Are you awake?"

I touched her arm, shocked to find it cold. "No, no, no," I muttered as I watched her chest for the gentle movement of breathing. "Please just be sleeping." Nothing.

I grasped her small wrist, feeling for a pulse. Her hands were cold, and her skin was pale. And there was no pulse.

Her body was stiff and white as the sheet and so cold to the touch. Rigor mortis, pallor mortis, algor mortis, my mind whispered to me.

All signs of death.

"Glory, stop joking around," I cried, shaking her. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean all those things I said!"

She couldn't hear me. She was gone. And by the looks of it, had been gone for a couple of hours. She was no longer with me, and I was all alone.

I didn't want to be alone.

Everything became blurred again. This time, it wasn't from ignorance, or the illusion of time passing quickly. The emotions clouded my mind, my body moving without me thinking of it. Or perhaps I had been thinking, but with a touch of madness.

The next thing I knew, I was down in the basement. A complex transmutation circle was drawn, with Glory in the center. Chalk was all over my fingers, proving that I was the one who had done this. I didn't know how I did it, or even where I had seen the transmutation circle before.

All I knew was that I was going to bring my sister back.

And I activated the circle. A beautiful blue light filled the room, illuminating the darkness. I felt the thrill of alchemy running through my veins, the power that compelled me. I watched the light envelop my sister, breathing life back into her.

That was where everything went wrong.

The sparks became crimson, violent flashes of red. Lightning seemed to crackle from the circle, but instead of brightening the room, it seemed to darken it. Something wasn't right.

I felt something brush against me, and looked down. A large eye had opened up underneath me, a stare penetrating my skin. Shadowy hands reached up at me, grabbing at every part of me. I screamed, but the shadows entered my mouth, choking me.

Then I was flying through light, propelled by an unknown force. The light became images, and those images became knowledge. And that knowledge imprinted itself into my brain. Alchemy-everything about it-unraveled itself in my mind. I suddenly understood all the comprehension, deconstruction, and reconstruction.

A figure made of red light appeared before me. Instinctively, I knew it was my sister. I reached for her, wispy arms still holding on to me.

"Glory!"

The figure stretched her arm out toward me, but then stopped. Instead, she raised her hand in a small wave, saying good bye.

"Glory-!"

The shadows wrapped themselves around my neck, tugging insistently. They began forcing their way into my throat, reaching for something. I clawed at them, wanting to get free, wanting to go after my sister.

The red figure had begun retreating, but once she saw what was happening to me, she moved back at me. I thrashed against the hands, pain bursting around my throat. The light became so bright, so brilliant, I was blinded by it. All I saw was the red light, holding out a delicate hand.

The light disappeared, and I was back in my dimly lit basement. A sharp pain radiated from my throat, nearly knocking me out. My body was weak, but I managed to hold myself up. I squinted in the darkness, searching for the center of the circle.

I finally caught the form in the circle, seeing it stir. I had done it! I had done the impossible! Glory was alive!

I tried to call to her, but pain dug its ugly claws into me. I almost curled up on to the floor, but managed to stay upright. I wanted to see my sister.

Crawling on my hands and knees, I moved to Glory. The pain that had immobilized me before was numbed by my excitement and anticipation. I stopped a foot away from my sister, dizziness sweeping over me. Suddenly, the body began to convulse.

Through my unsteady vision, I finally saw Glory. But the way she stared at me was vacant. The body jerked, as if she was having a seizure. Unintelligible words flew out of her mouth, hurried and panicked. Foam was rising out from her lips.

I snapped out of my dull state, finally noticing what was happening around me. The scent of blood was thick in the air, most concentrated around me. The front of my body was wet and warm, and a metallic taste was over my tongue. The blood was coming from me.

Dreadful agony was slicing at my throat, and every time I breathed, blood sprayed into my mouth. I could feel the liquid trickling down my skin. My throat had been slit, and if I didn't stop it, I would bleed to death.

My attention was still mostly on the flailing body, but the wail it let out just then commanded my full attention. I watched in horror as blood began to spill out of every open orifice. Scarlet spattered all over, coming from her mouth, her nose, her ears.

I screamed. At least, I tried to. Air just whooshed past, and blood spurted into my mouth. Pain wracked my body, and I retched out more of the crimson liquid. My vision was darkening, not just because of the lack of light in the room.

I had two choices: either go save my sister, or save myself. I didn't have time to do both. I knew that in a perfect world, I would choose my sister over myself, but I wasn't perfect. Almost by instinct, I clapped my hands together. With much difficulty, I placed them on my throat. Blue light flooded my vision, and the torment died down.

The body stopped convulsing, collapsing on to the floor. Ignoring every cell in my body shrieking at me to run away, I moved to her.

Red liquid spilled out of her eyes, which were blank and unblinking. The chest didn't rise or fall anymore. Her fingers twitched, and then stopped.

My hands flew over her body, checking for signs of life. Other than the fading warmth, there was none.

I had failed.

The dam that I had built finally burst, and tears flooded my vision. I let loose a wail, but there was no sound. Not even a squeak was created. I crued Glory's name, but no sound came out. I knew my lips were forming the words, yet no vibrations hummed. It wasn't the feeling that I got when I had screamed or spoke too much that my vocal folds had been tired out. In fact, it was as if they weren't there at all.

Then, I realized with a pang, they were gone. The ghostly hands in the Gate had taken them away. I would never speak again.

I huddled over my sister's body, sweat and blood and tears all mixing together on the tainted concrete floor. I cried the tears that were there when my parents had died. The very ones that Glory would never see.

These were tears that ran quietly down my face, no sound accompanying them. Silence would be my friend now.

I opened my eyes, surprised to find myself on the top of a tall tree. The events of the past few hours brought a surge of memories back to me, and I had escaped into the safety of the tree. Those memories were ones I didn't want to remember.

After my horrifying transmutation in the basement caused me to breakdown, the usual logic and reason crept into my min. I knew that I couldn't stay down there forever. I had to take care of it myself: no one would ever know what had happened.

What I had done sickened me. I had cleaned off my sister's dead body, and placed it back in her bed. The blood on the concrete floor was washed away, chased by buckets and buckets of water. I burned my crimson-stained clothes, watching as the hungry flames consumed the evidence. The bandana I wrapped around my neck became my mask.

The next morning, I alerted the villagers that my sister had died. My story was that she had died in her sleep, and I had found her there that morning. My grief had been so strong, that I had become mute. Deceit became easier for me: I didn't have a voice that gave away the truth.

But now, Edward and Alphonse's accusations hurt. I had lied to them, but for different reasons. Despite the fact that I already knew Envy, I had never worked with the homunculi. Envy had tricked me, and that made me angry.

That anger wasn't the first thing on my mind. Finally, after making what seemed to be the hardest decision of my life, I dangled my legs from the branch and let out a sigh. I had to tell them the truth.

I found them on the balcony of the building, staring into space. As I closed the door shut behind me, they looked at me tiredly. Neither of them spoke a word.

I am sorry, I signed.

Al was the first to react. "We know you're not working with the homunculi, and I'm sorry for accusing you for it. And I know why you helped him escape: He reminded you of your sister."

I froze momentarily. Yes. I have not been truthful with you.

They became silent again, and resisting the urge to shrink away, I continued.

Glory was not physically healthy. We always had to take special care of her. When my parents died, her wellness began to go downhill. I couldn't do anything about it, and eventually, she died.

My hands were shaking. I tried human transmutation to bring her back. The Gate took my voice in equivalent exchange. But the transmutation failed.

I stopped, blinking away tears as I remembered the feeling of loss and uselessness. I had failed in protecting my sister, and I had failed in bringing her back. The loss of my vocal cords was a punishment for my foolishness.

"I understand," Ed finally spoke up. "But you didn't have to hide it from us. We could have helped. We have to stick together, so we don't get hurt any more. You're our friend and you can trust us."

"Yeah," Al added. "We'll always be by your side."

It felt as if the weight had been lifted from my chest.

Thank you.

Apologies for the late update. I just started watching Free! and kinda neglected proofreading this story. And of course, when I finally did proofread it, I ended up changing half the story. Oh, the pain of being a writer.

I can't tell you guys how long I've been waiting to write this story and release it to you. It was the first scene that came into my mind when I first got the concept of the story, and I've been dying to compose it. I mean, this went through a lot of changes until I finally got this. I really do hope you like it.

The song that Lark sang to Glory is called La Vie en Rose. It's originally sung in French, la vie en rose translating to "life in rosy hues" or "life in pink". I used the Cristin Milioti version that she sang in How I Met Your Mother, though the original singer is Édith Piaf. It's a lovely song, and the Cristin Milioti rendition you can find the link in my bio.

Thanks to those who reviewed, followed, and favorited this story. To those who didn't: Please do so!