Hello again! I've been in a bit of a creativity rut lately, so I hope that these next two themes aren't too horrible to read. This theme in particular kind of ran away from me, and I tried not to let it turn into a total train wreck. I hope it's not too weird. Please let me know what you think (I may edit/completely replace it in the future, and I'd like to know if you think that's necessary).

Disclaimer applies.


Heaven

Everything was normal the night that Roy and Riza died. The moon had risen, just as it had for billions of years, the nighttime animals ventured out of their homes, and slowly, the silence of the night had set into the land. All along the path to the home that Roy and Riza shared in their retirement, the soft chirping of crickets could be heard, accompanied by the melody the light breeze made through the trees.

Both Roy and Riza died peacefully in their sleep—there was no villainous plot to dispose of the two most beloved leaders in all of Amestris's history, nor was there some morbid plan made by the corpses themselves. Their deaths were much simpler than any of the theories that would abound in Amestris in the following days, months, and years: their wearied bodies, no longer able to support the souls inside of them, had to follow the path that nature intended for all things since the dawning of life itself.

As soon as one of their hearts had stopped beating—it doesn't matter whose, as the end result would have been the same either way—the other also felt the need to cease. Their hearts had been intertwined for so many years, beating the same blood of love and friendship between the two, that they simply did not know how to continue to pulse regularly without feeling some connection to the life-force of the other.

Although Riza had never believed in something as impractical and unattainable as faith, she had heard in many places that death was introduced by a long tunnel that ended in a bright, enveloping light. They claimed that this light was a place called heaven, a place where people lived endlessly, knowing only of peace and happiness. There, enemies forgave each other, everyone was reunited with the people they loved, and any illnesses or defects that a person had suffered in his or her lifetime were eradicated completely. It sounded like an impossibly wonderful, almost magical, place. Riza, being a rational person, had concluded long ago that such a place could not exist.

But that certainly didn't explain her current location. She was in a perfectly green field, spotted colorfully with handfuls of flowers and surrounded by a brilliantly blue sky. It could have been just a part of her dream, but somehow Riza knew that it wasn't. She just had this itching feeling that she was no longer in the physical world, and her instincts were hardly ever wrong. Feeling a presence behind her, she turned around, gasping in shock as her eyes focused upon Roy. It wasn't unusual for him to be in her dreams, but this was different. People in dreams usually looked almost like mirages. Roy, however, seemed far too tangible to be a simple reproduction of her memories. Reaching out her hand, she touched Roy's arm, surprised at how real he felt. Warmth spread through her entire body as she ran her fingers lightly over his skin. "Roy," she whispered, her voice the only noise in this strange place, "where are we?"

He smiled back at her in greeting, and then frowned as he spoke. "I have no idea," he stated, his eyebrows furrowing together, "It's like a dream…like we're somewhere else. But it's way too real. It's not the Portal of Truth, but rather somewhere…bigger, a place where physical things don't matter so much. Everything feels complete here."

Riza nodded in agreement. "I have a theory. And I didn't think I'd ever come to this conclusion about anything, as I'm pretty sure this place doesn't exist. Yet, somehow, it does. We're here, in a land of the impossible made possible."

Roy shrugged. "Who knows? But whatever this place is, I'm glad I'm in it with you." He reached out his hand, which Riza gladly took, as they headed off into this strange new realm. She did not fail to notice that the scars on his palms from the Promised Day so many years ago were inexplicably gone, nor did the feeling of utter tranquility slip her by. She didn't know where she was, but she had a feeling that she would never want to leave.

And as long as Roy was there, too, she was fine with that.