ch9
Chapter 9: Visit

Edea rushed out of the orphanage and scooped up Selphie in a big hug. Selphie hugged her back, this woman who was the closest thing to a mother that she had. Edea had been beside herself with worry since the news of Selphie's illness and seeing Selphie again helped to put her troubled mind at ease.
When the two broke apart Edea said, "Selphie... I don't know what to say. If you need anything you know I am there for you."
Selphie smiled tearfully, "Actually I do have a favor to ask of you. What can you tell me about my origins? You know my parents and stuff..."
Edea's mouth widened into a delicate 'O' before she answered, "Come inside all of you. I'll make some tea and we can talk." She put her arm around Selphie and the two of them walked inside the front door together. Rinoa, Squall and Irvine followed quickly at their heels. The orphanage had been remodeled well in the months since Edea and Cid had returned to it and was once again a cozy oceanside home such as the way it had been in the past. The four SeeDs felt right at home as Edea ushered them into the sitting room. Cid was sitting by the fireplace, reading a newspaper and he nodded to them as they entered the room. Cid had become a much calmer person since his recent retirement and these days he was just content to sit around and read and to be at home with his beloved Edea.
"Greetings..." Cid acknowledged the foursome.
"Hey Cid," Squall mumbled for all of them. Going to visit Edea and Cid had not been his idea of the greatest weekend but Rinoa had insisted he be there to support Selphie.
The four teenagers sat down at a large round table in the back of the room. No one said anything as they were too busy gazing at the room and trying to piece together some sort of semblance from the highly decorated parlor to the plainer rooms that some of them remembered from their childhood. Cid and Edea had obviously come up in the world, especially if they were able to remodel the run-down orphanage to such a great extent in so little time.
Edea bustled back in then, she kissed Cid lightly on the cheek and joined the group at the table. She carried with her a tray with a steaming hot pot of tea, a plate of cookies, teacups and plates. She motioned for them to eat but no one moved to take anything from the tray.
"Alright... where do I begin? A few months before you were born a woman arrived at the orphanage. She was probably about thirty or so... pregnant..." Edea paused.
Selphie burst in, "My mother?"
Edea nodded, "I'm getting to that. She was married and had ten other children already. She said they were too poor too afford you. Your father had died in the wars and it seemed that everyone in their village was poor and ill. She wouldn't tell me where she was from but I gathered it was from somewhere in the far north just judging by the clothing she wore. I have no idea where though because the only town I know of in the north is the Shumi Village and she most certainly was not one of them. Her name was Emily Tilmitt but that was all she would disclose about herself. She told me she was absolutely certain you would be a girl; and that she wanted to name you Selphie. I delivered you myself… When you were born she had no desire to see or to hold you at all. She wanted me to take you away from her sight. The next day she left even though I felt she was not well enough to go. You were a pretty baby and I felt certain she would have been proud of you. I have no idea where you can find her now. Or if she's even still alive. I've told you all I know."
Selphie walked over to the other side of the table and hugged her beloved Matron, "Thank you. I'd like to try and find her myself now."
"Of course you would," Suddenly Edea looked at Irvine thoughtfully, "Young man, you have just as much right to know about your origins as Selphie. Yet you haven't asked me anything about them. Aren't you curious about how you came to be in my care."
"Not really Matron. I've gone this long without knowing and I don't think I want to anyway. They might have been horrible people and it would hurt more than help me to find them." The young gunsman shrugged.
Selphie regarded his words carefully, "But Irvine, my parents could have been terrible too and I still want to find them."
Edea smiled gently at Irvine and Selphie, "Selphie your mother seemed like a caring and loving woman who wanted a better life for you then the one she could have provided. And Irvine whenever you're ready, I can tell you about your past."
"And what if I'm never ready?" He asked.
She looked him steadily in his eyes, "Then you're never ready… It's not important. The important thing for all four of you right now is that you take care of Selphie and help her in anyway you can. Even you Rinoa. I know you were not one of my orphanage children but I feel a significant kinship with you. Perhaps it is because we are both sorceresses. Selphie, if you ever need me for anything, please let me know. I wish I could cure you but it seems that magic only heals the wounds and illness of battle. And Irvine, if you too desire to know of your past, please let me know."
The foursome left Edea's house in a subdued mood of sorts. Quietly they boarded the Raganarok and Squall took the pilot's seat. Selphie had once been their main pilot but now with her in the condition that she was in, no one would let her fly no matter how much she begged them. All of them knew that she was in a severe amount of pain no matter how vehemently she tried to deny it. So Rinoa took Selphie into the lower portion of the Ragnarok and made her lie down and sleep for the long flight back to Balamb Garden.