Angel Fallen
A Final Fantasy VII Side Story
By Chadwick V. Simmons
Part II
With some effort the girl pulls herself ashore, her mind muddled, her limbs stiff and aching. There she lays for a long while, gazing up at the dim evening sky, what little is visible past the bone like structure beside her. She feels old, older that time itself. She is so very tired, her body weary as though pushed too hard for far too long. Yet at the same time she feels like she has been asleep for centuries. Slowly she drifts into a hazy world of waking dreams. Not quite awake yet not yet ready to surrender to sleep, she lies upon the cold stone and dreams.
A great city lies before her, a great bustling metropolis. The shouts of hawkers and the murmur of traffic pervades every nook and alley. Nervousness flutters in her stomach like rambunctious butterflies. She hates being in the middle of all the noise and pollution, all the crime and danger. For the thousandth time she wonders why she must live like this. Clutching her cache of flowers tighter to her breasts, she moves slowly into the throng of milling people…
Ting…ting…
The girl cracks open an eyelid, gazes upon the muted fire of the sunset, at the budding points of fresh starlight. So peaceful, so quiet, the perfect place for dreaming…
Drumbeats echo in tribal salute, reverberated back from the strata walls of the canyon. Man and beast dance together around a roaring fire below, a spirit fire to be sure. It's peaceful here certainly, despite the smoke of war in the air.
"I've known him since we were children. You've known him less than a month," speaks a feminine voice edged with anger and barely concealed disappointment. "I don't see why you gaze so wistfully at him when you think no one's looking. He would never take an interest in you. You're too much of a good little girl!"
The girl turns from the firelight dancing below her, pain and insecurity plain in her eyes. "How can you say that? What have I done that is so wrong? He's like the prince I've always dreamed of, the hero that I always awaited. I just wanted someone to take me away from the tedium of my life in the city. He's done all that and more, and I'm sorry but I can't help the way I feel inside every time I look at him."
"Pathetic. Will you spend all your life chasing after him? I sure as hell won't. If he wants me he can come get me. That's what I say! I care about him deeply, but until he finds himself there is little I can do for him. Until he starts to care about himself then he sure as hell won't care about me! But if that day ever comes when he does start to care I'll be right there beside him! I won't let you or anyone else stand between us!" With that the woman storms away, gloved hands clenched into fists at her side.
The girl turns back to the firelight, tears glistening in her eyes, tracing tracks down her pretty face. Below, a young man stands beside the fire gazing up at her, concern apparent on his face. The girl savors the chilling blue of his eyes, the stark gold of his hair. She smiles faintly and lifts her hand to him, just to let him know all is well. He returns the gesture with a faint smile of his own and a nod of his head before turning back to his companions at the fire.
"I'm sorry Tifa. I know you were there for him first, but I can't be content to just sit by and watch as you worm your way back into his heart. It will be his choice. I won't force myself upon him, though likely you would! I will make my feelings known, though. Someday…"
With those final words, the girl dries her eyes and lays back to gaze at the starry heavens, to dream of a night not so long ago. 'Twas a night of peace among many nights of war. 'Twas a night to never be forgotten, spent in the company of the man she'd grown to love…
Ting…ting…
The next time the girl opens her eyes, night has fallen in full. It is akin to waking from a dream and wondering if you are really awake or dreaming still, for the starry sky above was much like the sky of her dream.
Slowly she flexes her fingers, finding much of the stiffness gone though the fatigue still remains. She rests her hands upon her stomach and lets her eyes drop half closed again.
Ting…ting…
"What is that sound," she whispers. "No matter. It likely doesn't concern me." Her hands close around her waist, smoothing the fabric of her dress, fabric now well dried. Slowly she kneads the material between her fingers, savoring the texture after what seems an eternity of no feeling at all. Her hands cease their movements though when they touch upon the cool expanse of smooth flesh between her breasts.
"What's this? Why is my dress sliced open?" The girl scrunches up her face in confusion. Once again her fingers begin their kneading, this time moving gently across the tender flesh of her breasts. And suddenly they stop again. The look of confusion on the girl's face deepens as her fingers trace the puckered line of scar tissue beneath them "What happened? How did I injure…"
Ting…ting…
"No! Oh no! I…I-I…NO!"
His eyes are like pools of liquid sapphire, radiant with love and hope, the confusion of a moment before gone. He's so beautiful, the sweep of his fine features, the stark gold of his hair framing that fine visage. How could she feel anything but love and trust for him? And now he has come to save her.
The girl reaches out to him, reaches out with her heart as well as her hand. Words of love upon her lips she prepares to welcome her wayward prince.
Just then burning fire erupts in her midriff. Pain unlike anything she has ever known assails her. And all she can see are his eyes, those crystal blue eyes now so full of horror. She is a dead girl now and she knows it. Without looking she can see the length of cold steel protruding from between her breasts. In that one moment before death claims her she thinks, this is what death feels like. And just as the crystal sphere of light slips from her hand, her hope shatters and her dreams slip away…
Ting…ting…
"NO….Noooo…..," She screams in a voice gone hoarse, screams until her throat is slick with blood. And then she collapses back against the rocky ground, and oblivion has its way with her after all…