Chapter 2
Tifa stood in a field located at the outskirts of Kalm city, a deserted area visited only by people coming with flowers to pay their respects to their loved ones who had already passed on. So here she was, her hair tied up in a pony tail, clutching at a bouquet of white lilies, her mom's favourite flower.
She knelt in front of the stone which was carved with a simple design, similar to most stones found there. The girl of 18 placed her hand on the marble, tracing her mother's name. Dominique Lockheart. The woman had died at the age of 27, Tifa being her second child after her first whom she had lost to a car accident. Mrs Lockheart breathed her last after giving life to Tifa, leaving the infant to the care of her grandmother. Tifa never knew her father, as her mother had left him because of his one track mind on his career and not of family.
Her grandmother had never spoken about her father, no matter how much Tifa persuaded the stubborn woman. She never even knew his name. Every time Tifa mentioned him when she was a lot younger, her grandma would throw herself into a fit, shouting at Tifa and screaming her lungs out to never talk about him again. At the tender age of 6, she learnt her lesson well and good when her grandmother had suffered from a stroke from being too aggravated. She had only remembered vaguely sitting beside her grandma rocking back and forth at a loss of what to do until one of her friends had dropped by to visit, and was shocked senseless by the display. She remembered the situation vaguely, something about sitting in the ambulance, hearing the wail of the siren as it drove to the hospital and worried voices directed at her, asking her if she was ok.
They were living in Nibelheim (which happens to be a farming land) at that time when the incident happened. Tifa was born in Kalm, which was also her mom's final resting place, but because her grandmother had thought that a change of lifestyle would be good for her, she had brought baby Tifa to Nibelheim where she brought Tifa up amongst well-to-do people namely 'ladies' who wore pretty dresses and goes to tea every afternoon, playing cards and eating their scones.
After the demise of her grandmother however, nobody had wanted to take care of Tifa, so she had to be sent back to Kalm, where she was put into the care of foster parents. But it was never meant to be, as both her foster parents died in a plane crash to Rocket Town. Thinking that she was a jinx to everyone's lives she had touched, she became a depressed and reclusive child, opting to stay on the streets and to beg and steal for a living rather than to put herself up in some home.
That was when she had met Cloud and Aeris at the age of 12. They were her angels, sort of. Learning to live on the streets by pick pocketing, Tifa was just walking down the bustling streets, spying on her prey and ready to attack when the two had grabbed both her hands and looked at her with stern expressions.
Tifa had acted nonchalant at being caught, and wore a bored expression on her face, while the two dragged her to a nearby alley and started questioning her.
"My my… what do we have here. Two pseudo cops trying to save the day?" Tifa mocked, leaning against the cold hard concrete wall of a run down 5 storey abandoned office building.
Cloud had taken a deep breath as if to steady himself, and gone off like a machine gun, "You'reonlya12yearoldwhyareyoudoingthisyou'druinyourwholefutureifyougetcaughtcauseyoullhaverecordsinthepolicedatabaseandtheyllchaseyoudowntotheendsoftheearth!"
Tifa turned around to look at Aeris, who was looking at her with her small mouth hanging open in shock. The both of them turned back to Cloud, and burst out in giggles. That was their start of a friendship that ran so deep that gave Tifa the faith to continue living, that somebody out there cares after all.
****
Cloud and Aeris had spotted her the moment they reached the vicinity of the area, a lone figure in the field of green and dots of grey, dressed in indigo fitting jeans a fire engine red jacket. Her hood wasn't up, and her hair was pretty much soaking wet. As they neared, they could see her back pack laying at the side, her painting lying safe in a waterproof file propped up against the tombstone. White lilies laid neatly by the front, looking fresh and pristine compared to its surroundings, sodden and dull.
Not wanting to break the silence, Cloud and Aeris stepped closer cautiously, each with bunches of flowers of their own. Cloud had bought roses, while Aeris tulips. Cloud frowned at Tifa, whose face was dripping with rain water. Shouldn't she know better? Opening his mouth to speak, he was rudely interrupted by Aeris who kicked him in the shins, looking at him sternly, a sign to keep him quiet. Gently, quietly, they bent down at the knees beside Tifa, who was also kneeling down, her eyes closed, fingers on the smooth polished marble of the tombstone. Her eyelids opened gradually, revealing orbs of liquid brown hooded by long and thick lashes. "Tifa…" Cloud began his warning.
"Shh… Close your eyes. Feel. Can you feel her? She's here…" Tifa whispered, her lips breaking into a serene smile, closing her eyelids again, her face angled towards the sky.
Aeris followed suit, out of respect for her friend. Cloud watched on, rendered speechless by the spiritual effect in the atmosphere that Tifa had unknowingly created. Slowly, Cloud felt his eyelids close, and tried to feel what Tifa was feeling. He thought he had sensed something, something intangible, fleeting, definitely a presence, and it was casting a warm glow on all of them.
They stood there for several moments, eyes closed, bathing in the light that was bestowed upon them. The rain was letting up, reduced to a mere drizzle. Aeris finally broke the silence with the rumbling of her stomach. Cloud looked at her from the corner of his eye and locked gazes with her, trying hard not to laugh. Tifa smiled apologetically and mumbled, "Oops, I guess I took up too much of your time again, huh."
She stood up unsteadily and before she could stumble, Cloud was instantly right beside her, holding her arm to keep her steady. He looked at her, worry etched plainly across his face. "You ok?" Tifa nodded absently, but Cloud knew better. He placed a cool hand on her forehead, shaking his head at the heat he felt. She bit her lip again, which was now pale and bloodless. In fact, her whole face was nearly as white as the bunch of lilies lying on the ground.
Aeris came forward and looked at her anxiously. "What happened?"
"She's running a fever. Probably from standing in this rain the whole day. Damn Tif, you should know better." Cloud chastised, scooping her up into his arms, walking back towards his T-board, while Tifa lay motionless, half conscious. "C'mon Aeris. I'm bringing her back to the dorms." With that, he shifted Tifa onto his back and rode off towards the university.
A fever to any normal person was nothing, but to Tifa, it may mean more than just a few days in bed. Cloud had learnt of her condition a while back, that Tifa had a genetic disorder and therefore had a weak immune system, compared to other people her age. The disorder had shown when she had hit the age of puberty, in her case, age 13. It started out harmlessly enough with wrecking coughs, and frequent cases of the flu, but worsened when her body stopped producing antibodies. She had spent less time with Cloud and Aeris on the field, but more in bed, twisting and turning in discomfort.
There was one time she was so sick that she stayed in the hospital for almost half a year, laying in bed with a drip stuck in her arm, looking as white as the bed sheets she was laying in. Aeris had came to visit her every single day, bringing in her favourite mangas and magazines, keeping her company right after school till the sky turned dark. Even then, the nurse on duty had to chase her home. Cloud was there too, at every step of the way, cheering her on with his lame jokes and funny antics. The doctor had gave her injections, and taught her how to administrate them on herself. Tifa suffered, and as a result, lost almost half of her weight. She had become a ghost of what she was before all these happened. She was once a very bubbly girl, active and sporty, always running around with her T-board, playing basketball with girls and boys her age, and winning them hands down.
But now…
Cloud kept vigil by her side, sitting on a chair beside her bed, clasping her hand with his own, staring at her face, which seemed almost peaceful. He reached out tentatively, tracing the outline of her face with a light feathery touch, afraid that he might wake her. He leaned back into his chair, and gave a sigh. It had almost been two hours since he had sent her back to the dorms, and she still hadn't gained consciousness. He chuckled to himself sensing the irony of the situation?: one moment he was afraid to touch her in case she woke up, the next he was wondering when the hell she would open her eyes. Closing his own, he tried to calm the raging storm inside his head, ignoring those that bordered on pessimism in irritation. He was sick of having Tifa fight for her life every time she got ill, and sick of feeling helpless as Aeris and him watch Tifa fade away, physically and spiritually, bit by bit everyday.
The door to Tifa's dorm room opened, as Aeris stepped in gingerly, holding a syringe in her hand. She smiled at Cloud weakly, and held the syringe higher, indicating the time for her jab. She walked over to Tifa calmly, face carefully emptied of emotion. As her hands which were holding onto the syringe neared her forearm, they began to shake involuntarily. Cloud was watching her movements with detached interest up to the point where her hands started trembling, and lifted his gaze to her face.
Aeris was struggling with her emotions, it seemed, trying not to cry but the scrunching up of her delicate features proved otherwise. Her tears finally gave way, streaming down her face in little rivulets of transparent liquid, leaving shiny trails in their wake. She looked up with her tear-filled eyes as bigger hands enclosed around her smaller ones, and mouthed a 'thank you' as she passed the needle gratefully to Cloud, who nodded understandingly.
The injection lasted only a few moments, but the feel of needle piercing through Tifa's flesh gave him yet another hopeless feeling. He fingered scars on her arm left by numerous needle markings, lost in thought before shaking himself out of it mentally, tapping her arm gently and placing it back under the velvety comforter.
"You gonna stay here long?" Aeris asked, her tears subsiding, and took a seat by Tifa's study table. "It's late, and you've got a paper tomorrow. Why don't you go back to your dorm? I'll stay here with her."
Cloud nodded, and started for the door. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. G'night." He smiled, and after giving Tifa another glance, he was gone.
***
The morning light shone through the window pane by the side of Tifa's worktable, falling on Aeris' closed eyes. She twitched a little before opening her eyes slowly, using her arm to block the sun's rays from piercing into her jade green eyes. Stretching her aching back, and giving a little moan as the lower part of her vertebrae gave a few pops, she yawned loudly, before remembering where she was. She turned around to look at her charge, who was still sound asleep.
Looking around for the thermometer she had used last night, she nudged open Tifa's mouth and placed the thermometer under her tongue before pushing her jaw close, and went to the bathroom.
She sighed as she bent over the sink, turning it open and splashed her face with cupped hands. Rinsing her mouth, she took a toothbrush from the cup on the counter and drew a line of toothpaste across the bristles, stuffing it into her mouth and started her daily routine. After she was done, she contemplated taking a shower when a crash was heard.
Aeris rushed out immediately, to see Tifa crouching by her dresser, picking up pieces of glass with her bare hands.
"Oh my gawd. Tifa! What do you think you're doing?" Aeris exclaimed, helping Tifa back to her bed.
"I was just trying to get some water, Aeris. Stop being such a nag." Tifa rasped. "As you can tell, my throat's really dry." She coughed a few times, rubbing her eyes. "I'm fine now. Why don't you go back to your room to rest?" she pushed Aeris' arm away, and tried to stand. Upon being successful, she gave a triumphant smile. "There. I can stand by myself. See?" she took a few experimental steps. "Ha! I can walk too. I'm fine, really. Now, go. Go, go, go." Tifa pushed Aeris, who was still trying to speak out of her room, and closed the door behind her. She slumped against the door as it slammed close, drawing her knees to herself, and broke down in racking sobs.
***
"Ok… I'll see you about this later?" Cloud asked, walking down the hallway of one of the buildings in the compound, talking to an elfish girl striding beside him, donned in a stylish red tube and a tight black skirt which reached to the middle of her thighs, and leggings. Knee high boots clicked noisily against the tiled floor, as she tried to keep up with Cloud's pace. She hugged her books to her chest, and smiled easily at him.
"No prob. Just call me when you're ready." The girl named Nicole winked cutely at Cloud, before walking towards her next lecture. They were supposed to work on a new assignment together, a paper just given by their professor right after their test. Looking at his watch, which read 12 noon, he decided to drop by the cafeteria to get some food.
Getting out of the building specialised for the teaching of the arts and social sciences, he crossed the road on his board, heading towards the cafeteria in the Medical Sciences building, which was a few minutes away, and just beside Tifa's dorm. He thought of popping by to see how she was doing. Knowing her though, she would probably flare up at him for being overly concerned, she just "didn't need the attention", a phrase she would every so often belt out when either Cloud or Aeris would get overly worried about her well-being.
The sun was really shining today, he mused, quite unusual since winter was supposed to be nearing, in about a weeks time. It was still pretty cold out though, and luckily for him, he was in his baggy blue sweater which says 'Blame my parents' at the back of it.
Jumping up the short flight of steps on his trusty board leading to the famous cafeteria in the university, he skidded to a stop and placed it at the T-board stop situated just outside the entrance of the orange and blue building with bright yellow "MEDICAL SCIENCE" painted on one of the walls.
The smell of steak and potatoes wafted through the glass doors as they swung open, making Cloud's mouth water. As if on response, his stomach started growling and he patted his stomach, as if calming down an angry pet.
He rushed to the counter where steak was served, and queued behind a string of people, tapping his foot impatiently against the ground. Shifting his weight to the other foot, he glanced around to see if Aeris, a medical student, was around. Spotting her in a light blue cashmere sweater and black leggings, he waved and called, asking her to come over.
"Hey. How's the paper?" Aeris greeted him with a friendly hug, followed by a punch in the shoulder.
Cloud grinned. "Piece of cake. I'm working on a thesis paper with Nicole now. Gotta meet her later in her dorm." He continued, stepping a space in line towards the food counter. "Had lunch yet? I'm getting a set. Want one?"
"Uh, yes please." she answered.
"I think I should get a set for Tifa too. I'll get her something light, since she's sick and all."
Aeris looked down. "I don't think she wants to see anybody right now. She looked upset this morning." She said, fiddling with the chain she wore at the waist.
Cloud looked at her in confusion. Aeris sighed, and shook her head. "I think you should just stay away from here today. She's a little cranky."
"Ok…" he replied, paying lip service but his mind was already whirling in a tornado of random thoughts about Tifa's condition. He knew she was feeling down because she had brought so much trouble to himself and Aeris, and thought that she doesn't deserve such treatment. She had tried to break away from them several times, but they were too stubborn to let her go. Cloud made his mind up to go check up on Tifa right after lunch.
***
Tifa's room was in a mess, her comforter was strewn to a corner of the room, her books and papers laying scattered across the floor and table. She lay in darkness, covering her face with a pillow, trying to block the whole world out. The curtains that were drawn shut had blocked out any traces of light and tried to sneak into the gloomy room.
The only thing left untouched was the bottle of serum that was antibiotics and a syringe on her beside table, her 'elixir of life'. She couldn't last a week without it, and with the weather getting colder each day, the doctor in charge of her case had told her to up the dosage to twice daily, and that she mustn't ever miss a single dosage of it, or she might get pneumonia.
Her thoughts about getting pneumonia only made her mood worse, as she drowned herself in even darker thoughts. Why should she still be studying and getting a degree if living was such a pain? Why should she even care at all? Why do Aeris and Cloud even bother? Couldn't they see? It was useless being by her side. The doctors had said, the disorder would get worse each year, each day, her system weakening until it stops working, a slow deterioration of her body. There was a possibility that her condition would stop worsening, allowing her to escape from the clutches of Death, but what was the chance of that happening? A measly 5%. She couldn't live with that, the insecurity would just gnaw at her being, it seemed impossible…
Just then, there came a soft knock on the door, forcing Tifa out of her swim in a pool of self pity. Rolling over lazily, she stared hard at the door, muttering a "Who issit?"
"Cloud." Came the muffled reply.
Her face twisting in anger, Tifa threw a pillow at the door. "Go away. I don't wanna see anyone right now." Shuffling outside the door could be heard, followed by silence. Thinking that Cloud had left, she bit her lip, her mind taking on a guilt trip. But she couldn't be bothered to chase after Cloud, after all, isn't this what she wanted? Isolation? So she could just die in peace?
To her relief, however she would have denied it, the door knob turned and Cloud stepped in, frowning when he saw the state that her room was in. "I left you for a few hours and this is what you've done to your room?" he sighed, closing the door behind him with a soft click.
Tifa turned so she was lying on her right side, away from Cloud, hugging the fluffy pillow over her head. "Go away."
Cloud sighed. It was going to be difficult. How many times had he gone through this with her already? Too many to count. Even then, she was still too stubborn to care. To see his and Aeris' love for her. Taking note of the bottle and needle at her bedside table, he spoke, "Why haven't you taken your medication?"
Silence.
He pursed his lips, standing with his arms crossed for a few moments, deciding on what to do with her. Knowing that she needed her medication, he stepped forward and grabbed the bottle. Plunging the needle in it, he drew out the colourless liquid, flicking the syringe to get rid of bubbles. Satisfied, he walked nearer Tifa, grabbed her arm, and stuck the needle into it.
Tifa had been lying there as still as she could, and wondered what Cloud was up to. Not wanting to turn her head around, though, she thought she would wait a few minutes more before turning around. Before she knew it, her arm was pulled by a firm grip away from her, and a small prick of pain could be felt as the needle slid into her vein. Tifa tugged at her arm, but the hold on it was strong, unyielding. Tears started forming again at the corner of her eyes as she bent her head in embarrassment for acting like a baby that needed to be coddled.
"C'mon. You need some fresh air." Cloud said, pulling her out of her bed. To his surprise, she did not resist, but remained slack as she was dragged away from her bed. Her head hung low, uncombed hair hanging around her face and hiding it from view.
They got out of the room, Cloud holding on to Tifa's hand as she followed him like a zombie, unseeing, unfeeling. Not so polite stares were thrown in their direction as they walked out along the corridor, and out of the building. Telling Tifa to stay put, Cloud went to get his T-board before he got on, motioning for her to follow suit. Securing her arms on his waist, he sped off, towards the beach.
AND CHAP 2 is done!!! Hip hip hooray! Hahaha.