True Destiny
By Soul Hunter
"Everything is as it should be..."
Chapter Five
His was the resolve of sheer single-mindedness. Caring for nothing and no one, he pursued his craft with dogged persistence and unfazed devotion. For him, nothing can be more important than the end result. The search for new knowledge was both the means and the ends. This was his belief, the guiding principle that had shaped his soul from the day he first took heed of his curiosity. He lived for the quest and reveled at the answers.
No amount of scruples swayed him; no measure of ethics bore weight for him. If one got in the way of his search, he will go around it or through it. Not realizing the sad life that he led, he fabricated false fulfillment in his discoveries. He lived for the hunt, and took pride in this fact.
As his watchful eyes guarded the gauges and observed the sine waves, his thin lips formed the shape of what appeared to be a smile. Again, he was on the road to a new discovery, a fresh set of virgin knowledge born of his most recent machinations. However, his contented disposition was disturbed by an unexpected feedback. An awareness backlash. But this was not a contingency that will catch him off-guard. His wrinkled hands moved to a knob and, with one slight twist set the world right once more.
----------
This was perhaps what Squall can consider as unprecedented. He didn't think he could recall an actual time when he felt this giddy in going for the endpoint of a short trek from the cool, carpeted floors to the wet, tiled embankment. Heart pounding with anticipation, he removed the last of his personal article before sweeping the obstructive artificial fabric blocking his way.
His excitement then became replaced by perturbation. Squall couldn't have imagined a feeling of shock this immense as he set his eyes on the shapely figure being engulfed by the dense condensation.
"Q-Quisty?"
Quistis momentarily disturbed her ecstatic trance under the hypnotic torrent to throw an inviting look at her husband, noting the confused expression painted on his comely face.
"Honey, are you okay? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Wha? Uhh" He stammered, totally confounded by this foreign sensation. Quistis chuckled, amused at his facial cast.
"Come on, honey. It's not like this is the first time you saw me like this."
Her gesture was almost mesmerizing, and quite certainly beguiling as she boldly rested her two arms to the sides of her body. Consequently, Squall squinted his eyes in feeling the arcane sensation retreating. Perceiving an abrupt yet relaxing rush, his facial cast transformed from perplexity to utter elation as he feasted his eyes on the delectable sight standing right in front of him. He then lashed at himself for maintaining the distance.
"You're so beautiful" Squall muttered as he joins Quistis inside the showers. She obliged, and slithered herself around him.
The cloud of steam grew even denser, as if providing the privacy necessary to keep the subsequent scene within closed quarters. But the manifestations of billowing free spirits really cannot be hidden adequately by a mere mass of dusky mist. The surroundings were white, growing steadily and expanding ominously to fill the encapsulated wet chambers with its faintly hissing resonance. It mixed with the blue and pink theme, obscuring each other into a homogenous concoction of shapeless euphoria.
To the naked eye, white fog will always be white fog. But for the vision of the knowledgeable, the white fog can turn bright orange or even furious scarlet, manifesting crystal clear signs of the devastating wildfire raging uncontrollably within the misleading calm. Gentle love reconciled in irony with ferocious passion, making this phenomenon the one and only instance where those two contrasting embodiments can possibly coexist. In this instant, they cohabited in a pseudo-symbiotic state, making one possible by the existence of the other. Where one did not awaken, the other continued to slumber. Where one became absent, the other died.
The expensive tiles protected themselves with their innate smoothness as violent claws made powerful by passion ground against its unyielding properties. Hungry chasms slammed into each other, struggling and groping with tremendous vacuum force in their vain attempts to consume the other. Tender yet wide vines reached out, coil and then recoil, each one staging an intrusion with the goal of fully delving into the other's territory in hopes of claiming it as its own. Jagged gates closed in, dangerously tight yet cautiously amiable, wary of inflicting unnecessary damage to the other chasm's first line of defense.
And where there was one, now there are many. Collaborating beads became scattered by the undulating planetoids trapped within their fluid grasps. The unyielding boundary of the universe became offended by reiterating blows caused by warring worldlings too enraptured to let go and too bewitched to surrender. And yet, as the worlds waged these ravaging collisions, their insatiable fury caused their cores to grow unstable. Raging forces were spawned, making imminent a liberation of incendiary energies.
The conflagration then culminated in a white wail.
Quistis smiled. She pondered deeply, thinking that she had never been at peace in her whole life as she was at this very moment. Feeling herself, she acknowledged her body's desire to fall in a deep slumber. Yet she fought the magnetic sensation, desiring to savor every moment of this blissful state as she jubilated silently within Squall's comforting arms. Wiggling herself slightly to come in as close as possible to her husband's serene form, Quistis inched her head forward to imprison it within the closed territory by his neck. She then moaned, a soft resonance of immense comfort and contentment.
Squall loved this. He had always loved the feeling of Quistis cuddling against him. He couldn't count the number of times when they shared delightful moments of this communion. And yet somehow, he recognized a certain distinction of this very instant compared to those other times they consummated deep affections for each other on a soft bed. Perhaps it is true marriage brings with it an entirely different and special meaning with the act of lovemaking. Whereas before he merely felt the physical fusion of their bodies coupled with the virtual merging of their hearts, now Squall can't deny the rapturous sensation of their souls' absolute union. He was now, more than ever, truly and undeniably one with the woman he loves. And nothing else had brought greater gladness in his being.
"I love you" He whispered into her ears. "I love you so much"
"I love you too" Quistis tenderly returned together with a gentle kiss on Squall's lips. The words cut deep into every fiber of their vulnerable beings, opening themselves up to a virtual paradise of unadulterated joy and intoxicating tranquillity. There had never been any doubt, but this moment further bolstered their beliefs that the two of them were indeed, made for each other.
Resting her head once more underneath his chin, the instructor inadvertently started to giggle. Wondering, Squall slowly pushed himself slightly away and stared into her pristine blue eyes.
"What's so funny?" He asked with a smile.
"Nothing" She retorted. "I just suddenly remembered the look in your face before when you went in the shower."
"Oh that." Squall came back. And to his consternation, he felt a sudden intrusion of foreboding into his psyche. He recalled what transpired before as Quistis described, and this gave him a somewhat worried disposition. But he tried not to show this to his wife. "Yeah it is funny, isn't it."
"Tell me about it." She chuckled. "You really looked like an ignorant schoolboy. Like it's your first time to see a naked woman up close."
"Uh huh" He trailed off, wondering why his sense of disquietude was growing.
"But that's alright." The instructor continued, closing her eyes in the process. "I thought that was so cute anyway"
Squall chose not to answer anymore, worried that his disturbed mood might manifest and ruin her wife's frame of mind. Attempting to shake off the nagging feeling, he instead discerned the true cause of that strange cognizance much to his dismay.
It puzzled him to no end, and he couldn't put a finger on why during the brief seconds right before joining Quistis inside the shower room, Squall was actually expecting to see someone else.
----------
Sleepy eyelids struggled to stay open amidst the cold field of intrusive air seeping into their room from the north side of Balamb country. The chilling sensation she felt was immense and almost irresistible, stubbornly coaxing her to spend the second to pull him by her side once more on the king-sized bed.
But Rinoa decided against her compulsion, keeping in mind a more pressing agenda that needed to be attended to in this new day. Briefly checking her gold-studded wristwatch, she then turned her gaze back to her dashing husband who at that time was busy grooming the last of the unkempt ends of his stately SeeD uniform. She checked her watch once more. It was now time to move.
"Munchkin, hold on a sec while I take a shower, okay?"
Seifer turned to her with a squinting look. "Honey, the shuttle is about to leave in thirty minutes. Xu will throw a fit if I'm late again." He was referring to the SeeD service transport that will take him and a score of other SeeDs to Balamb town, where they will board an official Garden personnel carrier that will take them to Deling City for another three months of liaison duty.
Of course, if he could have it his way, Seifer would rather stay with his wife. Especially on this day that he sensed an unusual longing for her after the thoughts playing in his mind of what his best friend and Garden's former lead instructor were doing at this very moment. He then sighed heavily, acknowledging that duty must come first.
"Forget about Xu. It'll only take me a minute." Rinoa came back before running to the bathroom.
Hardly fifteen minutes elapsed before the pair was seen traversing the familiar halls of Balamb Garden. As they emerged from the dormitory section, Seifer instinctively veered to the left for his scheduled trek to the parking lot. He was then mildly startled when Rinoa suddenly tugged on him.
"This way, my handsome knight."
"Huh?"
"Let's have some breakfast first."
"But Rinoa" He echoed, impatiently looking at his watch.
"" She flashed a cute pout which persuaded him to lovingly acquiesce to her request.
While walking toward the cafeteria, Seifer noted the unusual silence of the normally bustling first level halls. Checking his watch, he wondered even more. It was already too late for most everyone to still be in bed, but too early for the students to already be organizing themselves for the first period. The approach to the cafeteria entrance subsequently made him dismiss his curious perception.
He stepped inside, and froze abruptly on his tracks.
"SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!"
Rinoa just flashed a cute smirk when Seifer turned to her with the look of extreme astonishment in his face. Before them, the cafeteria was filled with a multitude of students, nearly all of them clad in the same stately SeeD garment he was wearing. His stupefaction intensified when the crowd rose to a deafening applause as he slowly walked into the mess hall. Stunned, Seifer wandered his eyes around, not knowing whether to feel happy, proud or annoyed at this puzzling moment.
From behind the jubilant congregation, Cid and Edea Kramer emerged bearing a small, velvety box.
"Headmaster Matron what is all this?" Seifer asked.
But instead of giving him an answer, Cid simply walked up to him with the diminutive box. Nonchalantly tipping the upper lid open, the beaming Headmaster took out what appears to be a button, sparkling radiantly with minute traces of precious gems studded on the distinctive seal of the illustrious SeeD mercenary corps. Seifer looked on, the hue of confusion lingering on his scarred visage as Cid promptly fastened the icon on the right chest area of his uniform.
"Squall never had this because of the circumstances surrounding his appointment." The Headmaster began. "But I thought the next one to assume the post should have something to represent the immensity of his responsibility."
"What do you" Seifer mumbled, briefly looking back at his radiantly smiling wife. " mean?"
Edea then took it as a cue and walked toward him, planting a soft kiss on his cheeks before turning her attention to the crowd gathered before them. Smiling back at everyone, the former sorceress clasped her hands together prior to a grand announcement.
"Friends, let's all welcome your new SeeD Commander."
The applause intensified even more and was even peppered by jubilant whoops and hollers. And for Seifer, nothing could possibly have prepared him for this totally unexpected turn of events. Consequently, he couldn't avoid recalling the period of turmoil that he himself helped to further with his ill-advised decision of pursuing his deluded dreams. And again, he felt the onslaught of guilt for his misguided deeds. He wanted so much to redeem himself, to extricate his soul from this crushing self-reprisal. He did the unthinkable, and swallowed his pride in front of Squall, Headmaster Cid and all who were most affected by his past malevolence. All he ever wanted to do was atone for his sins.
Being accepted back within Garden's folds is one thing. Being friends with his long time rival as well as his loyal crew was another. But being appointed the new commander of SeeD? Seifer spent a few seconds to look for Zell, Selphie and Xu, people he knew he will be stepping over if he does decide to accept this commission.
All three were right in front of the throng, all three applauding more enthusiastically than everyone else. He searched his heart for a possible cognizance of hypocrisy among the troika. He sensed none. Somehow, the erstwhile prodigal son knew that their ebullience was indeed sincere.
Seifer started to despise himself for the beads starting to sprout from his sentiment-strained eyes. Nothing could have touched his heart so. This was unquestionably the greatest moment in his life to date. And he subsequently lets all in on his mind by emotionally wrapping a grateful embrace around the woman they call Matron. Slightly surprised herself, Edea nevertheless welcomed his heartfelt expression of gratitude.
"Hush, my child. You know you deserve this"
"But Matron, the things I did"
"Are all forgotten, Seifer." Edea comforted him with her perennially compassionate way of talking. "If I can forgive myself for the carnage I allowed to happen, you can certainly do the same to yourself. And that's all we are asking of you, Seifer. Once and for all, forgive yourself."
Seifer pondered deeply. It was high time to completely erase the past he had compulsively been lugging around. And nothing could have affirmed this more than the convergence of Irvine, Selphie, Zell, Xu, and his loving wife, Rinoa, to give him their sincere well wishes.
In one brief but mildly tense moment, Seifer preemptively offered Zell his hands. The latter responded by throwing his arms around his former tormentor, much to the intense adulation of all.
----------
"Good afternoon, sir. Would you care for some chilled Fasticolon cubes? They are quite heavenly."
Rousing himself from his near-sleep, Squall lifted his dark glasses up to give himself a better view of the roaming courtesy girl standing beside him. He then stretched up to gawk at the contents of her tray.
"You serve Fasticolons here? Geez, I didn't even know they were edible."
He looked back at the girl and noticed her winking at him.
"What's your name?" She asked with her most charming smile.
A bout of discomfort consequently engulfed the former SeeD, causing him to toss a glance at his wife who was presently at the beach information booth a few yards away.
"Uh Squall." He obliged reluctantly. The girl responded with an even more flirtatious smirk, accompanied by a slick flip of her wrists to brush her curly blonde hair aside.
"Hi, I'm Terra." She returned. "Listen, I get off in a few minutes, but my brother won't be picking me up until dinner time. Perhaps you'd want to keep me company until then?"
An amused smile formed across Squall's lips while shaking his head in resignation. Terra's face then turned cherry red when he pointed his left index finger toward the wedding ring on his right hand.
"Oh oh I'm so sorry I didn't know" the courtesy girl stammered. "You look too young and handsome to be married is all."
"Well, thanks. But I did get married only the other day." He chuckled.
Squall was still smiling egotistically a few minutes after Terra left. Resting his head back on the soft fabric of his oversized towel, he was subsequently startled by the sudden arrival of Quistis.
"I saw that." She began, mocking a look of suspicion. "So who's your new friend?"
"Oh, just some girl who can't help being captivated by your husband's irresistible charm."
"And since when did you become such a windbag?" Quistis came back as she leaned on top of Squall's torso. He just smiled back to give her a subtle tease. And as she lingered on top of him, the instructor slowly felt the incoming urge to ask him back to their hotel room. But rapidly flapping reverberations disturb her aroused thoughts, as the mild breeze started to blow over the newspaper she took from the information booth. Lifting herself up, she eagerly grabbed the papers and brandished a small corner column to her husband.
"Hey, have you heard about this?"
Squall read the column title and consequently felt an abrupt wave of excitement.
"'Balamb Garden Appoints New SeeD Commander'?" He blurted out. "Hey it's Seifer! They chose him to be my replacement!"
"Yeah." The instructor concurs. "Isn't that wonderful?"
"Yep, sure is." Squall concurred, projecting a sincere message to his wife that he couldn't be happier with the new appointment. "We should give him a call."
"Uh huh" Quistis sighed. "Funny, isn't it? Only a couple of years ago you two were like a lit match and a powder keg. Who would have thought you'd end up being the way you are right now?"
"Yeah. And what's even funnier is I don't even know how all this rivalry thing started. I can remember as far back as the time we both entered Garden but there's really nothing special that happened that could possibly turn us into enemies."
Quistis nodded at Squall in agreement. "Well, it probably dates way back when we were all in the orphanage."
All of the sudden, a strange yet familiar confusion gripped Squall anew. It was the same puzzling feeling he felt the night before, the same bewilderment that gave him much restlessness and agitation. He then trained perplexed eyes on Quistis.
"Orphanage?" He snapped back. "I was in an orphanage?"
"Heh, very funny, Squall." She blurted out in assuming that her husband was just kidding. However, the prolonged confusion on his face inadvertently told Quistis that Squall was dead serious. "Huh? Of course you were. We were all together in Matron's house, remember?"
"What? How can that be?" He shot back, his anxiety growing by the minute. "As far as I know, only orphans are sent to an orphanage. And I'm not an orphan. I grew up with my mom and dad"
End of Chapter Five
Chapter Six
He was exhausted. He thought, perhaps he had never been exhausted in his entire life. Recalling the series of events that transpired during the previous two days, Irvine chuckled at the amusingly rare succession of landmark celebrations Garden has had in those two days. First there was Squall and Quistis' grand wedding day. And he has yet to catch his breath when the news of Seifer's ascension to the prestigious post of SeeD commander warranted another wild bash that reached its peak just a few hours ago.
The gunman paused briefly to assess his condition. He still felt limp, owing to that party last night celebrating Seifer's promotion. Delving even deeper into his recollection, Irvine consequently reminisced the moment of abandon following the festivities, with him and the woman whom they all used to call 'Sis' quietly making a beeline into some isolated place in search of a much coveted time of privacy.
He smiled, fueled mainly by the sweet recollections of the previous night. Lazily picking himself up, Irvine made a consequent resolution to follow up on what he started with Ellone. And a half-hour later, he was already by the doorsteps of her guestroom with a dozen red roses clutched daintily by his left hand. Drawing a deep breath, the gunslinger started to knock.
"Ellone?" He softly called out. "You awake? Good morning."
A few minutes elapsed with nary a sign of any presence inside the guestroom. Braving what he deemed as a necessary intrusion, Irvine slowly turned the knob to find the lock disengaged. Deciding to fully open the door, he was mildly surprised to see the bed neatly made. From the looks of it, he surmised that Ellone must have spent the night elsewhere. But where? He was sure it was here that he walked her to last night even if he did have one glass of Timber Porto too many.
Opting to try and find her elsewhere, Irvine made for the exit, only to be interrupted when he spotted what appeared to be a note on top of the dresser. Curiously, he unfolded the small piece of paper, his face forming a strained grimace in light of the baffling message inscribed on it.
"Help me!"
----------
"Commander, the captains of the Timber 43rd Regiment have just sent a communiqué that they shall be here at 1400 hours."
Seifer turned to the source of the voice, and grinned amusedly as he basked in the radiant form of his lovely wife. Rinoa pouted, then mocked a kiss through the air with her lips.
"What's your next order, Commander?"
"Will you quit that?" He snapped back with a smile. "I am aware of my job as new SeeD leader, but all this commander crap is really getting to me. Did Squall have to put up with all this?"
"Not that I know of, Commander." She continued while giggling profusely. Seifer just resigned amusedly with a slap on his own forehead. He then coaxed her to come over to him, to which Rinoa eagerly complied.
But as soon as her nimble body made a rest on Seifer's lap, a powerful dizzy spell slammed Rinoa's head like a proverbial freight train run amuck. She can't begin to explain the feeling, but for a fleeting moment she felt like her body defied gravity. The pastiness in her face didn't escape Seifer's attention.
"Hey, you look terrible. Are you okay?"
"." She dallied, feeling her dizziness ebb. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just felt a little queasy there for a moment."
"Hey, you'd better take it easy there. Do you have anything in your itinerary for today?"
"Well" Rinoa pondered. "Irvine and I are supposed to accompany the inspectors from Esthar who will visit the new missile base in Galbadia. Nothing biggie or anything like that."
"Not anymore you will." Seifer returned. "You're staying here to rest."
"But munchkin, that's an assignment. I can't just turn my back on it."
"Well I thought being SeeD Commander and all, maybe I have a say or two about who gets dispatched in what assignment." Seifer grinned, eliciting a cutesy smile from his wife.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
He answered her with a confident smile. And Seifer was just about to land a kiss on Rinoa's soft lips when bouncing reverberations start to echo inside his head.
"Still nuthin'?"
He turned his head, but saw no one aside from his wife sitting on his lap.
"FRUSTRATING. WORRIED."
"Wha?" He further twisted around. Still spotting no one within earshot, Seifer gently led Rinoa off him before making for the door of his private office. There wasn't a soul outside that could be echoing the voices he'd been hearing.
"I think we should do something now, ya know."
"Friggin' hell" Seifer shot out, exasperated at the irritating resonance. "Rinoa, did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" She returned with puzzlement.
"DOCTOR. CALL."
"THAT!!!" Seifer blurted out, startling Rinoa with his sudden holler. "I hear people talking but there's no one here but the two of us."
"Oh dear" Rinoa trailed off, just before they were interrupted when Irvine suddenly barged in.
"Sorry guys." He started. "I hate to be disturbing you like this, but I think something happened to Ellone."
Not exactly feeling in the mood to socialize, Seifer curtly turned his back, leaving Rinoa to talk to Irvine. She noted her husband's intention and abided by it, consequently turning her attention to her gunslinging colleague.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean this." He quipped, handing the note he found in Ellone's room. "It says there that she's asking for help. But about what? There wasn't any sign of struggle in her room, so I don't think she was kidnapped. Besides, the note was too neatly written."
The Galbadian princess concurred with her compatriot while observing the note. For some reason, she felt a foreboding, seemingly aimed at what was inscribed at the note itself. Feeling a hollow and direction-less sense of alarm, Rinoa went back to Irvine with a tentative recommendation."
"It could be nothing" she groped, still trying to make sense of her befuddling feeling. "And it could also be that she's in danger. Don't worry, Irvine. Seifer will mobilize some SeeDs to look into this."
"But that's just it" Irvine returned, further confusion written all over his face. "I know she may be in danger. But I'm not worried about her."
----------
She had lost count.
And she couldn't be any happier. One raging hurricane after another passed over their thatched passion. And everytime, Quistis would lose herself into a cacophony of heavenly voices and gloriously swirling maelstroms of indescribable bliss. It wasn't only the thrill, the ecstasy or the incredibly soaring sensation. More so, it was the onrush of overflowing emotions of love and happiness gushing out in torrents from her overjoyed heart. As she expended her energy in tightly holding Squall close to her, she became awash with the brimming influx of joy, thanksgiving and blithe repose. He was all she ever wanted in life. And now, finally, her life was made complete.
Squall tenderly caressed Quistis with his loving gaze. And in the same manner, wiped the tears off her eyes with his fingers.
"What?" He gently asked.
She didn't answer, and instead buried her head in his chest. Smiling with contentment, Squall placed his lithe arms around his wife and pulled her close to him. He thought, he almost missed out on the greatest girl he has ever met. If not for the manipulations of one whom he thought at first was trying to capture his fancy, Squall would have totally strayed from this destiny his true destiny with the only woman he could ever love. He made a silent memorandum in his mind.
"Rinoa, I owe you one"
A scowl suddenly formed across his face. Strangely enough, Squall detected a tingling sensation at the mention of Rinoa's name. It was almost as if he was recalling the memories of someone who at one point had been a part of his life.
But Rinoa? The closest she ever got to him was when he rescued her from certain death from the savage claws of two Iguions.. And it wasn't exactly fate that led to that event as Squall was merely compelled by his mission parameters to perform that rescue. Consequently, he remembered the then irritating, and now droll efforts of his crew to get him and Rinoa together. Amusingly enough, Quistis was one of them. The former SeeD commander laughed at the hilarious irony of the situation.
A revealing thought then crossed his mind, which brought him to run his hands across his wife's lovely face. In thinking that Rinoa was the right girl for him, Quistis went to the extent of conniving with the others in attempting to lead Squall into the Galbadian princess' arms.
And it becomes clear to him. She would readily sacrifice her chance at happiness just to make sure he gets his. He didn't know of anyone who would do the same thing for him. Only Quistis.
How could he love anyone else more?
Consequently, Squall marveled at his charmed life. He was married to the greatest woman he's ever known; he has friends whom he knew will lay their life for him without hesitation; and he always has a place to go home to however bleak any circumstance they encounter may be. And though they have just retired from active duty, he knew that with their background they can easily find jobs in other prestigious sectors even if they're not related to any military functions. Besides, they've got enough savings to live comfortably even if they don't do a lick of work again, ever.
He couldn't be more fortunate if he controlled the threads of fate himself. Indeed, life couldn't get any better than this.
Almost. If only his mother
Squall stopped himself. If only his mother what? He then recalled that brief moment of confusion the afternoon before.
"Whatever possessed Quisty to say that I was in the orphanage with them?"
"Squall"
"Huh? What was that?" Squall reacted to the voice that suddenly resonated. As if in reply, the voice came in again, with a hollow reverberation that seemed to be coming from beyond the physical realm.
"Squall, help me"
His hair began to stand on ends. Looking at the serene slumber of his exhausted wife, Squall realized that he was the only one who can hear the voice. What mystery is this?
"Please"
"Ellone?" He finally uttered in recognition of the undulating tone. He looked around, but saw no one.
"Squall, listen. Close your eyes."
Squall complied, and suddenly he found himself surrounded by the refreshing sight of clear blue and imperfect white. Initially confused by the foreign and conceivably misleading illusion, he opted to calm down and focus. He noticed the singing ocean behind him, and a small clump of what looked like spent fireworks lying in front of him. The air was inviting, with the strong aroma of seawater blending with that of the sweet smell of bacon and eggs cooking in a frying pan. Somebody's having breakfast, he said to himself.
His eyes then widened to the familiar sight of the stone house, his ears focused on the rambunctious squeals and hollers of uncontrollable youngsters.
"Do you remember this place?"
"Ellone?" Squall voiced out upon seeing his adopted sister. "Yes I do. This is the orphanage."
She smiled, all the more bringing much perplexity into his mind.
"What are we doing here? What are you doing here?" Squall rapidly asked in succession. "Why do I know the orphanage when I wasn't really"
"You weren't really what, Squall?"
" Quistis said"
"You look confused."
Squall tossed a quizzical glance at Ellone. "She said I was with them in the in this orphanage. I know I wasn't because I grew up with mom and dad. We grew up together, right?"
Ellone listened with sad eyes as her adopted brother narrated how Laguna tried to play the role of Esthar President and father to him and Ellone, taking a weekly break from his political responsibilities in his effort to balance his time between his constituents and his family. She paid attention as Squall furthered his recollection, going back to the time when he said he was told by his mother of Laguna's timely arrival just before she gave birth, saving her life in the process.
She listened for as long as she could. When she can't take it anymore, Ellone didn't bother to hide the tears dripping from her almond eyes.
"Sis?" Squall came to her aid. "What's wrong?"
"I I'm so sorry, Squall. I did this to you."
"Did to me what? What is happening here, Ellone?!?" he finally exclaimed in frustration, stemming from all the strange occurrences taking place. "First you call me from out of the blue and then suddenly we're back in this orphanage that for some reason, I remember very well! Now you're gonna just cry there and not even tell me a bloody thing about all this. Come on, Sis. I'm confused enough already!"
She didn't answer, and instead attended more to her deeply tormenting sobs. Repentant for his outburst, Squall lowered himself down, kneeling beside Ellone's sitting form while running his hands through her soft, brown hair.
"I'm sorry, Sis. I didn't mean to take it all out on you"
"No I deserve it, really. I'm the one who did this to you"
"I don't understand, Sis. Can we like, start from the top?"
An abrupt overcast filled the pristine sky just after Squall's suggestive remark. Consequently, he trained his eyes around in astonishment to see all the elements of this peaceful surroundings dissolving right before his very eyes. Dumbfounded to see even the stone house disintegrating, Squall turned his attention back to Ellone. She was likewise starting to discorporate.
"Squall, I need you to do two things." Ellone's fading voice hurried. "Go see Aunt Raine before it's too late."
"Too late?" Squall stammered. "What do you mean?"
But she had already vanished, together with the environment that previously contained his consciousness. Opening his eyes, Squall found himself once more inside the hotel room. Quistis was still asleep. His brows met while pondering about the most unusual experience, recalling Ellone's last instruction that preceded her fading completely from his sight.
"Talk to Rinoa."
End of Chapter Six