"Quisty!!!" Selphie screamed. "Quisty, you can't die!!" She turned on Seifer fiercely. "It's your fault! If you said yes, she would have lived!! How could you be so heartless?!"

Seifer stared numbly at the angelic face of the former instructor. *No one would ever hear her voice again, or see her sweet face... Why did I say no? She's right...I bet she would have lived if I said yes...but she would've known I was lying if I'd said yes..wouldn't she? I was about to say yes, and she knew it. That's why she said 'don't lie, don't lie just to make me happy.'* A neatly folded piece of paper was held tightly in Quistis' right hand and gently pulled it out. The name written neatly in her handwriting at the corner of the paper told him all he needed to know. It was for him, as he'd thought it would be. Slowly, he walked out of the hospital.

"Where are you going?!" Selphie shouted after him.

There was no answer.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

*Plop-splash-splash-splash-splash.* Seifer watched as the smooth grey stone sank to the bottom of the blue-green sea. "I didn't get to say goodbye when she was still alive..." he realized. He thought back to the time when he and Quistis had stood by the ocean near the orphanage. They had been best friends then, only about seven years old... Matron had told them that they were to be adopted the very next day, so they had spent their last evening there, just before sunset.

Even then, Quistis had been an expert in everything that involved brains. She was the smartest out of all of them. One of her favorite books had been a poem book she'd gotten from a 'mystery person' she had spoken of. She'd never seen the person's face, had never heard their voice, but she knew he or she existed, though no one else seemed to think so. He remembered one particular poem that he'd read from there, mostly because it fit the occasion so well. They'd never said goodbye, just completely avoided the whole subject, talking about anything else other than leaving, as if it wouldn't happen if they avoided the subject. They'd seen each other again, obviously, but the GFs had inflicted Quistis with the only drawback they had: losing her memory. It never was the same again. It never would be.

I saw you standing there by the ocean,
Your eyes shining in the evening sun.
When the sun set, we walked together on the sand.
We left eachother that day,
without saying goodbye.
If only I'd known I'd never see you again...
I visit this beach each year hoping,
Hoping that you would run up to me,
and we would be together forever.
I leave this beach every year crying,
Now I realize you will never come back.
I wish I just could have said goodbye.

Seifer stared down at the piece of paper. The same poem from 12 years ago was written on this note. Accompanied by this poem were the following words, also written in the same neat, handwriting of hers that looked almost as though it had been typed:

Seifer, by the time you read this, I'm probably going to be dead... but what does that matter? All I ever wanted was...maybe, to know that I had made a difference in someone's life. But I'm never going to know whether I did or not, and that's ok. I anticipated what your answer would be a long time ago, before I ever even thought of asking you....if i didn't tell you not to lie to make me happy, you would have said yes, wouldn't you?
The truth is cruel but I needed to hear it, just to make me try and let go...but for the thirteen years I've loved you, I just can't let go of you... One of my life's greatest accomplishments was meeting you, becoming friends with you--who would have believed that was possible? Old boring smart bossy Quisty making friends with someone like you. I'm glad I got to know you though...implausible as it may seem. If you still count me as a friend, even though I'm not here anymore, could you leave a special place in your heart for me, Seifer? Promise me that much. Sunsets always reminded me of you. I wonder if they do the same in your shoes. I love you.

Love always,
Quistis

"I promise, Quistis..."


~The End~

Author's Note: i got the idea for this fic in a dream, or a lot of dreams, and combined them all to come up with this. and i swear, this is gonna be the way i die. either this or the car accident. *sigh* i wonder if i made a difference?