Ch. 3- Heart Beats In Her
An Onrush Of Staggering Chaos Flooded Through Tifa's Awareness. Frantic As Her Mind Was, Her Body Remained Again Insistently Calm, Judgment Petrified By The Clash Of Turbulent Thoughts. She Could Only Half-Listen To The Gargled Shouts Of Agony Which Came Muffled Through The Door.
Vague Thoughts Surfaced, Questions.
Who Did This To You, Cloud?
Who Do I Blame?
Slivers Dug Into Her Bare Shoulders As She Slid Up To A Standing Position, Arched Her Spine And Let Her Head Fall Back Against The Door. Syrupy Perspiration Plastered Dark Brown Hair On Her Face. Sweeping The Mess Of Bangs Out Of Her Vision, She Focused Dazedly On A Foggy Smudge Of Brown Somewhere In Front Of Her. She Stared Until It Took Shape, That Of A Large Brown Platform.
The Nibelheim Well, She Remembered.
A Bland Smile Traced Her Cut Lips. She Gazed At It Torpidly, Recalling The Night That They Had Sat There.
The Sky Was Unreal, Ethereal Cerulean And Glowing With Stars. I Had On My Best New Dress In The Prettiest Blue, Which I Had Saved Up For To Show To You. I Did My Hair Very Nice, Too. I Don't Think You Noticed, Though.
What Was I Hoping For?
She Stumbled Over To Its Base, Clambered Up The Side And Sat Upon The Cold, Wooden Planks.
You Were Going Off To Join Soldier In Midgar, You Said... You Wanted To Lead A Mercenary's Life On The Other Side Of The World. You Were Going To Leave Me Here. I Missed You Very Much, And Wondered Often About How You Were Getting Along.
I Wondered If I Would See You Again.
She Hugged Her Legs Up To Her Chin And Rocked Back And Forth, Humming Softly.
We Did Meet Again, And I Was So Happy.
But She Came, Then...
The Flower Girl.
You Talked To Her Differently, Looked At Her In A Special Way.
You… Noticed Her.
An Image Of Aeris Floated Into Tifa's Memories, Happy And Angelic.
Scenes Of Her Life And Death Blended Into A Collage.
Wall Market, When I First Met Her. Tseng Kidnapped Her, You Were So Worried. Shrinra Building, In The Cells. At Kalm, She Quietly Listened To Your Story. Junon, And On The Shinra Boat. In Costa Del Sol, She Asked You About Getting A Suntan. In The Desert Prison, And At Gongaga Village. Cosmo Canyon, Where She Looked At The Materia In Childish Wonder. In My Home, Nibelheim. At Rocket Town, She Said She Wanted To Fly In A Ship Someday. At The Gold Saucer. And At The Temple Of The Ancients. You Saw Her Off To The Forgotten City, Were So Scared By Her Leaving.
She …Died, And You… I Had Never Seen You Like That Before.
…Only For Her.
She Was Special To You.
When She Died, A Part Of You Went With Her. Your Heart Beat Somewhere Inside Of Her. Where Is Your Heart Beating, Now?
"I Miss You," She Whispered Aloud.
A Bloody Tear Rolled Down Her Cheek, Fell Lightly On The Wood Beneath Her Cradled Form.
Again, The Nebulous Impression Of Areis Holding Something Trickled Into Silhouette. This Time, Tifa's Mind Settled Into A Soothing Calm.
Aeris Outstretched Her Arm, Unfurled Clasped Fingers And Let Loose A Luminous Shimmer Within Them.
The Vision Dissipated, And An Almost Tangible Warmth Lifted Her Up And Encircled Every Contour Of Her Body In A Swirling Intimacy.
Then It Left, Dissolved Into The Melting Sensation Of A Fluid Kiss Lifting Away From Her Lips.
The Screaming… It Stopped…
She Fell Limply To The Planks Of The Well, Lay There Until Dawn.
When She Awoke The Next Morning, And Stared Out At The Amber Sun Swelling Over The Peaks Of Mount Nibel, She Knew Cloud Had Died During The Night.
He Went… To Meet Her There.
THE END
