When I Met You…

            —Lulu

            When I first met you, you were at least three years old.  I had gone away on an extended trip hoping to free myself from Chappu… and him from me.  I admit—it was a difficult process involving a lot of late nights and a hell of a lot of ripped-up tissues—and a few towels.

            I first laid my red eyes on you when you were running toward Yuna and Rikku and me, screaming and crying like you were dying.  Blood was practically raining down your legs from your startlingly crimson-covered knees.  There were bits and pieces of gravel and dirt scattered throughout the bleeding ocean.

            I thought Yuna and Rikku were going to have heart attacks.  Immediately—and unknowingly—I took control of the situation, delivering you into your mother's arms while she and Rikku comforted you and soothed you until only tears and hiccoughs remained.  They followed me into the bathroom and held you as I began rummaging through the various cabinets, searching for cream and bandages.

            You'd have thought Yevon himself was stabbing you repeatedly with a sword when Rikku and I began washing your knees and legs free of the gravel, dirt, and blood.  Yuna herself was virtually crying with you, hugging you tight as she dared to.

            But you were still brave.  You didn't jerk or try to move away when I began dressing your scraped knees.  Rikku cooed and praised you for begin such a courageous little girl while Yuna smiled at you proudly.  I, too, smiled—for I knew Wakka would have been fighting tooth and nail by now to try and avoid the "burning" balm I normally used on his little cuts and scrapes.

            At last, the wounds tended to, you stopped your tears and removed your sweet face from your mother's neck and turned to smile at me through still tear-streaked breath-taking orbs:  the beautiful Prussian blue on the right and the vivid sea-green on the left.  Your glistening short blond hair—splashed with chocolate mud—was tousled and tangled but still shone like a beacon in the sun.

            You were gorgeous.

            Stretching your arms toward me, I took you in my arms and held you for the first time.  Slowly, relaxing, I rocked you back and forth, smiling down at you as you grinned, wiping the last of your tears away with one little fist. 

            Sorrowfully, I gave you up to pass you to Rikku, who patted your back and carried you away.  Yet smiling, I began cleaning up the mess we'd all made and Yuna watched me in silence.

            Suddenly, as if she had made an important decision, she seized my wrist.  Surprised, I looked up at her, confusion written clearly on my face as I brushed back a dark braided strand of hair.

            Yuna asked me to be another of your godmothers.  I agreed.

            It was one of the happiest days of my life.

            Tida, I love you.

            Disclaimer:  All belongs to Squaresoft.  Tida, however, is mine.