Part 4 – "I'm here…"
Squall slowly reached the harbour in Balamb and the calming sound of the waves and birds with their constant chorus made him think evermore about Rinoa. Her smile, her laugh, and the way she made me happy. He sat on the harbour wall and looked out to sea. In the far distance, neatly resting, as it seemed on the horizon sailed the White SeeD ship coming into Balamb itself.
"I guess now is a good a time as any." Squall mumbled to keep himself sane as he waited for the ship to come in to port. The White SeeD ship was as elegant as ever with it's sails rustling in the sea breeze and it's hull gently penetrating the water as it moved.
As soon as the shipped stopped, Squall leapt on and saluted to his fellow SeeDs with a weak arm, he walked across the deck towards the enclosed space of the Captain's Quarters as the rest of the White SeeDs looked at him blankly as to why he stayed so silent. The Captain recognised his face immediately and welcomed Squall with a hardy pat on the back, which made the Gunblade fall from his waist.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I'm just glad to see you after such a long time." Squall picked up the Gunblade up off the polished, wooden floor and rested it against the side of the table he was situated next to. Squall lifted his head and admired the splendid cleanliness of the brilliant white uniforms. Dusting his own clothes off he stood there perfectly still with an emotionless face like a mannequin.
"Unfortunately, my friend, this is not a social call..." He closed his eyes tightly and carried on speaking, "...Something terrible has happened at the Garden and I need you to take me somewhere." The Captain looked bemused as he sat back down on his chair. "All I ask of you is to take me to Edea's house and not to ask any questions because...well, I just won't be able to answer questions that I do not have the answers to myself."
"If there is something seriously bothering you Squall, please tell me." Worried and confused, the Captain rose out of his chair and let Squall sit down in his place.
"Please...don't ask." He sighed heavily and looked at the Captain, "It's something I have to do alone. Can you take me or not?"
"Of course we can. What bothers me is why you are asking us to take you when you could easily take the Garden itself, or even the mighty Ragnarok on your travels." The Captain shook his puzzled head and ran his thumb and forefinger over the stubble that had accumulated over the past few days.
"As I say, it is something I need to do alone and using the Garden or Ragnarok to travel takes more than one person to know where I am going and what I plan to do. Being dropped off like this seems to be the best way." His gaze drifted away from the Captain and onto the wall charts that were perfectly aligned with the beams trailing down the walls.
"Alright then. As you wish." The Captain pulled a chain-link chord hanging from the ceiling and shouted the directions up to the navigation deck. The engine once again started and Squall looked back at Balamb as they slipped out of the Harbour and into the wide-open space of the Ocean.
Squall was informed that it could take a few days to reach Centra in the small ship, so he decided to get some rest to think his actions through and straighten out a few things in his mind. He confined himself to a cabin on the lower half of the boat and only showed his face to collect his food and water but still without breathing a word to anyone. The sunlight reflected directly off the water and through the crystal glass making everything in Squall's cabin have an aqua-blue haze to it; it relaxed Squall considerably and for that, he was grateful in many ways.
Two and a half days past and the claxon sounded to indicate that they had stopped. It was still the early hours of the morning and dark outside. Squall picked up his Gunblade--polishing the metal like he would do before any travelling--attached it to his belt, and left without a trace into the shadows of the night with only the moonlight to guide his way.
As he dragged his feet across the bare earth towards the place where he grew up, the moonlight reflected off each individual blade of grass as it danced beneath his feet with the breeze. Before he reached the house, he took a detour and sat on the white-sanded beach that was next to the building and looked out to sea. He lay his gunblade down beside him and took a deep breath and sighed yet again. The anger and grief was embracing his heart like a jacket of thorns and he could not shake this feeling. As the sun rose and gave life to everything surrounding Squall, it gave him the motivation to carry out what he had started. The rose up from the pure sands and slung the gunblade over his shoulder and carried on walking towards the door of Edea's house.
The handle of the door was smooth brass and the coldness of it when Squall placed his hand upon it sent a shiver down his spine. It was almost three days since he hadn't said a single word to anyone nor to himself. He walked into the courtyard of the house and the flowers were in full bloom filling the air with a sweet scent that relaxed Squall as he passed through. The petals rested neatly on his boots as he stood to admire the flowers—Rinoa had taught him to do that, appreciate what was around him—for the first time in days, he smiled.
As he carried on walking, the petals seemed to split a path before him as he trailed his Gunblade behind him toward the flower field...
The air stopped still as Squall bent down to pick a single flower from the array of plants that he faced. A single feather fell from the sky, and as Squall clasped it in his hand, the air filled with a familiar voice that seeped deep within his soul making him feel lonely no more.
"I'll be here" Squall rose up from his feet and looked around him to see no one.
"Why?" ...The voice replied...
"I'll be 'waiting'...here"
"For what?"
"I'll be waiting...for you...so..." There was a short pause, "If you come here..." Squall lifted his head to the sky, "You will find me." A tear appeared in his eye and ran down his cheek.
"I promise."
As the tear fell from his cheek and hit the bed of flowers, a huge gust of wind and Squall felt a womanly hand on his shoulder and a whisper in his ear.
"I promised, didn't I?" Squall turned around and saw Rinoa's delicate face smiling at him and he burst out into tears of happiness as he leapt towards her and held her tightly in his arms. He was once again speechless as he ran his fingers through her beautiful locks of hair. He stood back for a second and stroked Rinoa's face and looked deep into her eyes.
"Don't ever leave me again..." His voice was calm as he smiled at Rinoa. She smiled back. A strong gust blew but Squall did not move and inch of his body as he was enchanted by the look in Rinoa's eyes.
Wings appeared on Rinoa's back and as Squall let go of her arms, she flew off into the sky leaving him with a last few words. Squall stood there, knowing that he wasn't lonely anymore. The sparkle returned to his eyes.
"I will never leave you…I will always be your angel."
